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.
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.
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 TV show 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.
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.