LI YIMING, from a small city in central China, had been working for NetEase, one of the developers responsible for the gaming sensation Minecraft, for three years, and even longer in the wider tech industry.
She was passionate about her work, saying that it brought her “pure happiness” helping people “to create something that is magnificent”.
However, after half a decade behind the screen, she told herself it was time for a change and soon after found herself living in Limerick.
“I just decided to come to Ireland, maybe have a new way of living, it’s just about experience and I want to experience more,” she explains of her need for a change of pace.
She says that people in Limerick “are quite friendly and warm and welcoming here”, though acknowledges that it took her a long time to adjust to Irish culture and make friends.
Yiming says she is often confronted with stereotypes about Chinese people.
She says that assumptions like “are you Japanese?”, “do you eat dogs”, and the belief that Chinese people do not have good English can be hurtful.
“We are all human. I always feel like language is a means of communication, as long as we can communicate, that’s okay,” she says.
Yiming says she has always challenged social expectations, especially what it means to be a woman.
“I like to do martial arts and I am interested in body combat sports. I’m bold sometimes. And I don’t mind to argue for something that I think is right. I don’t mind being a crazy woman.”
The Chinese native is a passionate member of University of Limerick’s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu club, where she says an inclusive and empowering atmosphere allowed her to form strong bonds with other women.
“Feminism is very important to me, it changed my way of being, my way of thinking in every way,” she says.
Before she found her feminist ideals, Yiming says she felt constrained in expressing who she was.
She frequently received comments about being “rebellious” or “too aggressive”, with people at home often telling her: “Sometimes it is not good for you to be such a strong-minded woman because you will make men feel small.”.
Embracing feminist thought, she says, especially the mantra of “women’s right are human rights”, helped her understand there is nothing wrong with being herself.
“I am more confident and I can interpret this whole world in my own way so that I won’t be affected by others that much.”
This story is part of the Tell Your Own Story (TYOS) project. Published monthly in collaboration with the Limerick Post, TYOS shares the stories of Limerick people of all backgrounds and abilities in the hopes of encouraging unity in diversity. For more information, visit tyos.ie.
