Đồng Tính Luyến Ái Project – Part 3

I’ve drawn up a wish list of people I would like to interview or discuss as part of the gay Vietnamese programme:

• Andrew Lam – contemporary Vietnamese / American gay author
• Huy Can – historical gay poet and communist
• Van Darkholme – contemporary Vietnamese / American porn actor
• Gay Vietnamese Alliance – American-based support organisation
• Xuan Dieu – historical gay poet and communist
• Song That – long term gay radio program broadcast from San Jose
• Nguyen Tan Hoang – contemporary Vietnamese / American media maker

I’m also very interested in speaking with prominent gay Asian author Benjamin Law after my friend Jojo pointed out that he is writing a book on gaysia (see his article The Discontent of Gaysia).

Đồng Tính Luyến Ái Project – Part 2

Vietnam has men dressed as women perform for important events. Why?

I want to share the basic outline of the Đồng Tính Luyến Ái Project (DTLA Project) with you.

What’s the big idea?

The Đồng Tính Luyến Ái Project will be an 8 part series on gay and lesbian Vietnam. It well give the listener a feel for what it is like to be Vietnamese and gay (whether Vietnamese born, overseas immigrant or overseas-born). It will focus on the social, religious, political and technological factors that impact on private lives.

There will be a mix of factual reporting and personal interviews. The each part will half an hour and content will be in Vietnamese and English (with Vietnamese content translated).

Five core topics have been identified:

• Law (is it legal, what basic rights, what marriage / adoption rights)
• Society (is it accepted, gay interaction, inter-racial relationships)
• Communication (meeting other gays, media coverage, pornography)
• People of influence (historical people and events, current advocates)
• Art (significant works of literature, cultural icons)

What’s involved?

A budget will include funding to support research, scripting, recording, editing and broadcasting activities.

Who’s needed?

Roles required are a programme producer, presenter, audio engineer / editor, interviewer, researcher, copy writer, and translator. 

What’s the plan?

A production schedule will identify research, scripting, recording, editing and broadcasting activities. Initial interview and volunteer requests have been made. A formal proposal for budgeting and grant application purposes will be completed soon.

I believe that the programme enlighten most listeners and expose them to a world they are not familiar with. Indeed I expect I too will learn things. For example, why a male dancer (pictured) dresses as a woman to perform for store grand openings in Vietnam (it is a common cultural practice at funerals too)!

How to Make Good Radio

Addam Stobbs, my media teacher, taught me the essential do’s and don’ts of radio.

He taught me how to connect with the listener, how to present things in an interesting manner and, most importantly, how to stop the crap chat. Here are some rules I vividly remember:

• As the Boy Scouts say, “be prepared”. Preparation is the key to a good program. If you find yourself unprepared during a show, its better to play another song than to talk off the cuff, because you’ll end up in the ‘crap chat’ zone – and defamation lives there.
• Radio is magic, so don’t reveal the ‘trick’. Avoid saying “I’m loading a CD into the player” because you’ll expose the ‘scaffolding’ and listeners just want to hear the song. Don’t mention mistakes, it draws more attention to something that otherwise would have been ignored – just keep on going with the show.
• Why say “welcome back”? Where did the listener go? No where, you’re the only one who ‘went away’.
• Don’t take negative feedback and messages personally. Take positive and constructive feedback on board, but if it’s an unsolicited insult, delete it and move on.
• Do talk to the listener; talk to your one listener. People are often alone when listening, so address them personally. If you say “all you out there in radioland”, you will alieniate listeners, instead make the most of the privilege you have of talking to the listener one on one. Create an intimate connection with the listener.
• Wear your heart on your sleeve. By showing emotion you give something for people to respond to. When you give the listener insight into your life or opinions, they can agree and empathise with or disagree and challenge you.
• Be yourself. In the words of Oscar Wilde, “be yourself, everyone else is already taken”.

Đồng Tính Luyến Ái Project – Part 1

"Art is the lesser sister to medicine. It aims to heal." - Andrew Lam, gay Vietnamese writer

I’m working on an 8 part radio series focussing on the Vietnamese gay and lesbian queer community.

The project is in the early stages of planning and I’m looking for Vietnamese gay and lesbian people to interview. I would love if you can support the project by spreading the word. A call out was posted on Source Bottle; if you know anyone suitable, please let me know:

Seeking gay and lesbian Vietnamese people to share their coming out experiences for an 8 part radio documentary for queer radio station in Melbourne. You could be in Vietnam, Vietnamese born and immigrated overseas or of Vietnamese descent – we are looking for a broad diversity of people and stories. You don’t have to be gay either – we’re also looking for the perspective of those who are supportive, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, family and friends.

The interview can be conducted in English or Vietnamese as the show will be presented in both Vietnamese and English and your interview will be translated.

The radio documentary is an expose on Vietnamese gay and lesbian communities and will look at how the culture, society, politics and sociodemographic you’re most closely associated with affects your opinion or outlook on being gay / lesbian.

As this is all audio based, anonymity can be provided at your request, we will use audio distorting software to protect your identity. If anonymity is not an issue a photo may be requested in order to form part of the online and print press promotion of the project. You will be requested to fill in consent forms for use of your story and / or image.

In case you’re wondering about the Vietnamese in the title of this post, it translates to “same sex” (a term I learnt from SBS radio) and have decided to use as the working title for the project.