Gender discrimination under the spotlight at Women: From Her to Here art exhibition in Hong Kong
- Taiwanese artist Chen Han-sheng was teased at school about his gender, and empathises with victims of discrimination
- His installation When I Was A Child is among the art featured in Women: From Her to Here at WMA Space in Hong Kong that focuses on gender issues
On April 20, 2000, Yeh Yung-chih, a 15-year-old student in Taiwan, was found injured in a pool of blood inside a school toilet. He was sent to hospital but died the following day.
His death was ruled an accident. Later it emerged that Yeh had endured years of school bullying for his perceived effeminate behaviour. His mother claims her appeals to end the bullying were ignored by school officials.
Discussions about pressure to conform to gender stereotypes flared again in 2020 when reports surfaced that Taiwanese schoolboys were refusing to wear pink surgical face masks because they didn’t want to be mocked, prompting male health officials to don them at a press conference and declare that no colour is exclusive to girls or boys.
Taiwanese artist Chen Han-sheng says he was shocked and saddened by these incidents, and he can empathise because he was considered effeminate by his classmates.
“When I was studying in middle school, I was also teased by my classmates, so I think I can understand what he [Yeh] encountered,” says Chen.