Moments with Language

Just to recap some special moments in the Hong Kong Pride, when I felt language was working.

• At the beginning the hosts asked the participants to raise the rainbow flag, and she used the word 扯旗, obviously it is a word play. She was playing with the double meaning of that word, as I saw everyone was okay with that. Then I gave a second thought I suddenly realize it is very difficult to have any word play with lesbian sexuality, and the host was asking women to扯旗 as well… well, is it possible?
• In the pride there were volunteers helping to hold some loud speakers to play music. For Chinese there were Denise Ho’s song (金剛經 and 光明會, both can be read as encouraging gay movement somehow), for English there are some typical choices as well, such as Madonna’s Hung Up, Lady GaGa’s Poker face, and of course I’ll survive.
• Other than that it was quite quiet, not much party was going on, people even did not dance, they rarely shouted… Suddenly there was a woman in the crowd said, “Hey, are you guys just come here to walk? It is so boring!” We laughed and she started asking the crowed, “Hey! Tongzhi, are you proud?” No one answered her… she was disappointed, but I can understand, it is still difficult to say you are proud of being Tongzhi, and besides, people around are not used to parade and openly support LGBT community.
• At the same time a group of English speaking lesbian, they shouted, “We are gays and lesbians, we are out and proud!” My friends and me later on joined them and shouted. I felt it is really different to speak in English, simply one feel easier to say something in her or his second language. And with slogan it is easy to make one believe in something, suddenly it reminds me those propaganda, it is the power of words. Suddenly I really felt “out and proud”.
• The woman who said it was boring joined as well. She changed the slogan, saying “We are bisexuals, we are out and proud!” or “We are transsexuals, we are out and proud.” The group smiled but looked at her in an odd way. The woman asked, “Why not? It is alright to be bisexuals and transsexual!” I did not feel like saying that as well actually, I still do not know if it is related to my stand (even I think being bisexuals and transsexual is totally okay), or simply because I am not bisexuals or transsexuals.