LGBT+ Pop-up Exhibition: A Journey with Rainbow GPS

It may sound like a cliché to say that “the journey of LGBT+ lives is akin to an uphill battle.” However, considering the current situation in Hong Kong, is this journey becoming any easier? Or has it grown even more challenging?

Setting foot on an unknown path first requires defining one’s own position, and then seeking the desired destination.

Defining one’s position means understanding “where we stand.” This involves reflecting on our past footsteps and locating where our companions are. Recent incidents quickly become history, yet even so, we must retrieve those fragments on the map of memory. This is because we need to know how to make our voices heard, whether in the past, present, or future.

For instance, coming out might not be the choice of every LGBT+ individual. However, some people’s coming out adds a splash of color to Hong Kong’s landscape, progressively reshaping the canvas. Coming out is a subject we will ultimately face, as when we choose not to conceal, coming out becomes inevitable.

Every one of us forms a piece of this grand canvas. Surveying the foggy map, we might feel, “I can’t continue,” “There’s no room.”

A navigation tool during times like these has wide applicability. We must look at people from different angles, different environments, and may likely learn something feasible. Although everyone is inherently distinct, the impulse to “find a way” is common in our genes. Careful observation can always yield insights from others, an opportunity to “borrow their strategies.” The map doesn’t dictate fate; the navigation we choose, whether leading us forward or facing obstacles, is our own path to tread. In the face of “challenging roads,” there might be a need to backtrack a few steps and take a turn, yet having faith in our own journey can illuminate a glimmer of hope.

Using one day a year for reflection, self-evaluation, and examining the map is intriguing, isn’t it? Our starting points on the journey for LGBT+ equality are diverse and not necessarily synchronized. Nonetheless, there’s hope that we can all continue striving at our own pace towards equality on this journey.