Hong Kong’s Pink Alliance launches a video advocacy project today to raise public concern about students bullied because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

The project named ‘I AM ME’ by a coalition of local LGBT groups features eight notables including the first openly gay lawmaker in Greater China Ray Chan Chi-chuen, pop icon Anthony Wong, and Billy Leung, whose legal efforts helped bring down the age of consent for gay men.

They share in clips how they were bullied at school, what they are doing for equal rights and treatment or how they think education can help stop bullying in the future.

Project coordinator John Erni, a cultural studies scholar, stresses bullying is not just about physical or verbal violence. He said it can also appear subtly in interpersonal relationship.

‘People with different fashion styles, behavior face bullying in social life and are most typically ignored,’ he explained at the project launch. ‘They either have no friends, or find it very difficult to make one.’

Lyricist and university professor Chow Yiu-fai, who mentions how Dutch man Tim Ribberink killed himself over bullying, recalls in his clip how he also led a solitary secondary school life, feeling not manly and different from other ‘normal boys’.

Like Ray Chan and transgender activist Joanne Leung, Chow tells guests at the launch how tough it was to be at a boys’ school. ‘In soccer games, I was always the last one to be chosen and captains would rather not have me in their teams,’ he said.

Leung says she did not know how to deal with bullies, as she was always too afraid to complain or tell her family and would like to keep her friends.

Though once called ‘Marianna’ by some, Chan decided not to seek help as a form of ‘damage control’. ‘When teachers or social workers don’t think it is serious, you can end up in a worse situation by complaining,’ he said.

Two other professors highlight the role of education in their clips. Professor Hui Po-keung believe bullies and oppressors need emotional education to help tackle their fear as much as the bullied while Professor Choi Po-king says gender equality education can help broaden children’s minds.

Ending his sharing on a bright note, Chow recalls how a student comes up to him today in their last gender studies class.

‘She told me, “Yiu Fai, I’ve just started tutoring primary students and I teach them in each class such ideas as equality and so on”,’ Chow says.

‘As we put in our efforts, society also keeps changing.’

The videos are available here. Watch the project’s trailer below: