A recent study finds that 75 percent of Vietnamese support a homosexual person's civil right to pursue their own happiness, but only 36 percent say same-sex couples should be able to get legally married.

The study, titled “Social attitudes towards homosexual people” was conducted between 2010 and 2011, surveying 854 and interviewing 31 people in 4 provinces and cities, including Hanoi and Ha Nam in the north and Ho Chi Minh City and Tien Giang in the south.

The study, released on December 13 by the Hanoi-based non-profit Institute for Studies of Society, Economy and Environment (iSEE), showed that 90 percent of people have a negative understanding of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community and therefore stigmatize people of this community. 75 percent support a homosexual person's civil rights to find their own happiness, like adopting children, and 36 percent support same-sex marriages.

Controversial

The legalization of same-sex marriage is still highly controversial in Vietnam.

“To be honest, I oppose same-sex marriage, though I know they are humans and want to get married. I think marriage is just a way to satisfy their sexual needs,” a 33-year-old woman in Hanoi told VnExpress.

Explaining why a majority of people opposed same-sex marriage, Dr. Nguyen Thu Nam, head of the study team, said: “The right to wed is still a privilege of heterosexual persons. Vietnamese society still favors heterosexism, a system of attitudes, bias, and discrimination in favor of opposite-sex sexuality and relationships.”

She concluded that all ideas opposing same-sex marriage originated from the wish to protect and maintain heterosexism, explaining that some believe that gay couples cannot have children of their own and cannot raise children as well as heterosexual couples.

Agreeing with Nam, Le Quang Binh, a sociologist who runs iSEE, told Thanh Nien: “Many believe that a family should be composed of a man and a woman, so their kids have role models to follow.”

Deputy professor Phung Trung Tap, a lecturer at Hanoi University of Laws, acknowledged that gay couples should have a right to find their own happiness but claimed it is not the right time to legalize same-sex marriage.

“Recognizing same-sex marriage does not rely on economy but relies on human reproduction. Family is the basic cell of society, including marriage ties.” Tap was quoted by VnExpress. “Thus, based on the cultural and intellectual standards and perspectives of Vietnamese people in general, I suppose that same-sex marriage should not be recognized yet.”

More studies need to be carried out about the possibility of legalization of same-sex marriage, other professionals have said. “Respecting human rights must rely on traditional values and laws,” Hung, representative of a law firm, told VnExpress.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese young people strongly support same-sex marriage.

Phuong Linh, a student at Hanoi National University, told the newswire that there is just a small population of homosexual people in the world, so their legalized marriages do not affect the global population at all.

She added that sentimental value should be taken into account when it comes to legalizing same sex marriages in the country.

A gay man, a freshman at a college in Hanoi, was disappointed by the fact that heterosexual people are asked for their ideas about the possibility of legalization of same-sex marriage.

“Let homosexual people do it instead,” he emphasized. “My mom said when same-sex marriage is allowed in Vietnam, she will give me a dowry when I get married.”

There are around 70,000 homosexual people in Vietnam, according to Dr. Tran Bong Son of HCMC-based Skinny hospital. Meanwhile, according to unofficial statistics released by CARE organization in Vietnam, there are 50,000 to 125,000 homosexual people accounting for 0.06 to 0.15% of the country’s population.

In late November, several government ministries including the Ministry of Justice issued a joint report – the first ever of its kind - suggesting that there should be studies to recognize civil unions or registered cohabitation by same-sex couples.

Two participants of the August 5, 2012 Gay Pride Parade in Hanoi. Photo by Tuoi Tre

Cross the line

Many events and ceremonies of gay and lesbian couples have grabbed both national and international headlines against the backdrop that Vietnam bans same-sex marriage.

A video clip on YouTube featuring the country’s first public wedding party of a lesbian couple in Hanoi went viral online in 2010. In the 11-minute long clip, the two lesbians, both 19, exchanged vows in a cozy restaurant with the presence of their friends, mostly young people.

In July 2012, two lesbians in Binh Duong province were found tying the knot at their wedding party, held at a local restaurant and attended by around 150 guests.

However, a ceremony in connection to gay couples was once penalized by the government.

In May 2012, the organizers of a marriage between two gay men in the town of Ha Tien, in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang were administratively fined for not asking permission from local authorities.

In order to raise social awareness against anti-gay discrimination, several hundreds of people in Hanoi joined a gay pride parade held on August 5, 2012.

After hearing of the event, Scott Harris, who used to be a contributor to the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times and the California Journal, wrote: “Hanoi’s gay pride parade offers hope to the many homosexual Vietnamese that they are hardly alone and don’t have to settle for closeted lives as second-class citizens and news accounts which emphasized that Vietnamese authorities’ hands-off approach to the demonstration showed a tolerant and even progressive attitude.”

More recently, a photo exhibition titled “the Pink Choice,” featuring the daily activities and private moments of homosexual Vietnamese couples, was held in Hanoi in November and attracted a large number of event-goers.

“Love is beautiful, and we can only claim ourselves supportive of homosexuality when we accept their love – and see it beautifully as it naturally is!” says freelance photographer Maika, who spent 18 months getting to know homosexual couples in Vietnam and telling their stories through her camera lens.