“Chinatown is profoundly queer—not just in identity, but in existence. Its queerness stands as an act of defiance against racism, displacement, and corporate encroachment. This history runs deep through San Francisco’s cultural fabric, inspiring an ‘immortality’ that lives on in those who continue our fight against erasure.” —Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco
San Francisco remains a primary gateway for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) individuals seeking economic and other opportunities. In the 1850s, the Gold Rush and the building of the first transcontinental railroad attracted immigrants from Asia, particularly China and Japan. In 1965, the lifting of immigration bans ushered in another wave. Now the major beacons are Silicon Valley and the tech industry.
For many of those immigrants who are LGBTQ+, the San Francisco Bay Area is still a mecca, especially given the lack of legal protections for queer people in several Asian countries. San Francisco Bay Times columnists John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney have spent extensive time in various parts of Asia advocating for our community, with their tireless LGBTQ+ activism providing hope that marriage equality and other basic rights will one day be extended to all of Asia’s 48 countries.
The Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco points out that AAPI LGBTQ+ contributions to San Francisco run so deep that they help form the heart of the city’s identity. Despite that immensely rich history, this large part of our community has not been recognized much over the years. AAPI Heritage Month has only been around since 1990. That year, a weekly observance that began in the 1970s expanded to the entire month of May.
2025 marks only the second year of Chinatown Pride, which will be held on May 24 from 6–10 pm starting at 800 Grant Avenue (Edge on the Square). This year also marks only the fourth annual raising of the Progress Pride Flag in Japantown (in Osaka Way at the Torii Gate) on May 31 at 2 pm. 2025 is the fifth year of San Francisco’s Queer and Trans Asian & Pacific Islander (QTAPI) Heritage Week.
2025 is the first year that the San Francisco Bay Times will be officially honoring AAPI LGBTQ+ women leaders and allies. The event, a benefit for the Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project and the Use The News Foundation, will take place on May 18 at Catch in the Castro, 2362 Market Street, from noon to 5 pm. Please see this issue for more information.
We encourage you to attend these events and more this AAPI Heritage Month. We also hope you gain strength and inspiration from the theme of Chinatown Pride 2025: “We are Immortal!” As the organizers share, it “is a declaration on transformation, reinvention, and the refusal to be anything but unapologetically alive … we will not be silenced or erased.”
LGBTQ+ AAPI Trailblazers
Published on May 8, 2025
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