Qiong's Story

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Because my family runs a business, I have been used to moving since I was a child. This sense of migration has been unconsciously reflected in the path of my life. When I grew up, I travelled farther than my parents, from Jiangxi to Shanghai to Beijing to Melbourne. Where will the next stop be? I’m not sure, but that’s okay, home is anywhere with the people you love.

I was mainly engaged in editing and planning work in China. After coming to Melbourne, I was determined to free my brain and return to the labor. But then, the choice of labor changed from active to passive. Due to the limitation of language and identity, it is difficult for me to get a job in Melbourne that matches my previous domestic experience. I saw a similar predicament in the book “Dreams of Flight: The Lives of Chinese Women Students in the West” written by Fran Martin, a professor at the University of Melbourne. As for how to get rid of this predicament, I am still trying.

For me, the beauty of Melbourne is that everyone is allowed to be in the way they identify with. Because of the city’s sense of boundaries and tolerance, my partner and I rarely realise we are a ’minority group.‘ Most of the time, we live like ordinary people, holding hands when we want to hold hands, and hugging when we want to hug. After all, LGBTIQA+ are ordinary people just like ordinary people!

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因为家里经商的缘故，我从小就习惯了搬家，这份迁徙感不知不觉地映射在了我的成长轨迹中。长大后，我比父母走得还远，从江西到上海到北京到墨尔本。下一站会是哪里呢？我不确定，但没关系，反正和爱的人在一起，哪里都是家。

来墨尔本之前，我在国内主要从事编辑、策划类的工作。出国时我决心要解放头脑，回归双手劳动。但到了后期，关于双手劳动的选择从主动变成了被动。因为受限于语言和身份，我很难在墨尔本获得一份与先前国内经验匹配的工作。后来我在墨尔本大学教授马嘉兰书写的《远走高飞之梦：中国女性留学生在西方》一书中见到了相似的困境，至于如何摆脱这种困境，我还在尝试中。

对我而言，墨尔本的魅力就在于每个人都被允许以自己认同的方式存在。正是因为这座城市的边界感和包容度，我和伴侣很少意识到自己是“少数群体”。大多时候，我们就像所有普通人一样普通地活着，该牵手时牵手，该拥抱时拥抱。而且说到底，LGBTIQA+都是和普通人一样的普通人呀！