Christepher Wee 王崇偉 is the newly crowned Mr. Gay Canada 2014. An educator by professional, Christepher aims to make a positive difference in the LGBT, youth, and Asian communities.
Christepher was acting, TV hosting, and modelling extensively in HK, China, Singapore and Taiwan. To date, he has appeared in over 50 TV commercials and ad campaigns. He has hosted and acted in many TV programs, dramas, and movies.
View his website for more info.
http://www.christepherwee.com
Travis Price and David Shepherd's voices and actions gave birth to a life changing national and global campaign that addresses bullying and educates the importance of safe schools, workplaces, neighbourhoods, communities for everyone to co-exist without fear and harassment. Thank-you Travis and David for making such an impact on the countless number of lives from that one action of compassion. Bravo to all the volunteers of all ages, firefighters, police officers, paramedics, public figures who braved the morning cold to make a positive difference by promoting and raising funds for anti-bullying. Your voices were heard and actions seen! Thank-you for leading by example! Today I witnessed the power of unity and experienced the collective peoples that made one voice..."we as a society will not tolerate bullying anywhere." - See more at: http://www.pinkshirtday.ca/about/#sthash.C7MMKcAV.dpuf
Exercise your voice and make a positive difference. BE PROACTIVE!
Top 5 Ways to Get Involved in the Pink Shirt Day Campaign
On Wednesday, February 26th, 2014, Pink Shirt Day takes place in schools, workplaces, and neighbourhoods across the nation, and features individuals like you and I bringing awareness to the anti-bullying cause.
This campaign was inspired by the story of students in Nova Scotia who decided to take action after witnessing another student being bullied for wearing a pink shirt to school. And so, each year on this last Wednesday in February, hundreds of thousands use Pink Shirt Day to commit to “making some noise against bullying”. To date, over $650,000 has been raised for anti-bullying programs as a result of the campaign organized by CKNW Orphans’ Fund – and the goal for 2014’s Pink Shirt Day campaign is to raise $300,000!
Much still needs to be done for our children on the anti-bullying front, which is why we are proud to support the Pink Shirt Day cause.
Here are the top 5 ways YOU can get involved in the campaign:
1) Purchase official Pink Shirt Day t-shirts – and know that net proceeds will be donated to anti-bullying programs in BC such as Boys & Girls Clubs, Red Cross RespectED Violence Prevention Program, and Kids Help Phone. You can purchase shirts online at PinkShirtDay.ca or in stores at London Drugs!
2) Hold a fundraiser in your office or with a group of friends. You can also contact CKNW Orphans’ Fund’s Teresa at teresa.wong@cknw.com for Pink Shirt Day buttons and encourage people in your office or school to wear them for a minimum donation of $2. You collect the money and then send in the donation.
3) Check out PinkShirtDay.ca and Twitter @pinkshirtday for updates about fundraisers that are happening around the province such as pink cupcakes at Take Five Cafe and many more!
4) Watch our 2014 PSA and tweet how you’re supporting #pinkshirtday!
5) On February 26th, join in and “Make Some Noise Against Bullying!”
CKNW Orphans’ Fund’s Pink Shirt Day is coming up on Wednesday, February 26th and we’re hoping you’ll consider supporting this great cause! Check out the Pink Shirt Day website and follow along on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
#pinkshirtday @pinkshirtday #antibullying #education #diversity #worldpride #mrgayworld #mrgaycanada #LGBT #GSA #NOH8 #PSST #PEN #outinschools #humanrights #school #student #equality #hi5diversity #gender #race #religion #culture #multiculture #sochi #russia #arizona #uganda #nigeria
Mr. Gay Canada is not just a title – especially not to Christepher Wee, this year’s winner of the competition. To him, it’s what a person does with that title that matters, and Christepher is concerning himself with making a difference. After being inspired by his friend to donate money and energy into an orphanage in Cambodia that cares for children suffering from HIV, he began to set his sights elsewhere. In what other ways could he help travel the world and make a difference? The answer came to him in the world of pageants.
We were able to sit down and chat with Christepher about his victory, the support form the international community, and what he plans to do now that he has been voted in as Mr. Gay Canada.
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VIDEO - Mr. GayCanada Christepher Wee Interview
GC: How does it feel being the new Mr. Gay Canada 2014? CW: I’m on cloud one hundred and ten, it’s been amazing! It didn’t really hit me until I got back to the hotel room and sat down – it just hit me. I was on such a high of excitement. I didn’t expect anything and I’m just so overwhelmed. I’mstill a bit overwhelmed. The support has been amazing. I won the People’s Choice Award, and that’s by voters online, and I had such overwhelming support from all over the world, especially from Asia. I think in Asia they made a connection, and I got to represent them, and their voice. In that culture you can’t really come out that much. I had so many messages every day on Facebook and on Twitter, thanking me and saying how proud they are of me. And when they found out I won, I got even more messages, I can’t even keep up with them. I’m really grateful for everyone who voted.
Christepher Wee, Mr. Gay Canada 2014 is an energetic and amazingly positive guy. He thinks of himself primarily as an educator and uses his success in modeling, acting and pageantry as a vehicle for his activism. Shannon Waters caught up with Christepher to talk about his new title, what he thinks about the Olympics and what he plans on doing next.
We’d be more than happy to high five Christepher for diversity!
Sad Mag: Who are you?
Christepher Wee: I’m just a collective contribution of everything since my childhood—my parents, teachers, education, upbringing, the things I’ve learned. That’s who I am today. And every time I experience something, like this competition and the people I meet — well, you grow a little more every day. I live life just as a normal human being, doing the best I can, being a humanitarian. I’m going through life being the best human I can. Christepher Wee is a collective being of all of the positive things that have gone through my life.
SM: Tell me about the Mr. Gay Canada competition.
CW: I didn’t actually know there was a Mr. Gay Canada. Since I was young, I’ve always loved pageants. I always watched them with my mom—Ms. Universe, Ms. World, and all that. I was watching pageants on YouTube and I’d always known these ladies have a platform for charity and I wondered if I could do something like that. You see, as a teacher, I knew I could influence my students but the range kind of stops outside of your class or your school. I realized as an actor my voice was more powerful and I could influence more through my TV shows or as the spokesperson for a particular cause. I watched Ms. America and the winner, you know, was of East Indian descent and the runner up of Chinese descent, and I thought, wow, what a change! What a celebration of diversity! And then I watched Ms. World and I wondered…so I Googled Mr. World. And I found out they do have one and I was kind of blown away. So I wondered, do they have a Mr. Gay World? And they do. So I applied and the next thing I knew, I was in the Mr. Gay Canada pageant. I didn’t really expect anything of it—I thought I could use it as a platform to do what I wanted to do. I thought it would be a good place because the press would be there and lots of different organizations would be there and I could make connections and network within the community to do what I wanted to do.
SM: And you came out on top!
CW: I came out on top! I’m the first Asian winner of Mr. Gay Canada. I’m also the first competitor to win all of the accolades. I won Best National Costume—the winner wears their costume at the Mr. Gay World competition. I won with a Chief Justice costume (from the Supreme Court of Canada). I thought it would be a good costume because Canada is so progressive in its human rights; we’ve always been a leader in that, that it would be great. You know, instead of the usual, like a Mountie or a hockey player. The Supreme Court Justice costume speaks to a national philosophy, a belief behind what we’re striving for in the world. I didn’t expect to win—there were so many other amazing costumes—but I did.
I also won Mr. Congeniality. All of the guys were so great so the fact that I was voted Mr. Congeniality was really touching.
And then there was People’s Choice award. I was a bit worried about that because, having just come back to Canada, I didn’t think I would have Vancouver or BC voting for me. My group of friends is mainly in Asia so I messaged them to tell them I was a finalist in Mr. Gay Canada and asked them to vote for me and to get the word out and I was overwhelmed. My Facebook account had maybe 800 or 900 people on it and then every day it would increase by 100, 150. And I received messages and messages. I had so many messages from Asia, from strangers, from people I didn’t even know. And then I received messages from people in Saudia Arabia and Venezuela and all over the world—messages of support saying, “You represent us,” “You are our voice,” “You are our hope.”
Like I said before, I try to live my life just as a human being. I’m not doing this because I’m Asian, to benefit the Asian community, or even to benefit the LGBTQ community. I’m doing it because it will benefit all humankind. So it really hit me when I realized that I am a representative for people.
SM: So now that you’ve got the title and the platform, what are you looking to do with it?
CW: My platform has always been with youth because I teach. In Canada, we have the Gay/Straight Alliance and in BC, we have Out in Schools. But I’d like to build on that—I think we need support programs in every school. I bet every school has an annual club and every school has a student council and now, pretty much every school has an anti-bullying campaign with the pink T-shirt day. So why not make a club in every school that celebrates diversity?
I would like to start High Five Diversity. Little kids are taught to high five when they do something good—it has a positive association. The word diversity also has positive associations and lacks the stigma of, say, tolerance or inclusiveness. Instead of saying, ‘Let’s be inclusive,’ let’s celebrate our diversity. Let’s learn from our diversity, let’s educate each other on our differences and let’s celebrate them. Diversity should be a part of everyday life. And I think we’re at the point where we can make that shift and make diversity a part of education and let kids feel safe and secure and be who they are.
I’ve started Hi5Diversity on Twitter—@WeeChristepher and #hi5diversity—but I want to see it in schools. I’d like to create a Facebook page as well, where people, especially kids, can upload artwork or poems or whatever that celebrate diversity.
In the meantime, I’m in touch with GSA and Pride Education and Out in Schools, to see how they can use my sash for their cause. Because this is something that I want to do long term and a year is just going to fly by. After a year, when you’re no longer Mr. Gay Canada, how loud is your voice? I want to spend this year being very active.
Being a role model is top on Christepher’s list.
As soon as I got back from Whistler, I emailed Tim Stevenson (Vancouver City Council member) in Sochi and told him, “I’m the new Mr. Gay Canada, I want to see how I can contribute.” I didn’t think he would respond. But within hours, Maureen Douglas responded and said, “Tim got your email, he’s really busy right now but he’s interested in getting in touch with you when he gets back from Sochi.” So I’m really excited about that!
SM: Let’s talk about the Olympics. Have you been watching them?
CW: I watched a bit of the opening ceremony yesterday with friends. One of my friends asked me a really good question. He asked me if I support the Olympics. I said I do support the Olympics and the athletes, especially the athletes. Because they have worked so hard and this is a time for them to show their excellence, their unity and what they’ve worked so hard for. This is something we need to celebrate. But I don’t support what’s going on in Russia. Those are two different things. I actually think the fact that the Olympics are being held there is fantastic as previously there was talk of a boycott. I don’t think boycotting is the right route, necessarily, especially in this case. Here you have the global media on site at the location of horrible repression. What better way to draw attention, to get it out into the world, than to have the world’s athletes there and the press that goes with that? Maybe the world unified and all of those voices unified can change a few politicians’ minds, can change the country. Maybe. But at least it’s better than having a boycott. I think when we have social issues, they need to be addressed and out there. We need to build awareness for it and build a discourse in every country for it.
Sometimes I think we kind of forget that our pioneers got us where we are today. That’s why I can sit here and have that freedom to say what I want and to wear a sash that says Mr. Gay Canada. We’ve moved a long ways but that doesn’t mean we can take it for granted. Depending on who is in power, things can regress very quickly. I don’t think we can take it for granted at all, that freedom, and I think we need to be very aware of what is happening with our global neighbours because what’s happening to them could come around and affect us. And these days, with social media, we are so interconnected that we can make a difference in each other’s countries.
SM: Have you seen some of the athletes at the Olympics sporting LGBTW supportive gear?
CW: It gives me goosebumps, all the way to my head. It’s exciting. That’s why I said; we need to have presence there. Those rainbows—the world knows what the rainbow means, what it represents. And they know what pink represents and what the red ribbon represents. We all know those symbols and when they see them, people make that connection. That’s why I think it’s great that we’re not boycotting the Olympics. We should celebrate what these athletes are doing. We shouldn’t condone what’s going on in Russia—we need to speak up—but the athletes are there to show their dedication and their excellence. They’re great ambassadors. It just goes to show that we can be united and maybe we can get a few politicians to change their mindsets so that our brothers and sisters in Russia can have the freedom to live. Just the right to live and not be beaten up or spat on. I think it’s about more than just the LGBTQ community. It’s also about bullying. Because if it can happen to the LGBTQ community, it can happen to other communities too. Whoever is living in a country and is identified as not belonging or fitting in. specific criteria.
SM: You’ve moved around a lot—tell me about your travels and your time in Asia.
CW: I traveled a lot as a kid. My parents made a point of taking us on a trip pretty much every summer. It ‘s something I’ve always been interested in: traveling and seeing different cultures. When I left Vancouver and went to Asia, I was teaching International Baccalaureate Art and I wanted to go and study Asian art to be able to incorporate Asian art and art history into my program. So I took a leave of 6 months…that then turned into years. While I was in Asia, I was discovered for modeling. And then the modeling took off and led to TV.TV took off and led to film and I found a whole new existence I’d never thought about it. I found that what I could do with it was amazing. As an educator, you always have that inner drive to influence and have an impact. I know that kind of sounds cliché, like world peace, but I think that’s the way I was brought up. It’s been my mentality since I was young: to make a positive difference and to be a role model. So when I found a bit of fame and found that I could use my voice to impact so many, it drove me to become even more involved.
SM: It sounds a bit as if you saw modeling and acting as a means to an end, so to speak. Was that always how you saw it or did that change over time?
CW: It was that way from the start. At first, I was doing my art research and doing a bit of modeling and it was good, the money was good. But when you’re modeling, people don’t really know your name—they associate you with a brand. I knew people recognized me and there was an element of celebrity there but it wasn’t until film, when my name was out there and people started saying, “That’s Christepher Wee,” that’s when I realized that they really knew me. That’s when I started to do a lot of interviews. I’d done interviews before as a model, but these were much more intimate and I realized that I had a lot of options. Then I started to be approached by local newspapers to write as a guest journalist about social issues. I was approached by Teen Magazine! Charities would ask me to just show up to their events. Some people would get really excited about going to the fancy parties and stuff but to me it’s just a job. I go to the shoot because that’s my job. I’m in a TVshow because that’s my job and I want to do the best I can at every job I have. I don’t think, “Oh, I’m famous, I’m better than you,” because I’m still Christepher Wee. Before I started doing any of this and who I am now, it’s still Christepher Wee. Nothing has changed in the core. But now I have the ability to use my name to do something and so I’m going to use it.
We wish Christepher luck in the future! With a smile like that, how could he lose?
SM: Do you have any particular role models for your activism?
CW: So many! So many people have gotten us to where we are today. People in science and arts and languages and technology, humanitarianism and social work—it’s taken people in all of those areas to get us to where we are today.
I love quotes. When I find a quote that really speaks to me, I Google who wrote it or said it to learn about them. I find out about their contributions and so I’m always finding new role models.
Chris Morrissey of the Rainbow Refugee Association, was at the Mr. Gay Canada Competition. She spoke to us about refugee issues and international LGBTQ issues. That’s someone who has done amazing work! And Ellen DeGeneres or even Obama, those are the people that I hope to emulate. They’re my ah-ha! moments. I’m hoping that soon I will be able to be someone’s ah-ha! moment. I think I’m getting there, some of my former students have told me I’ve inspired them. I told my students that I was a finalist in Mr. Gay Canada. At first, I didn’t but eventually it got out – and they all gave me their support!
I think if I can leave some kind of impression on people, they way that all of these other people have left an impression on me, that’s a worthy goal. If everyone can leave ah-ha! moments for others, instead of negative impacts, I think our world would be so different. In terms of what’s going on in Russia right now, people are spreading these videos of violence against LGBTQ people around, trying to raise awareness. But some people who see those videos won’t be educated – they may go the opposite way and think, if others are doing it, why can’t I? I think there are two sides to the activism coin – why not be on the positive side?
SM: So it sounds like you’ve got a lot on your plate as Mr. Gay Canada this year. Do you know what comes next?
CW: Well, Mr. Gay World is coming up in August so I have to prepare for that. It’s not just about your good looks or nice body—it’s about what you bring to the organization and what you can do. The past Mr. Gay World’s have been amazing ambassadors for their platforms—they’re inspirations. The winner for this year will have big shoes to fill so I’m working towards that, towards making the judges know that I’m doing this for more than glamour. I’ve done that, I know what it’s like to have celebrity and to be in the papers. It’s irrelevant to me. It’s what you do behind the name and the title that matters. So I want to be really prepared for that and, regardless of the results, I know that, being on the world stage, my voice will be bigger. And if I win? Wow, that’s another sash that will launch me to a different level in terms of what I can do. I’m excited! I’m not getting my hopes up that I can win because, regardless, just making it there to the world stage is a win and it already gives what I want to do a bigger platform.
You can follow Christepher Wee on Twitter (@ChristepherWee) and on Facebook. He also holds the Twitter handle @WeeChristepher as a platform for his hi5Diversity program.
Christepher's SAD MAG Interview.
Thank-you Shannon Waters for taking the time to chat with me.
Mr. Gay Canada 2014 Christepher Wee led the WinterPRIDE parade through Whistler Village.
METRO VANCOUVER'S CHRISTEPHER Wee is the first Asian Canadian to win the title of Mr. Gay Canada. But he says he hadn't given much thought about his racial identity.
"Live your life as best you can as a humanitarian and your labels fall secondary," he says of his personal philosophy. "For me, I don't go through life helping someone…because I'm Chinese or I'm an LGBT member. I'm doing it because I'm a human being and that's what we should be doing."
On the other hand, Wee, in an interview with the Georgia Straight at the Whistler Conference Centre, says that what partly inspired him to enter the contest was Miss New York Nina Davuluri, who won Miss America 2013, and Miss California Crystal Lee, who was first runner-up. After seeing an Indian American and Chinese American top the Miss America pageant, he began to wonder what was available for gay men. He had grealtly admired the initiative of a friend who quit his job to do charity work in Cambodia, and he in turn wondered what could be done on a national or international level. After stumbling upon Mr. Gay Canada in a Google search, he decided to give it a go. Regional competitions were held in Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Victoria, and Vancouver. After a three-day competition during Whistler's WinterPRIDE LGBT ski week that included sports, fashion, and public speaking challenges, Wee won the title on January 30. (He inherits the position from 2013 winner Danny Papadatos. Wee, who was born in Singapore to ethnic Chinese parents from Singapore and Malaysia but grew up in Vancouver, was surprised to receive hundreds of Facebook messages thanking him, particularly from Asia. "I had messages like 'I'm so proud of you. You represent us Asians,'" he says. "I didn't even think I was Asian when I was applying and it really hit me when I got all these messages saying you represent us and you are our voice because part of my message was I would like to use my voice and be heard." The Coquitlam resident won the peoples' choice award, the best costume award (for dressing up as a Justice of Supreme Court of Canada with a rainbow strip to represent Canada's stance for human rights), and the Mr. Congeniality award. Although LGBT rights in Asia have a long ways to go (even in his birthplace of Singapore, homosexuality is still illegal), he says his family was always accepting of his sexual orientation. "I would talk to them openly about things as though it's like daily life," he says. "It's not like a big deal." His experiences of being in the public eye in Asia, after becoming a model and actor, gave him training to be a role model. He says he felt it prepared him for the competition and helped him become a better teacher. Teaching and education issues remain a priority for him. In his capacity as Mr. Gay Canada, he wants to work with organizations like Out in Schools, Pride Education Network, and gay-straight alliances. "My goal is to get Out in Schools and all those programs more into our school system, especially outside of the city," he says. By doing so, he believes all students will benefit by improving their social skills. "Every person needs to learn how to live in society. The young, they learn how to be more understanding and whatnot, it will help them in their workplace. It will help them when they go to postsecondary, or if they move out of the country. When we move out of the country and live in different places, you have to adapt to different cultures…so I think it's a good thing for kids to learn at a young age." He prefers not to use the word "inclusion" because he feels it emphasizes who isn't included. "For me, it's more like a celebration of the diversity in the school, whether it's gender or religion or your race or your sexual orientation [and it's important] to learn from each other about the differences and celebrate those differences." Wee hopes to meet with city councillor Tim Stevenson, who is currently on a mission to the Sochi Winter Olympics to advocate for LGBT rights, and he will also go on to compete in the Mr. Gay World competition in August in Rome, Italy. While he feels that Canada has significantly progressed thanks to previous generations of LGBT pioneers and activists who fought for rights and acceptance, he cites Russia as an example of how things can change for the worse. "We can't just focus on Canada," he says. "We also have to look globally at how we can influence [others] as well." You can follow Craig Takeuchi on Twitterat twitter.com/cinecraig. You can also follow the Straight's LGBT coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/StraightLGBT.
