Taiwan’s first gay, lesbian bookstore has restroom with transparent walls

NEW DELHI - A gay and lesbian bookstore in Taiwan, which is the first to have been opened more than 11 years ago, has a restroom with transparent walls.

Lai Jeng-jer, 44, who himself is gay, is the owner of Gin Gin’s in southwest Taipei City, and he opened the bookstore in 1999 with the aim of providing a cosy, discrimination-free space for homosexuals, Xinhua reported.

The 132-square-meter store is painted pink and it carries gay and lesbian literature, magazines, comics, audio and visual products, as well as T-shirts, accessories, tank tops, and even condoms and sex toys.

“People are too conservative when it comes to the human body,” Jeng-jer said about the transparent restroom walls.

He also revealed that he has customers from Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Europe and America, and occasionally a few nuns would visit looking for tank tops, which are huge business for the store.

“I think they need them to hide their curves. I was surprised the first time I saw them in my store,” he laughingly said.

He also constantly invites experts and celebrities like singers, news anchors, writers and film directors to his store, and they have helped him attract a lot of media attention.

Gin Gin also opened its online shop in 2000 and on its homepage it has the slogan “We fly our own way”. (ANI)