Homosexuality 同性戀－越來越多的年輕同性戀者被他們父母接納和認可

原文鏈接：https://www.economist.com/node/21562984

Homosexuality 同性戀

Coming out 出櫃

More gay teenagers are gaining acceptance by their parents

越來越多的年輕同性戀者被他們父母接納和認可

HOMOSEXUALITY was declassifiedas a mental illness in China a decade ago, but prejudice remains deep. So when an editor at the government education department in the city of Hangzhou was compiling a pamphlet recently to help parents guide their children through puberty, she included a warning about 「deviant」 behaviour.

早在十年前，中國就取消將同性戀定性為精神疾病，但如今對此的偏見仍然深刻。因此近來，當杭州政府教育部門的一位編輯編寫幫助家長指導子女度過青春期的宣傳手冊時，她在書中加入了對此「異常」行為的警告。

What she may not have expected was an irate open letter in response from a group of mothers of gay children. Eighteen mothers, from all over China, affiliated with Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, an NGO known as PFLAG China, signed the letter. It called for the book to be withdrawn.

然而可能令她意想不到的是：一群子女是同性戀者的母親用一封憤怒的公開信對此做出回應。這些來自全國各地的十八位母親聯合了「同志親友聯合會」（Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays），即一個稱之為「PFLAG中國」的非政府組織，共同簽署了那封信，要求那本手冊下架。

「We』re extremely angry about this,」 one of the signatories says who asked only to be identified by her internet name: Romantic Mum from Hebei. 「Understanding and accepting gay people starts with education,」 she continues. 「But if kids continue to get this kind of education, the prejudice will remain.」

「我們對此感到極度憤怒，」一位要求以其網名「來自河北的浪漫媽媽」註解其身份的簽署人說。「理解和接納同性戀者從教育開始，「 她還說，「但是如果孩子們繼續接受這種教育，那麼偏見會繼續存在。」

The mother says her own 「unsuitable education」 meant that she was devastated when her son came out to her at the age of 15: 「I kept asking myself what I had done wrong in bringing him up.」 But last year, after joining some online discussion groups, she accepted that her son was not going to change. Now she helps run PFLAG』s hotline, which offers advice to parents of gay children.

那位母親稱自己接受的「不當教育」使她兒子十五歲對自己出櫃時，她覺得天都塌了：「我一直在問自己把他養大到底做錯了什麼。」但是去年，自從加入了一些在線討論組後，她接受兒子不會改變（性取向）的事實。如今她幫助經營PFLAG熱線，給其他同性戀孩子的家長建言獻策。

PFLAG』s director, Hu Zhijun, says that ten years ago very few children came out to their parents. Now, with more information available online, a new generation of gay people are more confident. 「They』re more likely to tell their parents and classmates,」 he says.

PFLAG負責人胡志軍說十年前很少有孩子向父母出櫃。而如今，越來越多的信息可以從網上查到，新一代同性戀者更加自信。「他們更願意向父母和同學訴說。」

The government editor』s response was encouraging too: she invited the volunteers for a chat, apologised for not knowing much about gay people, and said there will be changes in the next edition of the book.

那位政府編輯的回應也鼓舞人心：她邀請志願者們來做交流，為自己對同性戀者的知之甚少而道歉，說會對下一版手冊作出相關修改。

But there is much more to do, says Romantic Mum.Her parents and close friends have been surprisingly accepting of her son』s homosexuality, but the boy』s father has not, and now barely talks to him. And although Mr Hu and his group have recently given talks in universities, schools are more resistant. He estimates that perhaps 10% of gay people in China now tell their parents. Most of the rest still feel they must get married to satisfy their families.

但要做的還有很多，「浪漫媽媽」說。她的父母和密友出人意料地接受了她兒子的同性戀取向，但是她丈夫卻不接受，而且現在幾乎不和他兒子說話。儘管近來胡先生和他的組織在大學裡做些講座，但中小學校對此比較抵制。他估計在中國可能只有10%的同性戀向家長坦白，剩下的認為他們必須和異性結婚，讓家人滿意。

譯者後註：

這是2012年9月《經濟學人》某期中的選文，也是我翻的第一篇經濟學人。今天把這篇六年前的英中筆譯拿出來重新看了一下，發現不少錯誤，做了一些修改。也是從這篇開始，我會逐步把自己翻過的所有經濟學人報道拿出來一一重新看，並且修改，再重新發出來。回看自己的錯誤，也算是學習和成長吧。??