1. 18 | Word April 2015 | wordvietnam.com wordvietnam.com | April 2015 Word | 19
briefings
BRIEFINGS HANOI
The CabinetLGBT issues are gaining increasing attention in Vietnam, as witnessed by
last month’s exhibition at the Vietnam University of Fine Arts
S
ilhouettes on stands line one
wall of Hanoi’s first-ever LGBT
museum exhibition. Their darkly
outlined bodies twist in agony or
stand defiantly, filled with symbolic items
each artist chose to draw: shackles around
the ankles, cascading pills, stick figures
holding hands.
These images are among the first seen on
a visit to The Cabinet, an NGO-sponsored,
government-approved exhibition that tells
the stories of more than 70 lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender people in Vietnam.
Full of donated everyday items, letters,
clothes and photos, each represents a
memory or embodies an experience.
Hugging figurine salt-shakers and ao dai
share space with hormone pills and a
slashed teddy bear.
Coloured placards placed in front of each
display represent one of four themes: red
for ‘identity’, blue for ‘sorrow’, yellow for
‘pride’ and green for ‘sharing’. A drawer
in each exhibit’s stand opens to reveal the
accompanying text. Recorded interviews,
short documentaries and interactive iPads
allow visitors to explore the exhibit further.
“For the design [of the exhibition] we
talked about coming out of the closet, about
what LGBT people today want, feel and
have,” says Pham Khanh Binh, a programme
assistant for LGBT issues for iSEE, one of
the organisations that collaborated on the
exhibit.
A Long Journey
The Cabinet ran until Mar. 31, but its journey
began in 2009 when curator Dinh Thi Nhung
started collecting objects for an archiving
project with the Centre for Creative
Initiative in Health and Population
(CCIHP). The Unstraight Museum in
Stockholm and the Swedish Institute
stepped in, and they worked together for
years to make the exhibition happen.
“I think we wanted to tell the differences
between LGBT experiences and straight
ones, but also the similarities,” says
Nhung. “Telling something so personal is
difficult for everyone. I want people, when
they read, to see themselves in the stories.”
Being gay goes against the roles carved
out for most young people in Vietnam, and
no parent wants to see their child grow up
‘abnormal’ and ‘unhappy’, says Pham Huy
Thai, a 19-year-old Hanoi University of
Science student who visited The Cabinet.
The stories show that parents’ intentions,
while they could be good, hurt LGBT youth
in the long term.
“They cannot live for themselves,” Thai
says.
One silhouette figure’s brain holds a
cage surrounded by ivy. In the cage the
word “tam than,” or “insane,” is written.
The figure belongs to Tieu Nhat, born
in 1991, whose family took him to a
psychiatric centre when they discovered his
orientation.
“Only when Nhat… promised not to love
men anymore was he allowed to go back
to school,” the placard under the silhouette
reads.
While Tieu Nhat’s figure was allowed
to be part of the exhibition, some objects
were deemed too sensitive to display —
like a razor blade, needles used for silicone
injections and a marriage certificate with
two women’s names.
In response, empty stands and display
cases are scattered across The Cabinet —
subtle reminders of just how far LGBT
rights have to go in Vietnam.
Dao Mau
One glass case in the centre of the
exhibition holds a collection of ornate
jewellery leant by Hao Vu, 30, a doctor and
medium who lives in Hanoi. The antique
earrings and strings of beads belonged to
Vu’s uncle, a medium under the Dao Mau
(Mother Goddess) religion.
Vu’s uncle was a “dong co,” or
“effeminate medium,” and Vu inherited
his abilities. In Dao Mau, men can be
possessed by goddesses for certain rituals
that require wearing feminine clothing and
makeup.
“It was a taboo topic in my family — no
one wanted to talk about my uncle, and
they even prevented their kids from going
to see him,” says Vu.
It was acceptable for Vu’s uncle to
represent female spirits, but he lived his
personal life under ground, in loneliness.
Dao Mau is an essential part of
Vietnamese history, Vu says. It was a
bold move to include it in the exhibition,
because it shows that some of the country’s
ancient traditions were accepting of LGBT.
“Let society see that we are not
sickos, we are just normal,” he says.
“But we cannot achieve that yet. A lot of
organisations have to stand together and
make it happen.” — Annalise Frank
The Vietnam University of Fine Arts is at 42
Yet Kieu, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi
PhotosbyJulieVola