I first joined the bone marrow donor registry in the early nineties, after reading about a Chinese boy with leukemia who was looking for a match. Back then (and still the case now), Asian donors were rare, and finding a match if you are of Asian ethnicity or hapa unlikely. It’s almost 20 years later after I joined the registry, and while the issues around bone marrow donation haven’t changed much, the available methods to recruit new donors has.

In today’s web-centric world, social networking sites like Facebook have changed the way searches for bone marrow donors can be executed, sometimes with incredible results. The 32 year old founder of Photojojo, Amit Gupta, turned to social networking when he was diagnosed with leukemia and was in need of a bone marrow donor. And there’s no doubt as to why. Gupta has 17,700 followers on Twitter, 13,000 friends on Facebook (plus 422 subscribers) and a strong web presence on Tumblr, Flickr and other social media platforms. Gupta and his supporters have used social networking to spread news about “swab” parties, where potential donors can be swabbed and added to the donor list to see if they are a match.

As an Indian-American, Gupta’s odds of finding a donor are slim, about 1 in 20,000 (compare that with over 90% of Caucasians finding a match in the U.S.). South Asians, like other minorities in the US, are dramatically under-represented in the national bone marrow registry. We’ve discussed on 8Asians previously why Asians are reluctant to be donors of any type and even mentioned Gupta’s search for a bone marrow donor. But what surprised me most was finding out that among those South Asians that sign up to be a bone marrow donor and subsequently match someone looking for a donor, approximately half decline to actually donate when told they are a match.

The reason so many South Asians decline have to do with why they joined the donor list to begin with. Many agreed to be “swabbed” and typed because someone they knew personally, usually a friend or family member needed a bone marrow donation. The prospective donor didn’t match their friend, but instead matched a complete stranger waiting for a donation. Partially because of cultural norms, they declined to give a part of themselves to a complete stranger. So, while we may be getting the word out through new mechanisms like social networking, there’s still a lot of cultural barriers to overcome to help those in need of a bone marrow donation.

While I personally disagree with some of the policies in the bone marrow donation program, specifically around gay men, I still continue to recommend people join the list, especially if you’re a minority or mixed race. I myself joined the list in defiance of the policy against gay men in place at the time I joined. If I match, I plan on being completely up front to any recipient family about my “gay” status, and I’d be willing to submit HIV tests to the recipient and their family. It would be up to them to turn me down as a donor.

I have one final story to relay about bone marrow donors. Last year, my cousin agreed to be swabbed as part of a drive to find a donor for a local patient in his area of the country. Incredibly, he matched, and because the recipient was in the last stages where they could receive a transplant, my cousin cancelled a family vacation with his wife and kids so he could undergo the donation procedure that same week. So kudos to my cousin, and may many of you follow his example. And remember donating bone marrow isn’t as painful or difficult as it used to be, so there’s really no excuse for not finding out if you can be the match.

If you’re familiar with the controversial children’s book, And Tango Makes Three, the idea of “gay” penguins raising a baby penguin isn’t surprising. And Tango Makes Three was based on the real-life story of two male chinstrap penguins at the New York Central Park Zoo, who became loving partners, and were eventually given a their own egg (one that was abandoned by another penguin couple) to hatch and raise. Two new African male penguins in China are now making the headlines, with their story of raising a baby penguin as well.

These two penguins, dubbed “Adam and Steve” by Time NewsFeed are at the Harbin Polar Land Zoo in northern China. After zookeepers there noticed they had paired up, they not only followed in Roy and Silo’s (the penguins at the Central Park Zoo) footsteps by giving them a baby penguin to raise, they also held a same sex wedding for the pair as a reward for being the best penguin parents at the zoo.

It’s especially refreshing and also surprising given the zoo’s location in China, which hasn’t been known particularly for protecting human rights or even gay rights.

And Tango Make Three is one of my favorite children’s books, and also one of my daughter’s favorite bedtime books. The book is notorious for also making the Top 10 Most Controversial Books of 2009. The topic of “gay” penguins is controversial not only for the same sex relationship, but the idea that animals can be homosexual which is still a debated topic among scientists and advocate groups.

Regardless of where you stand on the “gay” issue, these penguin stories remain beautiful stories of love, commitment and parenthood.

By Johnny C

[EDITORS NOTE: This is a review for the Queers on the Verge Shorts Program at the San Diego Asian Film Festival.]

The presence and portrayal of any group in cinema is called into question when they are marginalized by ignorance or bigotry—and often times, it’s both. Whether it’s negative portrayals based off of offensive stereotypes or an utter lack of representation, the question remains: how do people tell their story if those talking about them don’t really know what the story is?

Both the Asian Americans and the queer communities have definitely come a long way in the past decade, going from being almost nonexistent in mainstream to a rare appearance and usually negative misrepresentation, it is definitely the right time to bring about the stories of a less visible group: queers in Asian and Asian American film and entertainment.

A series of shorts dealing with a variety of issues—especially perspectives of queers and others with their misunderstanding and biases against them, Queers on the Verge had few stories that were distinctly both queer and Asian, but for the most part, were stories that could easily be retold that were race neutral.

To be fair, that is still a good thing. There may not be many voices that have emerged to describe a distinct Asian American flavor in queer cinema (or perhaps queer flavor in Asian American cinema), but the fact that many of the actors, writers, and directors are predominantly Asian shows a triumph in creativity rather than typecasting or stereotyping.

From the award-winning short Andy by Andrew Ahn about homophobic reactions to ambiguous-yet-innocuous events that may or may not been sexual, to the touching Tsuyako about a Japanese woman’s dilemma between duty and love, and the tear-inducing Viewer Discretion Advised/Tape 96, this screening will stir unfamiliar feelings in familiar ways with each story, which we can all relate to in one way or another.

Even as a straight Asian male, I could share the awkwardness of sitting in a bus in San Francisco and wondering if a girl would reciprocate interest or if I would look silly letting her know—even if Narissa Lee’s The Bus Pass was about a queer girl finding another girl attractive and adding the extra layer of complication and self-doubt: is that pretty girl queer too?

The point is, these are stories that are all distinctly queer, Asian American, queer and Asian American, and at a certain point, universal. We celebrate our diversity through events like SDAFF and this screening of Queers on the Verge, but we walk out of it finding out that we all aren’t that much different from one another: we are all human beings experiencing joy and pain in whatever shape or form it comes to us in.

ABOUT JOHNNY C: John “Johnny C” Chuidian was born in California and grew up in Hong Kong and Manila. He is currently a student at UCSD’s graduate school of International Relations and Pacific Studies, and hopes to use his specialization to raise awareness of global issues and call people to take action, especially in Southeast Asia. He will be going to film his first mini-documentary in Thailand this December on human trafficking and sex slaves, and can be followed on his project blog at johnnycrockstheplanet.wordpress.com

APA Faith Matters is a periodic interview of Asian Pacific American (APA) leaders in various religious contexts. It highlights those leaders who are passionate about social justice issues that matter to APA communities and work from within their religious contexts.

Patrick S. Cheng is the Assistant Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He is a member of the American Academy of Religion, and also writes for the religion and gay voices sections of the Huffington Post. He is one of the few voices that courageously speaks out for a group that continues to be marginalized, particularly in the Christian church.

What is your religious background? 

I was raised in a Roman Catholic household.  I was received into the Episcopal Church over thirteen years ago, and I have worked for the Episcopal Church for over a decade both as a lawyer and as a seminary professor.  I have served as an ordained minister with the Metropolitan Community Churches, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) affirming denomination that is open to all, since 2001.

Is being Asian American a part of or impact your religious perspective/experience, if so, how?

 Yes.  I am very much interested in the pastoral care of Asian Americans, and especially those who identify as LGBTIQ.  I am the coordinator of Queer Asian Spirit, a worldwide group for LGBTIQ people of Asian descent who are interested in religious and spiritual issues.  I also work with contextual theologies in my scholarship (that is, theologies written from the perspective of particular identity groups), including Asian American theology and queer theologies.

 What social/political issues are you passionate about the most?

 As an openly gay Asian American man, I am particularly passionate about issues of racism (including the racism that exists within the predominantly white LGBTIQ community) as well as homophobia and transphobia (including the homophobia and transphobia that exists within the predominantly straight Asian American community).  I am also committed to class issues, particularly those that affect recent immigrant populations in the United States.

 How does your religion impact or shape your view on those issues?

I believe that — in the same way it played an important role in the civil rights struggles of the the 1960s — the Christian faith continues to have relevance for the liberation of Asian Americans, LGBTIQ people, and other marginalized individuals in our society.  For me, the incarnation is an affirmation of the goodness of the human body, and it is a revelation of God’s ultimate solidarity with all who suffer, even to the point of being tortured and executed by the political and religious authorities.  However, the resurrection is God’s promise that crucifixion and death is never the last word.  I recently published “Radical Love: An Introduction to Queer Theology,” which argues that both Christianity and queer theory address the same fundamental issues — that is, a love so radical that it dissolves boundaries — notwithstanding the general (mis)perception that the two are not compatible.

Do you think the Protestant church as an institution can affect change in social issues? Why or why not?

Yes.  I believe that taking scripture seriously — which is a core value for Protestants — leads to a fundamental commitment to social justice and making the world better — and not worse — place for all people, including LGBT people.  There are only a handful of verses in the Bible that purportedly refer to same-sex acts (which I believe are actually talking about things like rape and not the same-sex relationships as we understand them today), as opposed to dozens if not hundreds of verses about loving one’s neighbor and especially caring for the least among us.  Also, the traditional doctrine of original sin demonstrates that we are ALL subject to self-deception, self-interest, and critique.  As such, it encourages us to be constantly vigilant about how God might be calling us to affect change in the world in unexpected ways.

 Does ecumenism or interfaith dialogue play a role in your faith perspective on justice issue? How?

Yes.  As an Asian American theologian, it is important for me to affirm the East Asian faith traditions of my ancestors, not to mention the traditions of the vast majority of people of Asian descent around the world.  Because we are human and not divine, we are all limited in our ability to grasp ultimate reality fully, and understanding the religious, spiritual, and philosophical views of others can be a valuable way of understanding the complexity of that ultimate reality.  This openness to interfaith and ecumenical dialogue doesn’t weaken my commitment to the Christian faith, but rather deepens and enriches it.

Patrick S. Cheng is the author of Radical Love: An Introduction to Queer Theology. More information about him can be found at his website or you can follow him on Twitter.