CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
I first met Huang Ping (pictured above) in the Night Cat. It was November 2006, and I was in Changsha, in the Chinese province of Hunan, photographing the underground cabaretcumgay disco for a project on youth culture. In the bars windowless employee dorm room -- little more than a shoddy gesture of goodwill from its owner -- rusting bunk beds were cluttered with belongings and the motionless shapes of young bodies curled under thin blankets. Huang Ping, a transvestite and the self-professed house mom and caregiver of the bunch, was sweeping the room, intermittently stopping to apply makeup or fix his hair. The cigarette butts he pushed across the room wedged themselves between the splintering floorboards. Like sweeping sand in a desert, I thought.
A low-key oasis for gays and lesbians to meet and relax in an otherwise rough city known chiefly as the onetime home of Mao Zedong, the Night Cat was at the core of Changshas invisible gay scene. Located above a used-electronics market in an old theater, its wide stage and wrought iron balcony betrayed a former glory, such that one could imagine the traditional operas and patriotic plays of another generation being performed there. Outside, a giant poster of Halle Berry as Catwoman directed guests past the stolen cell-phone dealers and up to the bar where teenage La-La (lesbian) girls and dance boys would be waiting with menus. There were always more employees than customers at the Night Cat, a common sight in China, where labor is cheap and competition fierce.
When the Night Cat finally closed its doors in March 2007, Huang Ping was the last to leave. A sister had told him of a bar with openings near Shanghai, so he would pack up and move again, one bus ride away from a new bar and a new life.
But by February 2008, Huang Ping was back in Changsha and reborn as a man. Dressed in boyish clothes and sporting short, spiked hair, he had returned to work as a male dancer at Moon Bar, the only gay bar left in the city. It had no need for another transvestite, so Huang Ping cut his hair and started acting like a boy in order to get a job.
Nobody recognizes me anymore! he laughed as he showed me around his new digs. An air of pluck hung about him that I hadnt seen before, almost as if he had been playing the role of submissive woman and that now as a man he had been emboldened in some way.
Send a letter to the editor about this article.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
38 Male Celebs Who Did Full Frontal Scenes
November 17 2023 5:18 PM
These are all the celebrities Who came out as LGBTQ+ in 2023
December 31 2023 12:19 PM
32 LGBTQ+ Celebs You Can Follow on OnlyFans
October 25 2023 3:15 PM
26 actors who showed bare ass in movies & TV shows
February 28 2024 1:50 PM
21 LGBTQ+ reality dating shows & where to watch them
April 03 2024 4:01 PM
15 Unforgettable Gay Kissing Scenes From TV & Movies
February 14 2024 10:20 AM
14 queens who quit or retired from drag after 'RuPaul's Drag Race'
April 04 2024 12:56 PM
40 steamy celebrity Calvin Klein ads we'll always be thirsty for
January 04 2024 10:54 AM
The 15 Best LGBTQ+ Movies of 2023
December 04 2023 10:32 AM
Watch Now: Advocate Channel
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Latest Stories
April 17, 2024
19h
Kennedy Davenport finally explains the rumored 'All Stars 3' drama with Trixie Mattel
April 16 2024 4:16 PM
Watch the queens from 'Drag Race Live' hilariously reveal Out's RuPaul cover
April 16 2024 4:10 PM
Noah Beck claps back at people who assumed he's gay for hugging a male friend
April 16 2024 4:03 PM
Jonathan Bailey's next gig is being lined up & it involves dinosaurs & ScarJo
April 16 2024 2:12 PM
Queens were showing out & shining bright at The Center's fundraising dinner
April 16 2024 1:37 PM
Wanna hookup internationally? Grindr's new feature helps you do that
April 16 2024 12:58 PM
Ricky Martin reveals 'very discreet' man he's met in exclusive new 'Palm Royale' clip
April 16 2024 11:56 AM
This morning was PURE CHAOS in the Bravo universe
April 15 2024 7:35 PM
Wrestling stud Anthony Bowens stuns in sweaty & steamy gym selfie
April 15 2024 4:56 PM
Billie Eilish kissed a girl at Coachella & we're FREAKING OUT
April 15 2024 4:19 PM
Writing helped save one queer poet's life—now he wants to help others feel seen & heard
April 15 2024 4:08 PM