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quirkytaiwan:

13 Photos From Taiwan’s First Same-Sex Buddhist Marriage

Huang Mei-yu and Yu Ya-ting wed Saturday in a traditional Buddhist ceremony. Their union still isn’t recognized by the Taiwanese government, though support for gay marriage is mounting across Asia.

By Jessica Testa on Buzzfeed

Buddhist Master Shih Chao-hwei performed the ceremony, giving the women his full support: “I am certain you will lead a life of happiness together, especially after you have overcome so much difficulty and societal discrimination,” he said. “You have blessings not only from the Buddha, but also from those whom you may or may not know who are in attendance.”

The woman they’re hugging in the bottom left picture is Taiwanese celebrity 朱慧珍, Zhu Hui Zheng, also known as Rainbow Mother for her open support for her lesbian daughter ever since she came out. She recently lost her daughter after she committed suicide due to a break up, it was a devastating story when I saw it on the news. Her involvement and outspoken support for the LGBTQ community is rare amongst celebrities or politicians in Taiwan. This is all absolutely beautiful. I have never been so proud to be a Buddhist.

(via fuckyeahasiandykes)

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