Transgender Day of Remembrance

Every year transgender people are killed across the world. They are murdered due to their identity as transgender people.  At the start of the year I heard about the deaths of five transgender women the number has grown since.

In the month of November we remember them and hope that there comes a time when transgender people can live their lives in peace.

A remembrance event has been set up in Nexus Cafe on 19th November between  7.30-8.30 pm 

Har saal transgender log duniya bhar mein maare jate hain. Unkie hatya is wajeh se hoti hai kyon ki unki pechan trangender hain.  Is saal ke shuruwaat mein maine paanch hatyaon ke bare mein suna tab se yeh sankhya badti gayi hai.

November ke mahine mein hum unko yaad karte hai aur ummed karte hain ki aisa waqt aye ki transgender log apne zindagi shanti se guzaar paye. 

Unki yaad mein ek ghante ke liye hum Nexus Cafe mein 19th November ko shyam ke 7.30 se 8.30 baje tak mil rahien hai.


हर साल ट्रांसजेंडर लोग दुनिया भर में मारे जाते हैं. उनकी हत्या इस वजह सो होती है क्यों की उनकी पेचानट्रांसजेंडर हैं. इस साल के शुरुवात में मैंने पांच हत्याओं के बारे में सुना तब से यह संख्या बढ़ती गयी है. 

नवंबर के महीने में हम उनको याद करते है और उम्मीद करते हैं की ऐसा वक़्त आये की ट्रांसजेंडर लोग अपनी ज़िन्दगी शांति से गुज़ार पाये.

उनकी याद में एक घंटे के लिया हम नेक्सस कैफ़े में १९थ नवंबर को शयम के ७.३० से ८.३० बजे तक मिल रहैं है. 

Queer black representation in films

I felt rather privileged to be invited to speak as a panellist at a film festival organised by Rainbow Noir this weekend. I was amazed by the independent films I watched, some heart warming some pointing out a frightening reality experienced by QTIPOC around the world.

At the heart of this festival lay two basic ideas one to showcase Black LGBT history through cinema and the second to provide a wider representation of the LBGT community. Representation is perhaps the most important issue here. October in the UK is celebrated as Black History Month. Which while essential is not very well publicised and often is met with accusations of racism. These accusations could not be further from the truth. History is often told in an ethnocentric manner, forgetting an essential part of the process. The history of black people is often forgotten or told crudely, lacking in nuance. However even within the events organised as part of Black History Month some histories are not told.

At a conference I was earlier this month a participant spoke about how the only Black History they learnt was about slavery. Black identity is not a monolith it covers several intersectional identities, each of which have their own intellectual standpoint. In an era when LGBTQ identity is either (re)criminalised or punished by death history of the community takes on a political meaning. A  classic example is India where both pro and anti LGBTQ rights groups argue by using history as an example. Claiming and locating homosexuality either in the west or in an ancient past does little to remedy the situation at hand. Homosexuality is often spoken about as a western idea and a consequence of westernisation threatening to erode the moral fabric of ‘traditional’ society. Despite these claims LGBTQ history does exist, it does not always follow a linear path or conform to the present day narrative, it is still a history that needs telling.    

Films are perhaps the best medium to capture and transmit this history. A popular means of communication of ideas films are often used as propaganda and the mouthpiece of the nation. The three biggest cinema industries (Indian, Chinese and Hollywood) are characterised by their heteronormative content. Given the nationalistic element it comes as no surprise that most films communicate a heteronormative, patriarchal reality. LGBTQ characters if present tend not to be main characters adding very little to the plot. Then of course there is the problem of stereotyping where the LGBTQ character lacks nuances and is solely a part of the scenery. The Vito Russo Test seeks to address the issue of LGBTQ representation in films its criteria being. While it does not guarantee the film is a good representation a lot of mainstream films fail to pass this test.

Representation is  a problematic area of mass media. at its heart lies the idea that mere inclusion is not enough for representation to matter it needs to be nuanced, it needs to challenge and dismantle stereotypes. The problem with an incorrect representation is that it informs a large majority about a minority. Playing into existing fantasies about a minority  a poor representation does  not build an understanding of minorities as people. Mainstream cinema tends to be formulaic and ahistorical even when it attempts to portray history it presents an anachronistic version of history.  Black people and particularly black LGBTQ people are excluded from this cinematic history.

Watching the numerous films I did on Saturday one could see a nuanced narrative of the community, safe, precarious, dangerous, celebratory, happy and sad. These were not mainstream films, while not perfect they captured the nuanced life of the community. Thinking back of the LGBTQ films I have watched it was almost always the non-mainstream films that have done any justice to the subjects they seek to represent. This is particularly true of Indian cinema, mainstream cinema uses homosexuality as a running gag through films, gay best friends, fashion designers or butch women bodyguards are the only visibility the community receives. In contrast Indian art cinema which is not commercially viable manages to create complex characters for whom there is sympathy not scorn. Memories of March by Rituparno Ghosh is one such film that tackles homophobia, coming out of the closet and acceptance without resorting to stereotypes. While the film is by no means perfect it is mature in its depiction of the LGBTQ community in India.

As stated earlier mere presence is not always indicative of representation, knowledge of the subject (in this case the LGBTQ community) is essential. Mere visibility does not always help tackle a complex subject, as Foucault points out visibility is a trap. While it is assumed that films have little or no effect on our formation of stereotypes the idea is not true. Films represent our daily lives, our fantasies. It is no surprise then that the common Hollywood trope where the black man dies first is also a reality on the streets of America.  When the only image one sees of transgender characters is comical, promiscuous and confused is it any surprise then that those are the exact slurs used against transgender people in real life.  In my research on Bollywood films and their audience the blur between cinematic reality and mundane reality crossed paths. While whistling at raunchy musical numbers on screen the men who watched these films also extended this behaviour to women around them. Cinema is not divorced from reality neither is it a discrete entity which is contained in a cinema hall. To represent accurately is not pedanticism but a necessity.

                                                          Trailer Memories in March 

AfroFuturesUK- A free conference

Afro Futures_UK, a collective of researchers, artists, programmers and activists exploring new ways of examining blackness and futurism. We are hosting a FREE Afrofuturist Conference and Exhibition on 10th October 2015. Please join us and share widely

Resistance to nationalism

This is a quote I like a lot, it challenges nationalism it is a call to solidarity with people from across the world. Queerness is an antidote to nationalism which is deeply entrenched within heterosexual, cisgender patriarchal practices. 

The Politics of Respectability- Free Comic #FCBD

Here is a comic produced by Jem Perks. Jem is a freelance illustrator whose interest lies in sci fi, fantasy and comic books styles. More of his work can be found on his website. 

Jem very kindly volunteered to illustrate my work

Using a previous blog post as a basis for the idea we present to you 'The politics of respectability'. We hope to raise awareness about how discrimination is hurtful to people and is a divisive force. We live in a climate of hate and fear, minority groups are often used as scapegoats and pitted against each other this comic hopes to challenge our stereotypes.

As it is  free comic book day #FCBD  we would like you to read and share this comic widely and do leave us suggestions and comments. Thank you :) 

I am your sister - Audre Lorde

I am tired of hearing about the gay agenda. I am tired of hearing about the LGBT community taking over the world. I am tired of hearing how they will spoil our children. The truth is heterosexuality breeds a certain notion of gender and violence to enforce gender.

You  can find this brilliant essay here Lorde, A. (1985). I am your sister: Black women organizing across sexualities (Vol. 3). Kitchen Table/Women of Color Press

The Polical Technology Free Speech has become.

I saw this tweet on my wall and it got me thinking about recent events and how free speech has indeed become a technology. It is LGBT history month and I have heard several talks on how we are now in a better place than we were. Invariably when someone complains they are told at least we are not the 3^rd world they still criminalise homosexuality there. I admit the 3^rd world isn’t perfect but neither is the first world. This comparison does have an element of truth in it however it is dismissive tactic. It is the same tactic parents use to get their children to eat ‘don’t you know there are children in Africa who have no food?’ The 3^rd world is used as the dumping ground of the world’s problems.

What comes out in a lot of talks about LGBT history in the UK is how race can be used to valourise ones achievements. Race and sexuality seem to be two identities that are used to drive home a message of superiority. In India I have heard about how superior we are as a heterosexual nation protecting ourselves from the western invention of homosexuality. In the west I have met white LGBT people who have insisted I am homophobic simply by existing in brown skin. I have heard lots of nasty arguments used by both groups to prove their superiority. I have witnessed divisions amongst the LGBT community which is engaged in the politics of respectability. This politic is a convenient way of seeking favour from a more powerful majority by discarding perceived embarrassments within the community. Being a persecuted minority does not exclude the possibility or being a persecutor of another community.

An example that struck me recently was the way race and sexuality collided in the film Pricilla Queen of the Desert. It is a small scene but a vital one. The film is wonderful in the way it portrays the dangers of being transgender in Australia yet when it comes to portraying race the film fails. A Filipino woman in the film is shown in a negative sexualised manner. While gaining audience sympathy for one group the film demonises another. Artistic licence allows one to make a film as one wants however it is interesting how that was the choice the writers made. LGBT rights have come to signify a benchmark of liberal progressive society, societies that do not agree with this are automatically labelled backward. Non-conformists in the LGBT community are labelled as troublemakers. Recently a white gay man was discussing the issue of sexuality with me and said ‘transgender people must have some disorder when you think about it’. While his words are deeply offensive think about his privilege he is white, male and gay he is the cream of LGBT society. It was amusing when I pointed out how only a few decades ago he would have been locked away and chemically castrated on those same grounds.

The freedom to call other people names from one position of marginalisation does not make it freedom at all. To call transgender people shouty troublemakers, or to use derogatory language around race is a means of controlling people. It is then only a political technology and not a transformative one. 

Transgender women of colour and LGBT rights

Riots in Cromptons Cafe - how the west was won. 

It is LGBT history month and often the history presented to us fails to acknowledge the contributions of the less respectable members of the LGBT community - Transgender people. Coupled with racism the movement today is largely seen as a hallmark of white progressive, liberal society. People of colour are largely forgotten or labelled as homophobic. Easy essentialisms has meant some histories have been forgotten or deliberately ignored. This documentary is about the precursor to the Stonewall riots, started by transgender women of colour it presents an history that has been deliberately ignored. 

LGBT History Month

This is my little tribute to LGBT people this month

Coloured homosexuals have more knowledge of other cultures; have always been at the forefront (although sometimes in the closet) of all liberation struggles in this country.; have suffered more injustices and have survived them despite all odds. Page 107 Anzaldúa- Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza

Bring Christina Fronthes back home

 I regret to tell you that Christina Fonthes - a dear friend and organiser of Rainbow Noir has been held against her will in The Congo - she was on a family holiday with her mother who has decided to have Christina 'cured' of her sexuality.

Christina has managed to escape from her aunt's house and is currently hiding out with a friend. She has access to internet and has been communicating with us via email. The next available flight is 2nd September - 5 days away! Chris needs help and protection from the British Embassy in Congo but her mother has reported her missing and therefore we need to get in contact with both the UK Home Office and UK embassy in Congo to let them know that she is in danger and that her mother is lying/the one endangering her life!!

PLEASE SHARE THIS ON ALL YOUR NETWORKS. CALL, EMAIL, TWEET the British embassy on behalf of Christina - the more we call, the more attention it will bring to her case and hopefully they will act quicker in getting Christina to a safe place.

HER MOTHER HAS HER PASSPORT AND TRAVELING DOCUMENTS!

CHRISTINA'S LIFE IS IN DANGER. PLEASE DO AS MUCH AS YOU CAN.

If you need more information PM me.

UK EMBASSY: 0871 050 5840
public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

DETAILS OF THE EMBASSY IN CONGO ARE HEREhttps://www.gov.uk/government/world/organisations/british-embassy-kinshasa

MOST RECENT UPDATE:

It has been confirmed that Christina was arrested after leaving the embassy and released back to her family where she is currently trying to negotiate her journey home. Christina's life is still in very real danger and we need to continue to raise the profile of this case on as many media channels as we can. We have no more information at this current time.

We are currently putting together a press release and a list of contacts to send it to.

If you want to help - If you have any contacts at high profile newspapers, media channels etc please forward their details to us.
See Rainbow Noir Twitter for updates. @RainbowNoirMCR

Use the hashtag  #ChrisFonthes and spread the word.

Good news Christina is coming home. Thank you for all your support. However there are many men and women around the world who are not safe  

Not such an equal marriage

The seamier side of things

Last night I read two important stories on the internet – UK allows gay marriage, Gay man kills wife when she threatened to expose him.

The first story showed pictures showed happy white people from LGBT groups holding hands, kissing. The other story also UK based was sickening on so many levels. A British  man of Indian origin had gone back to India to find a suitable bride whom he eventually killed. His wife found out he was gay and threatened to leave him this is when a fight ensued and he killed her and burnt her body.

While a certain section of British society is celebrating its freedom another is living with dark secrets. The hypocrisy of Indian society never fails to sicken me. So this couple married presumably to make their parents happy fulfil a role society expects of them and it turned out so wrong. The whole idea of the marriage seemed wrong so he met and rejected girls who he met once- because marriage is a bit like mating dogs. He knew he was gay and decided to marry a woman instead of coming out. The girls family thought it was a good idea to let their daughter marry a man they had only just met and lived in different country.

It is sad that this young woman lost her life in such a brutal way. Looking at comments on Indian news websites most people were of the opinion that this man had the freedom of coming out in a country like UK, he could have moved to another town, he was financially independent the law was on his side. The deceit and cowardice cost a young woman her life.

It also points to the ugliness that surrounds Indians marriages. We marry our children because it is the respectable thing to do. Men and women are introduced to each other through matchmakers after one or two meetings they decide to get married. This comes from an sexually repressed society which frowns upon men and women talking to one another it sees no problem in promoting the idea of institutionalised rape.

While a section of British society celebrates equal marriages another one lives a life of deceit, hiding, disguising and even murdering. While the law in UK on this issue is equal when it comes to colour it needs to be less insular when it comes to LGBT activism.