Beyond #MeToo: three Hong Kong academics’ quest to challenge sexist attitudes in society and encourage victims to speak up

A new platform, recently established by three female academics, vows to be a radar to expose gender injustice that otherwise might go unnoticed in Hong Kong, where patriarchal culture still prevails.

One of the latest campaigns by Gender and Sexual Justice in Action – launched by sociology lecturer Dr Minnie Li Ming, gender studies scholar Professor Petula Ho Sik-ying and her colleague Pamela Tsui Pui-kwan – was to demand Ikea Hong Kong takes down its promotion of a tofu ice-cream product, the tagline of which was said to have normalised sexual harassment.

The tagline – which translated as “you can eat my tofu whenever you like” – contains Chinese slang for groping someone or taking advantage of women. The three academics wrote to the Swedish furniture company and the chairman of the city’s equality watchdog last month to express their discontent.

“We hope [our group] might be like a microscope that examines and detects gender injustice in all settings,” said Li, of Education University.

Li, who was also one of the city’s leading campaigners for the #MeToo movement, came under the spotlight last year after she detailed the sexual harassment she endured in her church over the course of seven years. She lamented that the victims in the scenario were reluctant to speak up as they were often accused by their peers of sabotaging the church.