Fri 1 Apr 2016 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
A video project featuring stories of ‘coming out’ from an Asian LGBTI perspective is launching in Auckland. The EquAsian project, Stories From our Community has been eight months in the making and the idea came to life during a simple brainstorming session on how the group can better support the LGBTI asian communities. “The main message that we are trying to portray in ‘Stories from our Community is the diverse experiences of ‘Coming Out’ as an Queer Asian person and that Queer Asian people do exist in New Zealand,” says Aram Wu, General Coordinator of EquAsian. “Our needs are often very different and even the idea of ‘coming out’ must be treated with a lot of care and consideration. This includes the understanding of culture, tradition, religion and a variety of different backgrounds and dynamics that can make this process a very delicate matter.” Wu, who produced and directed the film, says “Often there seems to be a one size fits all approach in the queer community where many Queer Asian experiences are invisible or ignored as there is a lack of understanding the needs for Queer Asian people. “On top of the further marginalisation from the queer community, Queer Asian people often already face further discrimination such as racism on many platforms in their everyday lives, and within the queer community. Adverts on apps like Grindr that says ‘no Asian’ is a common occurrence. This video was made to show the visibility of Queer Asian people and their experiences of ‘Coming Out’, to be used to help others Queer Asian people who are thinking of the possibility of coming out to their family or friends. “This video was made for Queer Asian people who might be thinking about ‘Coming Out’ to their friends and families and to see some experiences and stories on how it went for other Queer Asian people.” EquAsian is a social-support group that welcomes all queer or questioning Asian people who are in need of support or just to make friends and socialise. “When we say Asian, we mean all of Asia under the UN definition not just East Asian,” says Wu. Stories From our Community Video Launch 9 April / 3pm RainbowYOUTH centre on Abbey Street
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 1st April 2016 - 8:34am