"His being gay doesn't make him less my son," said Sarah, an American mother speaking at the third meeting of the Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) China in Beijing last weekend. "God made him. It's natural, like people's eye colors, blue or brown."

More than 100 gay men, lesbians and their parents gathered at the Longdinghua Hotel in Chaoyang district to discuss their families' experiences in addressing their children's homosexuality, calling for social acceptance and support.

Sarah, who only gave her first name, participated in the meeting to provide the mostly local attendees with an example of how to be publicly accepting of one's gay or lesbian children.

"The attendees have doubled since our first gathering on January 4 and 5 last year," said PFLAG China's founder Wu Youjian, a 63-year-old mother whose son is gay. Wu founded PFLAG China in Guangzhou on June 28, 2008, with plans to hold annual meetings.

Wu views the attendees as her children, and many stopped by to ask "Wu Mom" for a hug during the tea break.

"They're not ill, sick or abnormal," said Wu. "They're just children who need understanding and support from their families and society."

In many foreign countries, parents are more likely to defend their homosexual children against outside pressure. In contrast, due to Chinese traditions of family and filial piety, parents here attempt to force their children into being heterosexual, according to the event's host A Qiang. During the meeting, some parents also said they have tried to turn to doctors or psychologists for consultation and medical treatment, but it made no difference.

"As far as I know, it's basically impossible to change a person's sexual orientation," prominent sexologist Li Yinhe told the Global Times.