While PFLAG continued meeting in Southern California, Doi Dien (Face to Face) magazine, a gay and lesbian literary publication, was created in 1993 in Northern California. Doi Dien became more than a display of literary talent in the gay and lesbian Vietnamese community, it was now a symbol of a new wave of gay and lesbian Vietnamese activism. As the credibility and popularity of this publication increased, the writers/activists met to discuss the possibility of formalizing their collaboration into a coalition. However, because the majority present at the meeting was strictly committed to the contents of the magazine itself, few wanted to continue to support the sense of community that developed from the Doi Dien collaboration.

The few who wanted to expand the gay Vietnamese network met informally to socialize. This group later named themselves the Gay Vietnamese Support Group. The point in history that triggered the group’s first realization for a need to formalize even more occurred after the group’s first gay pride march in Orange County. A group of 15 gay Vietnamese community activists met to discuss the need to continue the group’s efforts. From this meeting, the first board of directors of the Gay Vietnamese of Southern California (GVSC) was formed.