International Women's Day: Kayla Wong of Basics for Basics

by HULA on Mar 06, 2020

March 8 marks a momentums day for women all across the world. This day we celebrate the progress women have made, against all social currents and odds, throughout the last hundred of years till now. While we think it is 100% necessary to celebrate the fruits of all waves of feminism, it is important to not lose sight of the long journey ahead of us, in search for fairness, justice and equality. In the next few weeks, we highlight some amazing women in Hong Kong. This week we're honoured to be introducing Kayla Wong -- Founder of Basics for Basics, and a keen LGBT activist.

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Kayla Wong (@kaylaiw)[/caption]

WHO

I'm Kayla and I'm the founder of Hong Kong-based ethical brand Basics for Basics. I grew up in Hong Kong and came out as part of the LGBTQ community a few years back. I came out about 7 years ago now. It was a bit traumatising because the media exposed my relationship when I wasn't really ready to go public on my personal life. However, I do believe that it was meant to be because I had full support from my family and now I am able to use my platform to encourage others to be themselves. To anyone who is thinking about coming out, I would say that communication is key. Being honest and open will help you so much!

WHAT

Women empowerment to me means all women supporting each other no matter what field we're in. It is to lift each other up and to see that we are only stronger together. Right now there are quite a few challenges when it comes to building a 'conventional' family for same-sex couples, especially in Asia. Since marriage equality is only legal in Taiwan, that is already a huge hurdle we have to get past. But a few of us in the community are trying to advocate for this in Hong Kong so we are hopeful.

WHY

I am very open about my sexuality on social media because I believe that representation matters. I want more people and especially the younger generation to see that there are different kinds of relationships, we all love in our own way but we are all the same. Love has no boundaries and it is ok to love whoever you want to love. I think we are moving towards a more accepting and open community with more space for people to explore who they are or want to become. There is still work to be done, there definitely needs to be more representation in Asia but I can say that we are definitely moving in the right direction.