0:00:00.560,0:00:02.856
Jenni Chang: When I told[br]my parents I was gay,

0:00:02.880,0:00:05.056
the first thing they said to me was,

0:00:05.080,0:00:07.296
"We're bringing you back to Taiwan."

0:00:07.320,0:00:09.000
(Laughter)

0:00:10.000,0:00:13.856
In their minds, my sexual orientation[br]was America's fault.

0:00:13.880,0:00:16.816
The West had corrupted me[br]with divergent ideas,

0:00:16.840,0:00:19.816
and if only my parents[br]had never left Taiwan,

0:00:19.840,0:00:23.296
this would not have happened[br]to their only daughter.

0:00:23.320,0:00:26.416
In truth, I wondered if they were right.

0:00:26.440,0:00:28.496
Of course, there are gay people in Asia,

0:00:28.520,0:00:31.736
just as there are gay people[br]in every part of the world.

0:00:31.760,0:00:34.696
But is the idea of living an "out" life,

0:00:34.720,0:00:38.376
in the "I'm gay, this is my spouse,[br]and we're proud of our lives together"

0:00:38.400,0:00:42.040
kind of way just a Western idea?

0:00:43.160,0:00:46.856
If I had grown up in Taiwan,[br]or any place outside of the West,

0:00:46.880,0:00:51.936
would I have found models[br]of happy, thriving LGBT people?

0:00:51.960,0:00:53.627
Lisa Dazols: I had similar notions.

0:00:53.651,0:00:55.856
As an HIV social worker in San Francisco,

0:00:55.880,0:00:57.856
I had met many gay immigrants.

0:00:57.880,0:01:01.056
They told me their stories[br]of persecution in their home countries,

0:01:01.080,0:01:02.576
just for being gay,

0:01:02.600,0:01:05.056
and the reasons[br]why they escaped to the US.

0:01:05.080,0:01:07.216
I saw how this had beaten them down.

0:01:07.240,0:01:09.256
After 10 years of doing this kind of work,

0:01:09.280,0:01:11.736
I needed better stories for myself.

0:01:11.760,0:01:13.776
I knew the world was far from perfect,

0:01:13.800,0:01:16.120
but surely not every gay story was tragic.

0:01:17.160,0:01:20.776
JC: So as a couple, we both had a need[br]to find stories of hope.

0:01:20.800,0:01:23.736
So we set off on a mission[br]to travel the world

0:01:23.760,0:01:27.616
and look for the people[br]we finally termed as the "Supergays."

0:01:27.640,0:01:30.840
(Laughter)

0:01:31.760,0:01:34.216
These would be the LGBT individuals

0:01:34.240,0:01:37.576
who were doing something[br]extraordinary in the world.

0:01:37.600,0:01:39.936
They would be courageous, resilient,

0:01:39.960,0:01:42.896
and most of all, proud of who they were.

0:01:42.920,0:01:46.216
They would be the kind of person[br]that I aspire to be.

0:01:46.240,0:01:50.776
Our plan was to share their stories[br]to the world through film.

0:01:50.800,0:01:52.376
LD: There was just one problem.

0:01:52.400,0:01:55.456
We had zero reporting[br]and zero filmmaking experience.

0:01:55.480,0:01:56.496
(Laughter)

0:01:56.520,0:01:58.856
We didn't even know[br]where to find the Supergays,

0:01:58.880,0:02:01.976
so we just had to trust that we'd[br]figure it all out along the way.

0:02:02.000,0:02:05.416
So we picked 15 countries[br]in Asia, Africa and South America,

0:02:05.440,0:02:09.096
countries outside the West[br]that varied in terms of LGBT rights.

0:02:09.120,0:02:10.376
We bought a camcorder,

0:02:10.400,0:02:12.543
ordered a book[br]on how to make a documentary --

0:02:12.567,0:02:14.216
(Laughter)

0:02:14.240,0:02:16.776
you can learn a lot these days --

0:02:16.800,0:02:19.000
and set off on an around-the-world trip.

0:02:20.520,0:02:24.256
JC: One of the first countries[br]that we traveled to was Nepal.

0:02:24.280,0:02:27.776
Despite widespread poverty,[br]a decade-long civil war,

0:02:27.800,0:02:30.896
and now recently,[br]a devastating earthquake,

0:02:30.920,0:02:34.936
Nepal has made significant strides[br]in the fight for equality.

0:02:34.960,0:02:40.016
One of the key figures[br]in the movement is Bhumika Shrestha.

0:02:40.040,0:02:43.336
A beautiful, vibrant transgendered woman,

0:02:43.360,0:02:46.536
Bhumika has had to overcome[br]being expelled from school

0:02:46.560,0:02:50.856
and getting incarcerated[br]because of her gender presentation.

0:02:50.880,0:02:55.976
But, in 2007, Bhumika[br]and Nepal's LGBT rights organization

0:02:56.000,0:02:59.056
successfully petitioned[br]the Nepali Supreme Court

0:02:59.080,0:03:01.776
to protect against LGBT discrimination.

0:03:01.800,0:03:03.016
Here's Bhumika:

0:03:03.040,0:03:04.776
(Video) BS: What I'm most proud of?

0:03:04.800,0:03:06.296
I'm a transgendered person.

0:03:06.320,0:03:08.096
I'm so proud of my life.

0:03:08.120,0:03:11.856
On December 21, 2007,

0:03:11.880,0:03:15.536
the supreme court gave the decision[br]for the Nepal government

0:03:15.560,0:03:18.296
to give transgender identity cards

0:03:18.320,0:03:20.256
and same-sex marriage.

0:03:20.280,0:03:23.576
LD: I can appreciate[br]Bhumika's confidence on a daily basis.

0:03:23.600,0:03:26.496
Something as simple[br]as using a public restroom

0:03:26.520,0:03:29.056
can be a huge challenge[br]when you don't fit in

0:03:29.080,0:03:32.136
to people's strict gender expectations.

0:03:32.160,0:03:33.856
Traveling throughout Asia,

0:03:33.880,0:03:36.416
I tended to freak out women[br]in public restrooms.

0:03:36.440,0:03:38.856
They weren't used to seeing[br]someone like me.

0:03:38.880,0:03:42.071
I had to come up with a strategy,[br]so that I could just pee in peace.

0:03:42.095,0:03:43.376
(Laughter)

0:03:43.400,0:03:45.115
So anytime I would enter a restroom,

0:03:45.139,0:03:48.096
I would thrust out my chest[br]to show my womanly parts,

0:03:48.120,0:03:50.256
and try to be as[br]non-threatening as possible.

0:03:50.280,0:03:52.256
Putting out my hands and saying, "Hello",

0:03:52.280,0:03:54.960
just so that people[br]could hear my feminine voice.

0:03:55.680,0:03:58.536
This all gets pretty exhausting,[br]but it's just who I am.

0:03:58.560,0:04:00.360
I can't be anything else.

0:04:01.480,0:04:04.536
JC: After Nepal, we traveled to India.

0:04:04.560,0:04:08.096
On one hand, India is a Hindu society,

0:04:08.120,0:04:11.016
without a tradition of homophobia.

0:04:11.040,0:04:15.296
On the other hand, it is also a society[br]with a deeply patriarchal system,

0:04:15.320,0:04:19.456
which rejects anything[br]that threatens the male-female order.

0:04:19.480,0:04:21.096
When we spoke to activists,

0:04:21.120,0:04:26.256
they told us that empowerment begins[br]with ensuring proper gender equality,

0:04:26.280,0:04:29.336
where the women's status[br]is established in society.

0:04:29.360,0:04:34.416
And in that way, the status of LGBT people[br]can be affirmed as well.

0:04:34.440,0:04:36.896
LD: There we met Prince Manvendra.

0:04:36.920,0:04:40.616
He's the world's first openly gay prince.

0:04:40.640,0:04:43.176
Prince Manvendra came out[br]on the "Oprah Winfrey Show,"

0:04:43.200,0:04:44.456
very internationally.

0:04:44.480,0:04:45.736
His parents disowned him

0:04:45.760,0:04:49.016
and accused him of bringing[br]great shame to the royal family.

0:04:49.040,0:04:50.656
We sat down with Prince Manvendra

0:04:50.680,0:04:54.536
and talked to him about why he decided[br]to come out so very publicly.

0:04:54.560,0:04:55.776
Here he is:

0:04:55.800,0:04:58.336
(Video) Prince Manvendra: [br]I felt there was a lot of need

0:04:58.360,0:05:02.536
to break this stigma and discrimination[br]which is existing in our society.

0:05:02.560,0:05:07.696
And that instigated me to come out openly[br]and talk about myself.

0:05:07.720,0:05:11.176
Whether we are gay, we are lesbian,[br]we are transgender, bisexual

0:05:11.200,0:05:13.536
or whatever sexual minority we come from,

0:05:13.560,0:05:17.616
we have to all unite[br]and fight for our rights.

0:05:17.640,0:05:20.576
Gay rights cannot be won[br]in the court rooms,

0:05:20.600,0:05:23.000
but in the hearts and the minds[br]of the people.

0:05:23.920,0:05:25.656
JC: While getting my hair cut,

0:05:25.680,0:05:27.936
the woman cutting my hair asked me,

0:05:27.960,0:05:29.776
"Do you have a husband?"

0:05:29.800,0:05:31.576
Now, this was a dreaded question

0:05:31.600,0:05:35.176
that I got asked a lot[br]by locals while traveling.

0:05:35.200,0:05:38.896
When I explained to her[br]that I was with a woman instead of a man,

0:05:38.920,0:05:40.256
she was incredulous,

0:05:40.280,0:05:43.656
and she asked me a lot of questions[br]about my parents' reactions

0:05:43.680,0:05:47.200
and whether I was sad[br]that I'd never be able to have children.

0:05:48.040,0:05:51.056
I told her that there are[br]no limitations to my life

0:05:51.080,0:05:54.120
and that Lisa and I do plan[br]to have a family some day.

0:05:55.040,0:05:57.416
Now, this woman was ready to write me off

0:05:57.440,0:05:59.480
as yet another crazy Westerner.

0:06:00.280,0:06:02.296
She couldn't imagine[br]that such a phenomenon

0:06:02.320,0:06:04.336
could happen in her own country.

0:06:04.360,0:06:06.980
That is, until I showed her[br]the photos of the Supergays

0:06:07.004,0:06:08.484
that we interviewed in India.

0:06:09.600,0:06:12.016
She recognized Prince Manvendra[br]from television

0:06:12.040,0:06:14.279
and soon I had an audience[br]of other hairdressers

0:06:14.303,0:06:15.494
interested in meeting me.

0:06:15.518,0:06:17.376
(Laughter)

0:06:17.400,0:06:19.696
And in that ordinary afternoon,

0:06:19.720,0:06:22.656
I had the chance to introduce[br]an entire beauty salon

0:06:22.680,0:06:26.360
to the social changes[br]that were happening in their own country.

0:06:27.520,0:06:30.136
LD: From India,[br]we traveled to East Africa,

0:06:30.160,0:06:34.136
a region known for intolerance[br]towards LGBT people.

0:06:34.160,0:06:37.656
In Kenya, 89 percent of people[br]who come out to their families

0:06:37.680,0:06:38.976
are disowned.

0:06:39.000,0:06:42.696
Homosexual acts are a crime[br]and can lead to incarceration.

0:06:42.720,0:06:46.376
In Kenya, we met[br]the soft-spoken David Kuria.

0:06:46.400,0:06:49.336
David had a huge mission[br]of wanting to work for the poor

0:06:49.360,0:06:51.096
and improve his own government.

0:06:51.120,0:06:53.256
So he decided to run for senate.

0:06:53.280,0:06:57.936
He became Kenya's first[br]openly gay political candidate.

0:06:57.960,0:07:02.616
David wanted to run his campaign[br]without denying the reality of who he was.

0:07:02.640,0:07:04.296
But we were worried for his safety

0:07:04.320,0:07:06.576
because he started[br]to receive death threats.

0:07:06.600,0:07:09.216
(Video) David Kuria: [br]At that point, I was really scared

0:07:09.240,0:07:13.016
because they were[br]actually asking for me to be killed.

0:07:13.040,0:07:15.856
And, yeah,

0:07:15.880,0:07:18.136
there are some people out there who do it

0:07:18.160,0:07:20.827
and they feel that they are doing[br]a religious obligation.

0:07:21.800,0:07:24.376
JC: David wasn't ashamed of who he was.

0:07:24.400,0:07:26.256
Even in the face of threats,

0:07:26.280,0:07:27.480
he stayed authentic.

0:07:28.880,0:07:32.096
LD: At the opposite end[br]of the spectrum is Argentina.

0:07:32.120,0:07:36.416
Argentina's a country where 92 percent[br]of the population identifies as Catholic.

0:07:36.440,0:07:40.136
Yet, Argentina has LGBT laws[br]that are even more progressive

0:07:40.160,0:07:42.496
than here in the US.

0:07:42.520,0:07:46.936
In 2010, Argentina became[br]the first country in Latin America

0:07:46.960,0:07:49.800
and the 10th in the world[br]to adopt marriage equality.

0:07:50.440,0:07:52.656
There, we met María Rachid.

0:07:52.680,0:07:55.296
María was a driving force[br]behind that movement.

0:07:55.320,0:07:57.856
María Rachid (Spanish):[br]I always say that, in reality,

0:07:57.880,0:07:59.456
the effects of marriage equality

0:07:59.480,0:08:01.736
are not only for those couples[br]that get married.

0:08:01.760,0:08:05.256
They are for a lot of people that,[br]even though they may never get married,

0:08:05.280,0:08:07.616
will be perceived differently[br]by their coworkers,

0:08:07.640,0:08:10.696
their families and neighbors,

0:08:10.720,0:08:15.176
from the national state's[br]message of equality.

0:08:15.200,0:08:17.056
I feel very proud of Argentina

0:08:17.080,0:08:21.096
because Argentina today[br]is a model of equality.

0:08:21.120,0:08:22.696
And hopefully soon,

0:08:22.720,0:08:27.656
the whole world will have the same rights.

0:08:27.680,0:08:30.416
JC: When we made the visit[br]to my ancestral lands,

0:08:30.440,0:08:33.496
I wish I could have shown[br]my parents what we found there.

0:08:33.520,0:08:35.456
Because here is who we met:

0:08:35.480,0:08:40.616
(Video) One, two, three.[br]Welcome gays to Shanghai!

0:08:40.640,0:08:43.080
(Laughter)

0:08:46.440,0:08:52.016
A whole community of young,[br]beautiful Chinese LGBT people.

0:08:52.040,0:08:53.536
Sure, they had their struggles.

0:08:53.560,0:08:55.816
But they were fighting it out.

0:08:55.840,0:08:59.896
In Shanghai, I had the chance[br]to speak to a local lesbian group

0:08:59.920,0:09:03.576
and tell them our story[br]in my broken Mandarin Chinese.

0:09:03.600,0:09:06.256
In Taipei, each time[br]we got onto the metro,

0:09:06.280,0:09:09.456
we saw yet another[br]lesbian couple holding hands.

0:09:09.480,0:09:13.616
And we learned that Asia's[br]largest LGBT pride event

0:09:13.640,0:09:18.016
happens just blocks away[br]from where my grandparents live.

0:09:18.040,0:09:19.760
If only my parents knew.

0:09:21.387,0:09:24.816
LD: By the time we finished our[br]not-so-straight journey around the world,

0:09:24.840,0:09:26.056
(Laughter)

0:09:26.080,0:09:27.776
we had traveled 50,000 miles

0:09:27.800,0:09:30.456
and logged 120 hours of video footage.

0:09:30.480,0:09:31.976
We traveled to 15 countries

0:09:32.000,0:09:34.056
and interviewed 50 Supergays.

0:09:34.080,0:09:36.720
Turns out, it wasn't hard[br]to find them at all.

0:09:37.480,0:09:39.976
JC: Yes, there are still[br]tragedies that happen

0:09:40.000,0:09:42.256
on the bumpy road to equality.

0:09:42.280,0:09:47.080
And let's not forget that 75 countries[br]still criminalize homosexuality today.

0:09:47.880,0:09:51.336
But there are also stories[br]of hope and courage

0:09:51.360,0:09:53.520
in every corner of the world.

0:09:54.600,0:09:57.696
What we ultimately took away[br]from our journey is,

0:09:57.720,0:10:01.440
equality is not a Western invention.

0:10:02.840,0:10:07.136
LD: One of the key factors[br]in this equality movement is momentum,

0:10:07.160,0:10:10.536
momentum as more and more people[br]embrace their full selves

0:10:10.560,0:10:12.696
and use whatever opportunities they have

0:10:12.720,0:10:14.936
to change their part of the world,

0:10:14.960,0:10:17.176
and momentum as more and more countries

0:10:17.200,0:10:20.176
find models of equality in one another.

0:10:20.200,0:10:23.736
When Nepal protected[br]against LGBT discrimination,

0:10:23.760,0:10:25.536
India pushed harder.

0:10:25.560,0:10:28.456
When Argentina embraced marriage equality,

0:10:28.480,0:10:30.696
Uruguay and Brazil followed.

0:10:30.720,0:10:33.656
When Ireland said yes to equality,

0:10:33.680,0:10:37.736
(Applause)

0:10:37.760,0:10:39.696
the world stopped to notice.

0:10:39.720,0:10:42.376
When the US Supreme Court[br]makes a statement to the world

0:10:42.400,0:10:43.736
that we can all be proud of.

0:10:43.760,0:10:46.280
(Applause)

0:10:50.560,0:10:52.096
JC: As we reviewed our footage,

0:10:52.120,0:10:56.056
what we realized is that[br]we were watching a love story.

0:10:56.080,0:10:58.856
It wasn't a love story[br]that was expected of me,

0:10:58.880,0:11:03.216
but it is one filled[br]with more freedom, adventure and love

0:11:03.240,0:11:06.176
than I could have ever possibly imagined.

0:11:06.200,0:11:08.736
One year after returning home[br]from our trip,

0:11:08.760,0:11:11.736
marriage equality came to California.

0:11:11.760,0:11:15.520
And in the end, we believe,[br]love will win out.

0:11:18.560,0:11:21.416
(Video) By the power vested in me,

0:11:21.440,0:11:24.016
by the state of California

0:11:24.040,0:11:26.296
and by God Almighty,

0:11:26.320,0:11:29.656
I now pronounce you spouses for life.

0:11:29.680,0:11:30.896
You may kiss.

0:11:30.920,0:11:32.800
(Applause)