Utopia (website)

For other uses, see Utopia (disambiguation).

Utopia is a website offering free information about LGBT culture in 20+ countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Utopia-Asia.com, founded by American John C. Goss, was a ground-breaking Internet enterprise when it launched online from Bangkok, Thailand, on December 13, 1995. At the time, gay and lesbian information for most of the Asian region was hard to come by, even for LGBT citizens within their own countries. Over the past three decades (as of 2026), it has pioneered new business opportunities, published seminal books, and forged business and community relationships to emerge as a potent unifying force for Asian LGBT people.

The Utopia website was preceded by the opening of Southeast Asia's first gay and lesbian center, one year earlier, on Dec 15, 1994.[1][2] Goss and partners from Singapore, Thailand and the United States opened the Utopia complex in the Sukhumvit Road area of Bangkok and it included an LGBT bookshop, cafe, pub and guesthouse. The center went on to host author readings, women's workshops, AIDS/HIV education and fundraising,[3] and Bangkok's first International Lesbian and Gay Film/Video Festival: Hearts of Light (Oct 11-19, 1996), programmed by Canadian filmmaker, Paul Lee.[4][5]

The Utopia-Asia.com website was the first Internet portal providing pan-Asian LGBT information in a non-pornographic format. An archive of the Utopia website is available from 1996 onwards at The Wayback Machine. The website went on to garner recognition from TIME Magazine,[6][7] Lonely Planet, Yahoo!, Gay Times, Advocate[8] and BBC World Service.

Utopia was a founding sponsor of the first Bangkok Gay Festival in 1999,[9] the first Pattaya Gay Festival in 2001, and also sponsored the annual Phuket Gay Festival.

The annual Utopia Awards was established in 2000 to give special recognition to gay and lesbian pioneers in Asia and other worthy groups and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Asia's LGBT community.[10]

In 2005–2007, Goss began publication of ten landmark Utopia Guide books to gay and lesbian life in China; Cambodia/Laos/Myanmar/Vietnam; Thailand; Singapore; Malaysia; Indonesia; Japan; South Korea; Taiwan; and Asia (16 countries).[11]

Utopia continues to pursue its original goal to improve the lives of Asian lesbians and gay men, to build community, and to foster a deeper understanding of gay life in the region. The Utopia website remains the Internet's longest-running, comprehensive English-language resource for the multi-faceted homosexual subcultures of Asia.

References

  1. ^ Bangkok Metro Magazine, Dec 1994
  2. ^ LOOKEAST Magazine, Feb 1995, pages 23-26
  3. ^ The Blade, Mar 1998, page 46, 'Travel'
  4. ^ Bangkok Post, Sep 28, 1996, Outlook section pages 1 and 8, 'Utopian Gay and Lesbian Life'
  5. ^ Bangkok Metro Magazine, Oct 1996
  6. ^ TIME Asia Vol 151 No. 13, 'Travel Watch'
  7. ^ TIME Asia, Aug 18-25, 2003, 'TIME Traveler'
  8. ^ The Advocate, May 8, 2001, 'Orient Express'
  9. ^ Bangkok Metro Magazine No. 63, Oct 1999
  10. ^ The Nation, Nov 14, 2003, 'Ex-boxer, Senator Jon win gay awards'
  11. ^ 'Utopia Guide to...' series, Lulu; China (2005, 2006); Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam (2005, 2006); Japan, Korea, Taiwan (2006); Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia (2006); Asia (2006); Thailand (2006, 2007); South Korea (2007); Indonesia (2007); Malaysia (2007); Singapore (2007); Taiwan (2007), Japan (2007)


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