This year, China has been named “the best country in the world”, “the nicest country in the world”, and “the most humble country in the world”. China was also voted one of the worst countries in the world for the LGBTQ community. In a recent survey by Nestpick, China’s capital city Beijing ranked last in most welcoming cities around the world for homosexuality.This is a result of the country’s emphasis on gender roles, and use of “conversion therapy”.  China’s government also categorized homosexuality as a mental illness up until the late 2000s.

Like most chinese children, 17 year old Zoe Zheng grew up in a conservative household. She lived in Hangzhou, a city on the eastern coast of China. She had never met any same-sex couples, so when she came to America to study, Zoe was shocked.

When she was 15, Zoe moved alone to Tacoma, Washington, a city outside Seattle. She attended an all girls boarding school, and on her first day, she noticed that her English teacher and her “dorm parent” had the same last name. Since they were both women, Zoe assumed they must be sisters although they looked very different from one another. When she learned they were actually married, Zoe was shocked. She had never seen a “real gay couple”. Zoe told her parents, who were also incredibly taken aback by this. Zoe explained she did not know how to interact with the couple, because she saw them as different from herself.

As the school year went on, Zoe got to know her teachers. She spoke with them more and more, and realized they are the same as anyone else. “ the two teachers did not have any difference from straight people,” said Zoe.

Zoe Zheng was raised in a country barely tolerant of homosexuality, and yet she learned to love and accept everyone regardless of their sexual orientation. She now fully supports gay marriage.

“They are just as same as us. I think everyone has their right to do whatever they like. People in the world should give them more support and love for them to actually be themselves,”said Zoe.