Ashley's Final Victory

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Jeff Sheng's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" Exhibit

In response to the recent "Don't Ask Don't Tell" debate, Jeff Sheng, a local Los Angeles photographer, had spent the last two years photographing and documenting stories of gays and lesbians in the military service. Because of the DADT policy, all of the portraits are without faces. Yet, the simplicity and barely concealment of these portraits conveyed great sense of fear and oppression in their lives.

I'm an amateur photographer myself, and I have tremendous respect for those who use this special talent to present the world to his / her audience. Looking through these images and listening to Sheng's own personal comments on them, I can't help but feel a sudden chill inside me. To hide yourself from the government, fellow comrades and even on certain level, yourself, is such a disheartening way to live; to do honor to your country, where being yourself isn't enough is such a depressing thought.

Unfortunately, this exhibition ended in October but let this video be a reminder to you: the battle against DADT is a long one, and there are millions out there who fight for honor but still live in shadow. Let's be supportive of those hiding in the service and hopefully DADT will be overturn someday.

First Draft on Final Paper

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Rainbow over the concrete jungle

For those who don't know, I'm from Hong Kong, a city famous for its skyline but not so much for the activism in the gay community. In fact, there is a very unique dynamic in the local LGBTQ community.

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Of course, being Chinese and living in a community where traditional mores are valued heavily (more than Western countries), majority of Hong Kong people are not entirely supportive of same-sex relationship, not to mention about marriage. However, there is an increase in openly lesbian couples nowadays (notice its only lesbian and not gay), often found in local same-sex high schools. What's weird to me is that even though holding hands and displaying intimacy between females are now commonly found on the streets and somewhat accepted in society, most people still tend to not fully acknowledge and rather keep a blind's eye to it. A friend of mine, who has a romantic relationship with another girl, once told me that even though her mother does know her sexual orientation and her girlfriend, it is an issue that never came up in conversation. There is a positive change towards gay liberation in Hong Kong, but does a change without full acknowledgement a successful one? Perhaps it's because Chinese's tendency to sweep all of the problems under table and pretend everything is alright. But it's time we step out of the square and really recognize this social movement undergoing globally.

I'm proud to be one of the one thousand participants in Hong Kong's 2nd annual gay pride parade. Even though there was a lack of organization and support from the community, we managed to press our demand for equal rights by marching through the central business district and advocating the need for acceptance. It'll be a long way to go before Hong Kong sees the liberation (or even recognition) of local gay community, but I have faith that it is an achievable goal for us.

Here I'll leave you a series of photos of the gay pride parade I was involved in:

Yes, that's me in the middle, holding the smaller flag.

My friends and I (top right corner) ready for the march.

Pictures I took from the parade.

Across the Universe, Across all Borders

On my flight to Vancouver yesterday, I was watching one of my all time favorite movies Across the Universe and embracing the incredible work of Julie Taymor (director of Broadway's Lion King). This movie, to those who haven't watched it, is about the younger generation during the 80s and their struggle with the Vietnam war, accompanied by the music of the Beatles.

One thing occurred to me when I was watching this movie is the lack of a revolution in our generation. There has been a series of revolutions led by the younger generation throughout US history and it seemed like we have lost the momentum since 90s. Of course, I'm not saying that we should fight without a cause and plan. A revolution is not a successful one without a positive cause and realistic plan; to fight without rationale is never triumphant (remember GLF?). Yet, it is disappointing that we live in a generation overwhelmed by technology, and lost sight of the need to stand up. There is always something to fight for: war in Iraq, LGBTQ discrimination and even world hunger. These are ambitious goals and may take years (or possibly never) before we see any positive results, but as Benjamin Disraeli once said, "action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action." 

I'll end this post with a short clip of a scene from the movie. This number is called Revolution, and it is about radicals protesting in wars, to the extend it becomes destructive. It is definitely one of my favorite numbers in the movie (even though it is not particularly the most dramatic performance to showcase Julie Taymor's brilliance).

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am a girl, therefore...

After reading the article "The Social Construction of Gender", I was in shock for a moment. The article explored and laid out the reasons for how gender became an element in our societies as well as how gender shapes our thoughts and behaviors.

Race, to me, has always been the most sensitive and considered subject in relations to our social structures and living in a society where inequality of sexes are not much of an issue, I rarely considered my gender as a process of shaping who I am. Before reading the article, I had always thought gender was solely based on the biological reasons (I was born with female body parts, therefore I am a girl). As I read on, I realized that the moment I was labelled as a female, I was very much limited in the boundaries of what society expects females to behave, think and do. That came quite a shock to me, not in the sense that I was not aware of these expectations but rather how easy and early on it is that gender has subconsciously became a block to me.

I very much enjoyed the article, as it explained the construction of gender on both individual and society levels, how gender attributes to our society as well as how society shapes gender. Gender is shaped because of "not biological, but culture" (Page 124). Gender is no longer confined in biological terms, but rather very much influenced by society.This shines a new light into my perspective of gender and personally, why I act the way I am.

Click Here
Click on  "Click Here" to an article that discusses the gender inequality of role playing. It is an informal article, so excuse the informal language in it. The author gave very strong opinions on this matter and though short, I think she made a valid and harsh point.