Queer PAPI Porn (Gay Asian Erotica) - Joel Tan

...actually a porn book. Queer PAPI porn was written by Joel Tan as an insightful venture into the lives of the gay Asian, covering all aspects of their lives whilst living with the stigma attached to living a gay Asian lifestyle.

Having stayed in Thailand for some time, and living out there for a period with a partner, it was very apparent that sexuality is a very big thing across Asia. There are those who hide it for fear of violence, ...
...personal or financial pleasure/gain.

We all know about the ladyboys who dance in clubs for money and entertainment. For those "lucky" enough to have encountered a gaggle of them at one time, it is a very surreal experience. They are more effeminate than Danny La Rue and Kenny Everette and have more playful attitudes than most puppies I know. This is the way these boys wish to express their sexuality, and it has been amazingly ... more

Ok, first of all, I must stress that this book is not actually a porn book. Queer PAPI porn was written by Joel Tan as an insightful venture into the lives of the gay Asian, covering all aspects of their lives whilst living with the stigma attached to living a gay Asian lifestyle.

Having stayed in Thailand for some time, and living out there for a period with a partner, it was very apparent that sexuality is a very big thing across Asia. There are those who hide it for fear of violence, yet there are those who flaunt their sexuality openly for personal or financial pleasure/gain.

We all know about the ladyboys who dance in clubs for money and entertainment. For those "lucky" enough to have encountered a gaggle of them at one time, it is a very surreal experience. They are more effeminate than Danny La Rue and Kenny Everette and have more playful attitudes than most puppies I know. This is the way these boys wish to express their sexuality, and it has been amazingly profitable for them to do so.

But does anyone know or even care about how they feel at the end of their shows when they return back to their homes and continue with their lives away from the public eye?

Other than the highly-sex charged performances and obvious homosexuality of the Asian boys, does anyone ever consider the plight of the lonely homosexual Phillipino joiner, or desperately unhappy homosexual Chinese weightlifter?

Joel Tan does.

The front cover of his book shows a burly Mexican weightlifter called Juan who, we discover in the book, has just come to terms with his own sexuality and has still to adjust to living his life as a gay man. Juan's plight is just the tip of a massive iceberg across Asian soil, as so many men live in fear of persecution or stigma. As a result, they live covert lives, sometimes even getting married in order to shift any suspicion.

On the whole, it's actually quite an amusing book - not particularly factual, even if you were a gay man living a life of solitude in Asia. It's definately funny and at some times it's quite harrowing.

One story tells of a young man from North Korea who was so desperate to become a woman that he began living his life as a woman without telling his family. They had thought he had disappeared until he turned up at their home one day to re-introduce himself. His brothers beat him until he had no teeth left, and tore the clothing from his back. He fled naked from the house and has never spoken to his family again. In an amazing turnaround, he now lives in China and enjoys a lifestyle of plenty, performing cabaret acts with a slew of other transexuals and transvestites.

Another story tells of Hgang Musamo, a weightlifter from Japan, who found love with another fellow weightlifter after confessing all to him just before a match. Hgang intended to do it as a practical joke, but when the man reciprocated his verbal suggestions, Hgang realised he was onto a winner!!

Joel Tan tries to balance the opinions people may have about Asians and homosexuality, arguing that many gay people do not partake of the lifestyles of the "uber-gay". He further validates his point with a series of photographs of gay Asian men, from all walks of life. It is impossible to tell from the picture that any of the men featured are gay.

This annoyed me about the book, because I felt that it shouldn't even be a case of "point out the gay" in a book. That in itself focuses the reader to pick out specific aspects of a person that defines them as gay, which is the very thing he proports to be arguing against.

What also annoyed me about the book was that, out of all the books there are on this subject - nobody has ever written a constructive book on the lives of Asian lesbians and how they cope. I am sure that is an even darker area that should be explored.

In summation, the book is an ok read, but it's certainly not a coffee table book, and if you are buying it for a spot of personal pleasure with the pictures - think again. It's not nice. Trust me.

This book was first released in Paperback by Cleis Press in October 1998, and, beleive it or not, is very hard to find these days. Try web-based book dealers if you want to find this strange little ditty. Even now when I look at the front cover and see Juan, i just wanna run.

 

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