9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Jenni Change: When I told my parents[br]I was gay,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the first thing they said to me was,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
"We're bring you back to Taiwan."

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Laughter)

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In their minds, my sexual orientation[br]was America's fault.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The West had corrupted me [br]with divergent ideas,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and if only my parents[br]had not left Taiwan,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
this would not have happened[br]to their only daughter.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In truth, I wondered [br]if they were right.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Of course, there are gay people [br]in Asia,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
just as there are gay people[br]in every part of the world.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But is the idea of living[br]an "out" life,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
in the "I'm gay, this is my spouse,[br]and we're proud of our lives together"

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
kind of way just a Western idea?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
If I had grown up in Taiwan,[br]or any place outside of the West,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
would I have found models[br]of happy, thriving, LGBT people?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Liza Dazols: I had similar notions.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
As an HIV social worker in San Francisco,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I met many gay immigrants.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They told me their stories of persecution[br]in their home countries,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
just for being gay,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and the reasons why they escaped the US.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I saw how this had beaten them down.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
After 10 years of doing this kind of work,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I needed better stories for myself.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I knew the world was far from perfect,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
but surely not every gay story was tragic.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
JG: So as a couple, we both had a need[br]to find stories of hope.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So we set off on a mission[br]to travel the world

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and look for the people we[br]finally termed as "The Super Gays".

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Laughter)

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
These would be the LGBT invidiuals[br]

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
who are doing something[br]extraordinary in the world.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They would be courageous, resilient,[br]

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and most of all, proud of who they were.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They would be the kind of person [br]that I aspired to be.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Our plan was to share their stories [br]to the world through film.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
LD: There's just one problem,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we had zero reporting [br]and zero filmmaking experience.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Laughter)

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We didn't even know[br]where to find the Super Gays,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
so we just had to trust that we'd [br]figure it all out along the way.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So we picked 15 countries[br]in Asia, Africa and South America,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
countries outside the West[br]that varied in LGBT rights.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We ordered a camcorder,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
ordered a book on [br]how to make a documentary,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Laughter)

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
you can learn a lot these days,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and set off on an[br]around-the-world trip.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
JC: One of the first countries[br]that we traveled to was Nepal.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Despite widespread poverty,[br]a decade-long civil war,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and more recently,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
a devastating earthquake,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Nepal has made significant strides[br]in the fight for equality.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
One of the key figures[br]in the movement is Bhumika Shrestha.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
A beautiful, vibrant transgendered woman,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Bhumika has had to overcome[br]being expelled from school

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and getting incarcerated [br]because of her gender presentation.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But, in 2007, Bhumika and Nepal's[br]LGBT rights organization

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
successfully petitioned [br]the Nepali Supreme Court

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
against LGBT discrimination.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Here's Bhumika:

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
BS: What I'm most proud,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I'm a transgendered person.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I'm so proud of my life.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
On December 21, 2007,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the Supreme Court gave the decision

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
for the Nepal government

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to give transgender identity cards

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and sam sex marriage.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
LD: I could appreciate [br]Bhumika's confidence on a daily basis.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Something as simple [br]as using a public restroom

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
can be huge challenge[br]when you don't fit in

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to people's strict gender expectations.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Traveling around Asia,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I tended to freak out women[br]in public restrooms.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They weren't used to seeing[br]someone like me.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I had to come up with a strategy

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
so that I could just pee in peace.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Laughter)

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So anytime I would enter a restroom,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I would thrust out my chest[br]to show my women-ly parts,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and try to be as non-threatening[br]as possible.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Putting out my hands and saying, "Hello"

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
just so that people could hear [br]my feminine voice.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
This all gets pretty exhausting,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
but, it's just who I am.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I can't be anything else.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
After Nepal, we traveled to India.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
On one hand, India is a Hindu society,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
without a tradition of homophobia.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
On the other hand, it is also[br]a society

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with a deeply patriarchal system,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
which rejects anything that threatens[br]the male-female order.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
When we spoke to activists,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
they told us that empowerment begins

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with ensuring proper gender equality,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
where the women's status is[br]established in society.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And in that way, the status of LGBT people[br]can be affirmed as well.[br]

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
There we met Prince Manvendra,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
he's the world's first openly gay prince.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Prince Manvendra came out[br]on the Oprah Winfrey show very internationally.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
His parents disowned him

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and accused him of bringing great shame[br]to the royal family.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We sat down with Prince Manvendra

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and talked to him about why he decided[br]to come out so very publically.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Here he is:

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Prince Manvendra: I felt that [br]there was a lot of need

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to break this stigma and discrimination

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that was existing in our society.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And instigated me to come out openly[br]and talk about myself.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Whether we are gay,[br]we are lesbian,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we are transgender, bisexual,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or whatever sexual minority we come from,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we have to all unite [br]and fight for our rights.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Gay rights cannot be won in the court rooms,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
but in the hearts and the minds[br]of the people.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
JC: While getting my haircut,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the woman cutting my hair asked me,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
"Do you have a husband?"

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Now, this was a dreaded question

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that I got asked a lot by locals[br]while traveling.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
When I explained to her that [br]I was with a woman instead of a man,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
she was incredulous,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and she asked me a lot of questions[br]about my parents' reactions

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and whether I was sad that I'd[br]never be able to have children.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I told her that there are no limitations[br]in my life

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and that Lisa and I do plan[br]to have a family some day.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Now, this woman was ready[br]to write me off

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
as yet another crazy Westerner.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
She couldn't imagine that [br]such a phenemonon

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
could happen in her own country.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
That is, until I showed her photos[br]of the Super Gays

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that we interviewed in India.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
She recognized Prince Manvendra[br]from television

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and soon I had an audience[br]of other hairdressers

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
interested in meeting me.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Laughter)

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And in that ordinary afternoon,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I had the chance to introduce[br]an entire beauty salon

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to the social changes that were happening[br]in their own country.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
From India, we traveled to East Africa,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
a region known for intolerance[br]towards LGBT people.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In Kenya, 89 percent of people[br]who come out to their families are disowned.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Homosexual acts are a crime [br]and can lead to incarceration.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In Kenya, we met the soft-spoken[br]David Kuria.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
David had a huge mission[br]of wanting to work for the poor

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and improve his won government.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
When he decided to run for Senate,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
he became Kenya's first openly-gay[br]political candidate.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
David wanted to run his campaign[br]

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
without denying the reality of who he was.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But we were worried for his safety

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
because he started[br]to receive death threats.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
David Kuria: "At that point, [br]I was really, really scared

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
because they were actually asking[br]for me to be killed

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and, yeah,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
there are some people out there who do it

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and feel that they are doing[br]a religious obligation."[br]

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
JC: David wasn't ashamed of who he was.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Even in the face of threats,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
he stayed authentic.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
LD: On the opposite end [br]of the spectrum is Argentina.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Argentina is a place where 92 percent[br]of the population identifies as Catholic.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Yet, Argentina has LGBT laws[br]that are more progressive

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
than here in the US.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In 2010, Argentina became the first[br]country in Latin America,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and the 10th in the world,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to adopt marriage equality.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
There, we met María Rachid.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
María was a driving force[br]behind that movement.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
María Rachid [spanish]:[br]I always say that, in reality,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the effects of marriage equality[br]

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
are not only for those couples[br]that get married.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They are for a lot of people that,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
even though they may never get married,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
will be perceived differently by their coworkers,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
their families and neighbors,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
from the National State's[br]message of equality.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I feel very proud of Argentina

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
because Argentina today[br]is a model of equality.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And hopefully soon,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the whole world will have[br]the same rights."

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
JC: When we made the visit[br]to my ancestral lands,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I wish I could have shown[br]my parents what we found there,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
because here is who we met: