Books from the past

Found this book in a second hand bookshop loved the design on the cover.

Not all colonials are equal.

I was at the British museum a month ago watching an exhibition on colonialism. What fascinated me is how India was given a certain dignity in the art Indian women were exotic, royal and in their finest clothing (nakedness is seen as a means of shaming and not eroticism). The African subject by contrast was less autonomous, the women naked and objects of sexualisation. There was a stark contrast in how the African and Asian subject was treated. One was given almost the same dignity as the British subject even imitated. Several paintings of white colonisers in Indian (royal) clothing were seen yet none of these existed for their African counterparts. Colonialism was and isn’t equal. While one continent was exoticised the other was thought of in terms of savagery. These ideas have not vanished but continue to haunt us in the present in the way we talk about Asians and Africans. 

Healing Voices

Sparkle in Manchester Cathedral 2016

Sparkle  2016 is the 12th annual National Transgender celebration, taking place on the weekend of July 8th to 10th in Manchester. It is similar to pride and  a free event, open to all. There are lots of activities through the weekend. This is an invite to Sunday morning at Manchester Cathedral service with the Cathedral community it is part of the many activities over the weekend (8th- 10th July). Transgender people their friends families and allies are welcome to join in.

Date - 10th July 2016
Time- 10.30 am
Venue - Manchester Cathedral, Victoria Street, Manchester, M3 1SX


Free admission
For a link to the Cathedral website click here

Here is a link to what the Cathedral choir sounds like.

2nd Week of Lent

Chinese New Year

February is here

In solidarity with Hong Kong

One of the things I like about living in Manchester is being surrounded by art. Its not just the galleries that have displays of art but sometimes in a little corner of the city one can find a display of art that will make you stop and ponder.

My friend and artist Mei Yuk Wong invited me to an art exhibition recently. Tucked away on the first floor of Jun Salon in Manchester's China Town is the exhibition made up of hand sewn and hand embroidered messages for the people of Hong Kong. The message is a means of showing solidarity with the people of Hong Kong fighting for democracy.

The most poignant idea I remember from the exhibition was the artist seeing hope in the future. I would recommend this exhibition to anyone who is curious to know more about the situation in Hong Kong to anyone who feels strongly about justice. The staff at the salon are friendly and helpful in translating the Chinese text. My friend and I popped in on a Sunday afternoon the staff were than willing to talk about the situation and update us on the situation in Hong Kong. Altogether it was an educative experience.

Details

Jun Salon, 93a Princess Street, Manchester M1 4HT. Opening time 12:00-19:00

January is here- Happy New Year

Christmas is Here

Prayer service in Manchester

December is here

A walk around Manchester

Christmas cards

First batch of Christmas cards inspired by Japanese paintings .

Challenging heterosexuality and nationalism through queerness.

As summer turns into autumn and winter the giddy joy that came with the season grows dim. This summer we celebrated Pride as usual. For the most part the festival is in accessible to me due to the cost. The other factor is that the festival does not speak much to me. Commercialism combined with a touristy feel make the event seem like one big giant party.

As a few LGBTQ friends and I walked past Manchester’s gay village on Pride Saturday and Sunday one of them remarked at the glut of rainbow flags in town in the shops of big business. Pride she claimed had lost the plot. I agree with her. It is wonderful that big businesses is supportive of the LGBTQ community but are they really? In a world where big business has taken over smaller business, exploits its workers a mere rainbow flag does not remedy the exploitation. As a black lesbian my friend saw the precarious peace she occupies in a homo-nationalist celebration.  Now that LGBTQ people are protected by the law of the land institutions that were once known (and still are) for their homophobia have jumped on a similar bandwagon.

Perhaps the most ironic one of these institutions was the Home Office and its support for LGBTQ people. For over a week now I have seen rather disturbing news of a young gay Ugandan friend being deported back to his country. This is not an isolated case, another friend I admire is in a similar situation for over a year. She is Nigerian and not lesbian enough. I am not comforted by the fact that the Home Office employs LGBTQ people. Both these people are Christian and members of the LGBTQ community. I mention their religion, as this is almost always a reason quoted by people of the faith and not to bash Africans and to justify the superiority of Britain. In more liberal Christian circles being tolerant of LGBTQ people is a sign of changing times in the nation, homophobia and transphobia is an African problem relegated to that continent alone. To non-Christians homophobia and transphobia in the global south is due to being trapped in religion and culture. Then of course there are cultural Christians to whom Christianity is an identity which is white and European. While the continent of Africa has some nations that have re criminalised homosexuality this takes on a nationalistic fervour. Homosexuality is imagined to be a western import corrupting the youth distancing them from good family values. Heteronormativity is invoked family is imagined to be a perfect situation where men and women marry in a lavish ceremony and produce the right amount of children. These ideas aren’t left unchallenged feminists and LGBTQ groups in these regions do challenge this idea. While Western Europe is imagined to be a safe haven for the community the rest of the world is thought of as backward lagging behind in social progress it does not have the same magnanimity to accept some of its citizens.

Intersectionality is lost in these debates, LGBTQ identity is thought of as the preserve of white lesbian and gay people (the the b’s, t’s and q’s don’t make it in this fantasy). That one can be non-white, LGBTQ, religious, disabled….. is never considered. White LGBTQ groups are notorious for their racism. The village in Manchester is perfect example of this which is very selective in its demographic. People of colour are not participants in this community only cab drivers and kebab makers, on the periphery. LGBTQ people are conceptualised through a homo-nationalistic lens, white, gay male and middle class, who then occupy the majority position in public forums. Terms like pink pound explain this situation perfectly. Revolutionary fervour and the precarious position the community occupies are lost in this celebration. It is wonderful that some sections of the community are in influential positions and have it easier than others however that sections acceptance has meant that homophbia and transphobia are thought of as a thing of the past, it happens everywhere else but here.

There is another way of looking at queerness and nationalism and that is through a black lesbian feminist perspective. Gloria Anzaldúa suggests another way that reaches out across national boundaries.

As a mestiza I have no country, my homeland cast me out; yet all countries are mine because I am every woman’s sister or potential lover. (As a lesbian I have no race, my own people disclaim me; but I am all races because there is the queer of me in all races.) I am cultureless, because as a feminist, I challenge the collective cultural/religious male derived beliefs of Indo-Hispanics and Anglos; yet I am cultured because I am participating in the creation of yet another culture, a new story to explain the world and out participation in it, a new value system with images and symbols that connect us to each other and to the planet.  Page 102- 103 Anzaldúa

In an era where nationalism is becoming a universal feature of all nations challenging notions of nationhood and homo-nationalism are pressing issues. Culture must be deconstructed.

Reference:

Anzaldúa, G. (1999) Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza . 2^nd edition. Aunt Lute Books. San Francisco

The limits of post structuralism

It all started with a simple question- what is post structuralism. Not being able to resist showing off I gave a long twisted answer. I have sat in lectures listening to post structuralists, I still don’t know what it is about or how it is applied. I understand the basics however most of it eludes me. A case in point is writing by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak whose writing no doubt has several important points but remains inaccessible. While I know this is deliberate attempt to open up the text to interpretations it does not make it accessible. Spivak’s arguments are important for black feminists yet alienating to those trying to understand it. For years I have struggled to read ‘Can the Subaltern Speak?’ For years I have pondered over paragraphs and sentences unsure who the text is for. I claim the same subaltern status Spivak does as woman of colour, I am written about as a helpless woman in need of rescuing. As an academic like Spivak I am privileged in one sense, yet as an early career academic of colour I have little or no visibility or voice. 

Can I as a subaltern then speak? No. Can I as a subaltern access the tools for my liberation? No. Can I as a privileged academic make space for other non-privileged women and men? Yes I can, in fact it is my duty to make my work accessible. Following in the footsteps of black feminist writes such as Audre Lorde and bell hooks I feel writing should be made accessible.

Post structuralism is deliberate in its obscurity, the reader has to construct and deconstruct the text which will be open to several interpretations. It delights in being difficult. To me this is an expression of privilege. This writing if vital to the subaltern should be accessible to the subaltern, yet it hides behind erudition. To quote Audre Lorde ‘the masters tools will never dismantle the masters house’. Inaccessible writing does not and will not reach the people who need it most. Academia in most parts of the world is an elite enterprise, hidden behind exorbitant tuition fee, and limited by the identity of scholar. Deconstruction while a clever philosophical stance does not lend itself to accessibility. Spivak like several other post structuralists is well educated in some of the finest institutions of the world. While she lacks privilege as a woman of colour she makes up for in education and position.

Post structuralism is preserve of those in higher education. Black feminism on the other hand takes difficult concepts transcribing it into simple and accessible writing, loosing none its integrity. It encourages activism and liberation.

PS: Here is a link to Post Structuralism explained using hipster beards 

Burmese tofu stir fry

This is a very simple recipe, it is vegan and gluten free what could be better. 

This is best and simplest recipe  of Burmese tofu on  the internet. I have however improvised it a bit . I usually add in finely chopped onion and red and green peppers. This adds colour and nutrition, it also saves time cooking the vegetables separately. 

The recipe above is very simple. Slice mushroom, spring onions, sauté the mushrooms in a flat pan till they have a nice colour on them add in the white bits of the spring onions separately in the pan toss them in the pan for a minute. Season the vegetables with soy sauce and sesame oil. You could season this dish with any sauce you like and adjust the seasoning accordingly. The tofu can be sautéed similarly in a pan, it wont get very crisp but it develops a light skin, season accordingly.

To prepare the noodles boil water in a deep pan add a little salt add the noodles cook till al dente, drain. Keep a little water from the noodles. Throw the noodles in a dish season with soy sauce and sesame oil or any oil of your choice. A spoon or two of the noodle water will prevent it from drying out. 

To serve place noodles in a dish, add the vegetables and tofu, garnish with toasted sesame seeds and finely sliced green bits of spring onions. 

PS: I have tried this tofu with various kinds of seasoning. It makes for a nice salad which doesn't require cooking. I chopped mint leaves, onions and peppers and added it to the tofu. To serve the salad I added Burmese tofu that had been in the fridge for an hour with a lime and palm sugar dressing mixed with mint leaves, onions and peppers. 

Feel free to try variations on this recipe and please experiment. 

Liverpool on a cloudy evening.

25 years and still strong - Asylum magazine.

I am proud to work on the editorial collective of Asylum magazine. This year we have four special issues on the theme of comics and mental health.  Helen Spandler is an academic who has been involved in Asylum magazine for a number of years.  Here is a podcast about History Of Asylum Magazine by Helen Spandler

You can subscribe to us here