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It is no wonder that the most memorable course that I have taken during my undergraduate studies at HKU was the broadening course “Sexual and Gender Diversity”. It is hard to summarise the experience of studying the course but indeed if I have to use one word to describe it, it must be “eye-opening”. The topics covered in the 3 months ranged from LGBTQ politics to sexual behaviour like sadomasochism. I spent 13 years of primary and secondary education at a local Catholic girls? school and it would be an understatement to say that these topics were taboo. It was hard to discuss issues of sexuality seriously in the open and I grew up in an atmosphere of homophobia.

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And along came SGD. I still recall how much fun I had and how much I have learnt through the course. From a gay reverend to transgendered individuals, the guest speakers each week shared with us their experiences and I find that very moving because every one of them was so willing to reveal parts of their personal lives to us complete strangers. It takes much courage to open up like that! At the end of the semester, we worked on a group project and with the help of our instructor, my extremely brave male classmate literally put himself into the shoes of a cross-dresser. I was there watching his transformation –putting on makeup, a wig, a dress — and was astonished by how beautiful he actually looked. And as he shared with us his feelings on the experience afterwards, it was as if through him, we had a chance to peek into the life of a closeted cross-dresser — and what a rare opportunity that was!

The course in itself has an important function too. It gives the marginalised in society a voice — a chance to speak up for themselves. The whole “don’t ask, don’t tell” attitude permeates our community, but why should it? And in case you are wondering, I am pro-gay rights not because of my sexual orientation — I do believe that whether I am straight, lesbian or bisexual is an entirely irrelevant question. Everyone deserves respect — and everyone has the right to live freely, with dignity, and be relieved of labelling, discrimination, and social stigma. Being gay does not make someone a lesser being. Enjoying cross-dressing does not make someone a freak.

This 3-credit broadening course does not merely exist for the purposes of undergraduates fulfilling credit requirements, but genuinely creates a space in the university that allows for open conversations and deep, engaging discussions on topics that we are afraid to even bring up or give it the slightest mention in our daily lives. It even sparked off my academic interest in gender studies — I am currently writing an undergraduate thesis on the problems with accommodating feminist rights and cultural rights in international human rights law at my home faculty. Moreover, I have just enrolled into a Master’s programme titled “Comparative Women’s Studies in Culture and Politics” at Universiteit Utrecht in the Netherlands. I most certainly look forward to my time in the country and I hope to bring home new perspectives and to inspire more people around me to become more open-minded and accepting individuals. Culture does not transform overnight — but I believe that by changing people's attitudes one person at a time, one day, we will see institutionalised changes like equal rights legislation, and one day, we will see smiling homosexual couples holding hands on the streets and no one will point an incriminating finger, nor whisper insulting remarks behind their backs.

Evelyn Wan

BSocSci (Govt & Laws) III

10 Mar 2010