An estimated 16 million women in China are married to gay men. Most of these women entered their marriages unaware of their husbands’ sexual orientations. Discrimination and parental pressure are key reasons why these unions persist. Gay men and lesbian women often resort to marrying each other to hide their sexuality and to please their parents. Although the issue has been covered by both Chinese and international media in written stories, this photo essay is groundbreaking for the way it visualizes the topic.
Chinafile is an online magazine published by the Center on U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society, dedicated to promoting an informed, nuanced, and vibrant public conversation about China, in the U.S. and around the world.
Award-winning photojournalist Kevin Frayer has witnessed war and world-changing events. But it’s out on the fringes of society that he really found his voice. Here, he shares his hard-won advice for young photographers chasing authentic stories beyond the beaten track.
Kevin Frayer
Kevin Frayer had to reach the roof of the world to understand what was driving him. An award-winning Canadian photojournalist, Frayer cut his teeth working for his hometown newspaper, The Winnipeg Sun, before graduating to The Associated Press in 2003 where he covered high-stakes stories across India and the Middle East. In 2013, he left the AP to pursue personal work and now freelances for Getty from his base in Beijing, where he lives with his wife Janis, young son Jetsun, a dog called Uma and three refugee cats.
Kevin Frayer
The stories he covers dig below the surface of the China we think we know; a country so gigantic in size and scale that its full complexity seems to baffle our minds. Pushing past stereotypes and the straight lines of preconceptions, Frayer finds himself journeying off track to seek out jagged stories that exist on the fringes; from Tibetan nomads whose way of life is being threatened by climate change, rapid modernisation and forced resettlement, to the Kazakh eagle hunters of far-western Xinjiang. (Text by Andrea Kurland)
Huck celebrates independent culture – people and movements that paddle against the flow. Inspired by DIY principles and rooted in the rebellious heritage of surf and skate, Huck roams the globe to document grassroots counterculture as it unfolds, seeking out freethinkers who are a wellspring of new thoughts and ideas.
Kevin Frayer is an award -winning photojournalist based in Asia. Frayer is formerly a National photographer at the Canadian Press and a Chief Photographer for the Associated Press based in the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem, and New Delhi, India and is currently working with Getty Images. His photographs have been widely published in leading newspapers, magazines and internet sites around the world. He now resides in Beijing with his wife Janis, his son Jetsun, his dog Uma, and three refugee cats.
