From the earliest stages of our lives, we seem to be defined, labeled, and impressed, wrapped in a complex composition of perceptions. And without further thought, we are then pushed recklessly to explore the world.
If the color palette of the first half of 2022 was gray, October’s beginning seems to have marked a greater tint of vibrancy and hope. In this era of hope, melancholy, romance, pain, hesitation, and invigoration, spontaneity seems to have become a scarce hue as we only passively listen and passively add colors that do not belong to us, blurring the freedom and choice living within us.
In this edition of Starry Night Conversation, we are honored to invite three guests from different fields and backgrounds to listen to the story of their color palettes on September, 6.
01
"Romantically and Pessimistically Forward- Zhang Shaokang"
Independent Photographer / LGTBQ Volunteer
/Better Together project initiator
For this Starry Night Conversation event, we invited Shawn Zhang (Kang Kang Shawn), the founder of the Better Together project, to share his story about gender equality and self-identity. Shawn is a freelancer who focuses on gender equality education and community self-identity. On Kang Kang's public website, a myriad of his journeys is documented, with letters to his mother and father at home, summaries of projects, and even some other awkward and entertaining moments in his life. Through opportunities to leave words and comments, he hopes for the public to slowly accept the LGBTQ+ community.
"In general, when there's a community like this, I think it's like a candle flame or a lamp as it can glow up part of the darkness." He said, looking sincerely into the camera when asked about his development of the LGBTQ community.
“Choosing to freelance instead of working for a company because you know you're creating value is, in the words of a friend, like running in the wilderness, freer and riskier. I love this kind of life, especially now as I found the so-called 'lighthouse'.” He says.
"The Lighthouse" is one of Better Together’s projects. Kangkang shares that he uses photography as the medium as he thought art is the softest way to express the community.
02
"Reach out your invisible hand and slowly explore - Joyce"
Department of Japanese Literature, Fudan University /
Feminist enthusiast/HSYLC lecturer
Joyce studies at the Department of Japanese Language and Literature, School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Fudan University. She is a trilingual learner of Chinese, English, and Japanese.
She stood out in many courses related to gender and feminism and was selected for the scientific research project of Waseda MKDS feminism and pedagogy. She has written a feminist thesis in Chinese and Japanese and delivered feminist keynote speech reports in three languages.
Joyce has also participated in academic seminars on relevant topics and produced several female dramas as a member of Fudan University's McDrama Club. The open and inclusive environment in junior high school allowed many students around, such as herself, to explore their own group attributes and provided many opportunities and platforms. She lectured on "Feminism from Scratch" at the HSYLC Summit and participated in a summer school on gender/race at Yale University.
She reached out her invisible hand and slowly explored, inserting the key into the secret lock and pushing open a door.
“I flipped through my chat logs from years ago and found that I had given a lecture on homosexuality when I was a freshman. I was surprised at how transparently connected I had become to the topic before I realized it.”
03
"A Women's Journey - Xi Xi"
A young and enthusiastic policy analyst
Xi Xi is a girl who grew up in a "matriarchal society" and thinks deeply about gender issues.
As a graduate of Wellesley College, one of the top women's liberal arts colleges, Xi Xi now works at an environmental policy think tank in China. Being on a female-dominated team, she realized that women were no longer limited to those supporting roles in the traditional workplace. However, she was still aware of the limitations of femininity, a creeping prejudice against women's appearance, character, and language. An unnatural sense of shame that has developed has left many women in a state of unspeakable panic: Do I have to live like the woman they call me?
Xi Xi saw the sense of crisis embodied in those two separate seas of Chinese and American values - an existential crisis brought about by a sense of being framed and objectified. So she began to reflect on the relatively silent stories she experienced, from family to workplace, but enough to see the logic behind the rules of this game.
They tend to take time to settle and require more sensitivity.