{"id":90447,"date":"2020-05-19T19:33:56","date_gmt":"2020-05-20T00:33:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=90447"},"modified":"2020-05-26T20:07:58","modified_gmt":"2020-05-27T01:07:58","slug":"breaking-barriers-and-binaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/breaking-barriers-and-binaries\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking barriers and binaries"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rikki Li<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

When Phyllis Liu was asked to share two personal facts during an icebreaker, the 27-year-old activist said: “Hi, I\u2019m Phyllis. I use they\/them pronouns, and I love Taiwanese pineapple buns.”<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Sifting through handmade parade posters covered in magenta rhinestones and flecks of old paint, Phyllis Liu peeled off another strip of tape residue and recalled how La Roux singer Elly Jackson\u2019s 2009 \u201cBulletproof\u201d music video sparked their interest in nonbinary gender identity \u2014 that is, when a person identifies as neither male nor female.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought they were so androgynous-looking and so aesthetically pleasing,\u201d Liu said. \u201cIt was aspirational. I was like, \u2018Woah, this is a kind of person that can exist, and I can exist like that too.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Liu exuded similar energy at the Chicago Chinatown Lunar New Year parade in February, though with a personal spin. Instead of a geometric power suit, they wore a teal Chinese qipao jacket and rainbow fingerless gloves. Instead of a dark jaw-sharpening contour, they had dimples and a natural flush. Instead of strutting alone toward a camera, they marched with fellow members of Invisible 2 Invincible, also known as i2i, a Chicago community organization for LGBTQ Asian Americans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have a very exuberant energy,\u201d said Annie Wu, a close friend who also attended the parade. Indeed, Liu spent the day flitting between several roles, taking photos, leading chants and corralling the group as they marched down Wentworth Avenue. \u201cThey can alternate between very playful and very serious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, despite stay-at-home orders limiting the organization\u2019s usual potlucks and workshops, Liu continues to coordinate through i2i\u2019s social media to provide resources for the queer Asian American community, such as posting COVID-19 infographics and invites to group support calls. Activists like Liu help to build safe, inclusive spaces for those fighting marginalization, an initiative needed more than ever as the pandemic continues to fuel anti-Asian xenophobia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is the model minority myth that Asians are successful and don\u2019t need help at all,\u201d Liu said. \u201cBut we can see that there are huge groups of different Asian populations that are in need, left behind and forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Liu wasn\u2019t always politically active. Between growing up in a largely white Illinois suburb and majoring in theater at The University of Maryland, Liu didn\u2019t explore or consider activism until a senior year art class collaboration with a community youth group triggered a wake-up call.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like I was asleep,\u201d Liu said. \u201cI realized what I wanted [from theater] was not a stage show with audience and stage separation. I wanted to use theater as a medium to build relationships and change people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liu\u2019s radicalization led to a deeper appreciation of their Taiwanese heritage in light of a lifetime of microaggressions. Even back in elementary school, Liu remembers being laughed at when they brought a pork floss sandwich for lunch \u2014 a Chinese snack where the meat is dried and shredded until it is airy and fluffy like cotton candy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the best sandwich ever, but everyone was like, \u2018Ew, Phyllis is eating horsehair,\u2019\u201d Liu said. \u201cI brought it home and ate it, but I was angry at myself and at my mom. It was misplaced anger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liu\u2019s exploration of identity also led to a deeper appreciation for their parents\u2019 struggles and sacrifices as immigrants. Though they feel no rush or need to officially come out as nonbinary to them, Liu recalls a family hiking trip in the Rocky Mountains where they shared a vulnerable moment with their father about relationships.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t really have the vocabulary in Chinese [for nonbinary], but I just described it,\u201d Liu said. \u201cAnd then my dad also started opening up to me about his relationship with my mom. I remember wanting to stay very present, because something like this wasn\u2019t going to happen again anytime soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liu encouraged others to navigate their queer or cultural journeys at their own pace. Someday, they hope to put on a solo show to tell their story, with a dance in a sweeping robe made from fabrics of the people and places that were important in their life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be a show designed, created, written and performed by me,\u201d Liu said. \u201cThat\u2019s the vision, and I guess nothing is stopping me except me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo at top: Phyllis Liu marches with fellow i2i members at the Chicago Chinatown Lunar New Year parade in February. (Rikki Li\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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