In
an open letter published by South China Morning Post on Wednesday, Gigi
Chao, 34, reaches out to her father, asking for him to come to terms
with the fact that she is a lesbian.
Earlier this month, Cecil Chao Sze-tsung, a 77-year-old property
magnate, insisted that Gigi was ‘still single’, despite the fact that
she married her long-term partner Sean Eav two years ago. He reportedly
offered to double his 2012 offer of $65m (£40m).
SEE Gigi’ Letter to her father:
Dear Daddy, I thought the timing was right for us to have a candid
conversation. You are one of the most mentally astute, energetic yet
well mannered and hard-working people this humble earth has ever known.
Your confidence, quick wit, and charisma brightens any room you enter. I
love you very much, and I think I can speak for my brothers also, that
we have the utmost respect for you as a father and role model in
business. I am sorry that people have been saying insensitive things
about you lately. The truth is, they don’t understand that I will always
forgive you for thinking the way you do, because I know you think you
are acting in my best interests. And we both don’t care if anybody else
understands. As your daughter, I would want nothing more than to make
you happy.
But in terms of relationships, your expectations of me and the
reality of who I am, are not coherent. I am responsible for some of this
misplaced expectation, because I must have misled you to hope there
were other options for me. You know I’ve had male lovers in the past,
and I’ve had happy, albeit short-lived, relationships. I found myself
temporarily happy, buoyed by the freshness, the attention, the interest,
of someone physically stronger than myself. But it was always
short-lived, as I quickly lost patience, and felt an indescribable
discomfort in their presence. It usually made me frustrated, and I would
yearn for my freedom again. I’ve broken a few hearts, hearts of good,
honest and loving men, and I’m sorry that it had to be so. But with
Sean, a woman, somehow it was different. I am comfortable and satisfied
with my life and completely at ease with her. I know it’s difficult for
you to understand how I could feel romantically attracted to a woman; I
suppose I can’t really explain it either. It just happens, peacefully
and gently, and after so many years, we still love each other very much.
My regret is that you have no idea how happy I am with my life, and
there are aspects of my life that you don’t share. I suppose we don’t
need each other’s approval for our romantic relationships, and I am sure
your relationships are really fantastic too. However, I do love my
partner Sean, who does a good job of looking after me, ensuring I am
fed, bathed and warm enough every day, and generally cheering me up to
be a happy, jolly girl. She is a large part of my life, and I am a
better person because of her. Now, I’m not asking you to be best of
friends; however, it would mean the world to me if you could just not be
so terrified of her, and treat her like a normal, dignified human
being. I understand it is difficult for you to understand, let alone
accept this truth. I’ve spent a lot of time figuring out who I am, what
is important in my life, who I love and how best to live life, as an
expression of all these questions. I am proud of my life, and I would
not choose to live it any other way (except also figuring out how to be
gentler on the planet). I’m sorry to mislead you to think I was only in a
lesbian relationship because there was a shortage of good, suitable men
in Hong Kong. There are plenty of good men, they are just not for me.
Wishing you happiness.
Patiently yours,
Your daughter, Gigi
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