A vibrant underground
Local Web sites cover a wide range of topics and activities, such as the information portal www.2girl.net (女子拉拉學園), LaLaInfo Workshop (拉拉資推工作室), mostly noted for hosting Les Cup (雷斯盃), the annual ball-games championship and LaMa News (拉媽報), an online newsletter addressing diverse family issues. Also operating online, the LesHand Association (拉拉手協會) runs a counseling service while Lez Radio (拉子三缺一) has built a solid audience base not only in Taiwan but other countries, especially in China, according to Serpent Baby (蛇寶貝), a radio show hostess and the association's founder.
The gay and lesbian movements in the 1990s paved the way for the emergence of diverse groups, particularly on the Internet.
"While the lesbian community may be largely absent from the media, there exists a vibrant energy, which is evident in the burgeoning agenda-specific online communities that are closely related to everyday life experiences and lesbian publication houses like Must Muster Publisher (集合出版社) and North Light (北極之光)," said GSRAT's Wang.
Some commentators, however, hold a less optimistic view of the Internet's power to boost social cohesion and foster a sense of identity.
"The Internet does solve some people's problems and enables them to reach out to others, but there are also a lot more gay women who are held back by the fear of being deceived and the dangers that may lurk in the virtual sphere," said Serpent Baby. "I think a supportive social network is a much more important aspect in the lives of lesbians. Internet resources are good, but they aren't equal to life experiences. Gay women need friends, real human attachments and emotions, knowing that if they need help, they have a group of people behind them."
Before the LesHand Association established itself as a credible online group, many community members were reluctant to get involved in the activities it organized, said Serpent Baby.
Against the odds
The desire to live in a gay-friendly environment is evident at Taipei's first, and only, exclusively lesbian store, Love Boat Lesbians Fashion Shop (愛之船拉拉時尚概念館), which opened around three years ago. "When we first opened the store catering only to gay women, many thought we wouldn't last ... . But over the years, people have come up to me and said it feels great to shop in a real store instead of on the Internet," said shop owner Vivi Li.
For young lesbians like Hsiao An, the image of a fervent gay-rights advocate may come from the not-so distant past as many members of the younger generation prefer to express their lesbian identities through lifestyle choices.
Individualism is said to be one of the driving forces behind the budding diversity of lifestyles and expressions of identity as traditional familistic ways of life fade, a process that fosters greater social acceptance of gay men and women.
"As lots of parents of gay children grew up in a time when society began to break away from its conservative fetters, I believe we will see a more tangible change in the next generation," said veteran gay activist Wang.
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