Weekly round-up and open thread
12 min read
Welcome to the most recent round-up of the attention-grabbing and essential tales we’ve been trying out over the previous week. This one kicks off with the most recent editorial article from ColorsxStudios in Germany. The piece options members of Nigeria’s LGBTQIA+ neighborhood reflecting on a spread of points – such because the influence of the Identical-Intercourse Marriage Prohibition Act 2013 (SSMPA) and the harms that trans Nigerians face from their nation’s police unit and wider society – but additionally discussing the enjoyment and hope that may be present in queer communities.
And when you’re feeling in want of some pleasure on this bittersweet summer heat, do try the COLORSXSTUDIOS YouTube channel, the place a wide range of artists every showcase their vocals towards a hanging and but undistracting backdrop of a single vivid color. (I’ve popped a beautiful efficiency from Cleo Sol on the backside of this submit.)
The same old caveats apply to this round-up: the articles haven’t been endorsed by the entire staff and, whereas we do our greatest so as to add acceptable content material notes, some hyperlinks could comprise additional upsetting particulars about oppression and injustice, so please click on with warning.
With reference to feedback, we sadly haven’t been in a position to tackle any new subscribers as a consequence of a technical difficulty. (Huge because of my buddy Asim for not too long ago highlighting this!) So, when you’re already registered as a subscriber and see we’ve missed out any essential articles/points from the previous week (or just wish to share your ideas) you will get in contact with us by way of the remark type on the backside of this web page. However, when you aren’t, you could have the choice to swing by our Twitter account or Facebook page as an alternative!
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“Love conquers all”: The prohibition of love through the eyes of Nigeria’s queer community (Tami Makinde, Colors X Editorial)
[CN: homophobia, transphobia, violent threat]
From the article: “Regardless of the continued violence many LGBTQ Nigerians face, many are discovering methods to be intimate and commune with their family members away from the prying eyes of authorities. For non-binary content material creator Nifemi*, they do that by spending high quality time with queer associates. ‘I confer with [my friends] as my queer siblings as a result of they’re my chosen household. All of us draw energy from one another and are all the time there for one another. It’s so wonderful to share queer pleasure,’ they share.
“This spirit of intimacy and neighborhood is fostered all throughout the nation’s LGBTQ+ neighborhood. Derin* and her associates commonly host queer get-togethers and events that pull collectively folks from extensively totally different backgrounds. She shares that her interior circle consists of ‘folks from in every single place, regardless of the place you come from: Christians, Muslims…’”
More than 20,000 people march in solidarity for London Trans Pride (Jordan King, Metro)
From the article: “Organisers of London Trans+ Delight stated: ‘On Trans Day of Visibility the UK authorities introduced it could transfer forward with banning conversion remedy for homosexuals, however not for trans folks: the irony isn’t misplaced on us, that is an abhorrent and deliberate assault…”
“The Community Needed This Day”: London’s Trans+ Pride March Was A Display Of Strength And Solidarity (Bex Wade, Vogue)
From the article: “The trans neighborhood wanted at the present time. We wanted to really feel seen, to take again these streets which have harm us, and in doing so discover a sense of belonging that feels so valuable. We wanted to march, in remembrance of these we’ve misplaced, and as an acknowledgment of these we would lose if this persistent persecution is allowed to prevail. Trans pleasure is highly effective and we’re able to hold combating for the rights we deserve.”
I’m a trans man who plays rugby – I’m sick of us being treated like we’re inferior (Verity Smith, Metro) [via Lissy]
From the article: “What may’ve been an amazing house for a progressive dialog round inclusion grew to become an assault on a coverage that had truly been working properly since 2004, with no reported accidents in England for the reason that trans inclusion coverage had been in place, permitting trans girls and ladies to compete underneath the principles set out within the earlier coverage”
Non-binary doesn’t look like you think it does – I would know (Emma Flint, The Independent)
From the article: “The conditioning we’ve endured for hundreds of years has solely served to shrink our world, and with it, our understanding of who and what we’re. We don’t need to look or act a sure solution to belong.
“Because of this it’s essential to understand that non-binary doesn’t ‘take a look’. In the event you suppose we do, that’s largely all the way down to popular culture solely highlighting one small instance of non-binary to raised package deal it to the plenty. The identical is seen with sexualities – lesbians are butch, homosexual males are effeminate, and bisexuals are promiscuous. Sure, intercourse and gender are two separate entities, however when it comes all the way down to how they’re restricted by illustration, they’re inseparable.”
International Non-Binary Day: What it feels like to ‘come out’ in Glasgow (Adam McGeoch shares their experience with Carla Jenkins, Glasgow Live)
From the article: “I felt that once I was a teen, that query was all the time behind my head, pondering ‘do I wish to be a girl? As a result of I don’t suppose I wish to be a masculine kind of man, so what am I?’”
20 trailblazing non-binary celebs you need to know (Megan Wallace, Cosmopolitan)
From the article: “This yr’s Non-Binary Day comes at a time when an increasing number of individuals are waking as much as the concept gender isn’t a binary: it’s a spectrum. Removed from having two fastened genders, there’s truly a wealth of experiences in between: from gender fluidity to being agender.”
‘Why I invented Non-binary Day’ (Katje van Loon, with BBC gender and identity correspondent, Megha Mohan)
From the article: “[My mother] could be as comfy fixing issues round the home as she was whereas instructing her college students, or caring for me.
“I used to be like her in my embrace of non-traditional gender roles. However not like her I existed someplace else. It wasn’t simply that I didn’t really feel ‘girly’, or was taller, and bigger and fewer female. It was greater than that: the label ‘lady’ simply didn’t match me.”
Including non-binary people doesn’t mean excluding anyone else – it benefits us all (Ugla Stefanía Kristjönudóttir Jónsdóttir, Metro)
From the article: “Requires lodging in language, comparable to utilizing ‘passengers’ or ‘company’, ‘girls, gents and everybody else’ as an alternative of simply ‘girls and gents’ is … not erasure of anybody, however an inclusion of extra folks.
“The identical goes for phrases comparable to ‘pregnant folks’ or ‘folks with a uterus’ – it isn’t an try to erase girls.
“These phrases are used to attempt to embody everybody that has a uterus or can get pregnant, comparable to trans males and non-binary folks. That is merely a matter of creating certain everyone seems to be included.”
50 years of Pride: Why I marched with Gay Liberation Front (Prishita Maheshwari-Aplin, gal-dem)
From the article: “‘That is the true Delight; there’s simply no two methods about it,’ GLF member Dani advised me. ‘Among the unique members had been my age 50 years in the past. And now I’m right here. The burden of that’s stunning. It’s like a weighted blanket; it’s cosy and heat and it’s grounding. I adore it.’
“The enjoyment I felt didn’t stem from contentment or a delusion that the work right here is completed. It was a bittersweet celebration, however one rooted in a deep-seated consciousness of our energy as a neighborhood, and pure exhilaration on the numbers which can be prepared to be seen and present up for each other. As a result of the combat isn’t over.”
[Check out our round-up from 4 July for more about the GLF and Pride!]
Agenda: Can Scotland lead the way in tackling music’s invisible problem? (Jane Stynes, Yahoo! News)
[On representation of women behind the scenes in music, such as in production and engineering.]
House of Commons calls for evidence about misogyny in music in the UK (Aneesa Ahmed, Mixmag)
Dobbs, glass houses and international law (Juliet S Sorensen and Xiao Wang, Al Jazeera) [US]
From the article: “Nations all over the world have expressed a renewed dedication to constructing on worldwide and multilateral agreements. But by permitting states to ban abortion, the Supreme Courtroom has staked a place that plainly runs afoul of the US’s treaty obligations.”
‘Demoralising and scary’: Women in UK react to US reversal of abortion rights (Charlene Rodrigues, euronews)
From the article: “We all know that the anti-abortion activists have a world community and are emboldened once they get a win, particularly the whole rollback of abortion rights that the overruling of Roe v Wade represents” [Kerry Abel, Chair of the UK’s pro-choice campaign Abortion Rights].
1,500 march to defend abortion rights in London (Isabel Ringrose, Socialist Worker)
Professional-choice activists marched by central London [9 July] to defend abortion rights in Britain—and present solidarity with protesters within the US.
Key ingredients to women’s legal rights in Kenya (Catherine N. Githae, Emilia Galiano, Fredrick Nyagah and Isabel Santagostino Recavarren, World Bank Blog)
[CN: general references to VAW]
From the article: “The adoption of the PADV [Protection Against Domestic Violence] Act in 2015 represents only one instance within the lengthy wrestle for equal rights in Kenya, began within the early Nineteen Nineties. After the 1992 elections, rising consideration was given to girls’s rights within the nation, with gender equality completely changing into, from that second onwards, a part of the federal government agenda.”
Ariana Magazine: The Afghan Voices we Should all be Listening To (Safeera Sarjoo, browngirl)
From the article: “Undoing the injury mainstream media has completed isn’t any straightforward feat however London-based journalist Ariana Abawe has been on a mission to dispel what folks suppose they learn about her native Afghanistan by beginning Ariana Journal, which locations Afghans on the forefront, showcasing the nation’s tradition and expertise.”
Sex Workers Fleeing War in Ukraine Face a Harsh New Reality (Ruby Lott-Lavigna, Vice)
[CN: war, oppression]
From the article: “It’s not simply Ukrainian intercourse employees travelling throughout borders who’ve been affected by the battle. Profiting from the invasion, Poland’s ruling right-wing Legislation and Justice get together has used trafficking fears to introduce laws that has additional clamped down on intercourse work. The federal government, recognized for its conservative insurance policies together with banning abortion, has used the battle to extend fines towards trafficking, in addition to fines for folks managing intercourse work venues, conflating the 2 points.”
Reni Eddo-Lodge on anti-racism: ‘The backlash amazes me’ (The Guardian) [via Lissy]
[CN: racist violence]
From the article: “I used to imagine that making the case for a simply society could be met with enthusiasm, not vitriol. However anyplace the reason for anti-racism has satisfied sufficient of the final populace, a merciless defence of the established order has shortly adopted. What precisely must be preserved evades me. I’m nonetheless uncertain of what could be misplaced if some Black authors are added to a curriculum, or if a metropolis provides among the uglier elements of its historical past to a plaque celebrating the gorgeous bits.”
How misogynoir in the music industry has created a dangerous environment for Black women (Kelechi Okafor, Mixmag)
[CN: racism, misogyny, abuse]
From the article: “The reality is that the UK music trade its woefully behind concerning the #MeToo motion as a result of most girls within the trade really feel that their place and success are in precarious conditions because it stands. We all know {that a} wall of silence, shaming and gaslighting is adopted by males, and in some circumstances enabled by different girls, when girls converse out in regards to the methods through which they’ve been violated. The tradition of predatory behaviour exists on a spectrum: from the way in which that some Black males assist and encourage white artists and DJs to disrespect Black girls on-line and in individual, to the way in which that dark-skinned feminine artists are spoken about compared to their lighter skinned counterparts. These Black girls are in peril whatever the shade of their pores and skin, nevertheless the oppressive dynamic shifts barely when cloaked within the desirability for lighter skinned girls.”
Jasveer Singh: Rishi Sunak Becoming UK PM Would Be A Dangerous Outcome For Sikhs (Baaz) [via Lissy]
From the article: “While Sunak himself has not been immediately behind any of the UK focusing on of Sikh activism, that’s doubtless as a result of his function as Chancellor of the Exchequer didn’t require him to be so. For anybody questioning the place his loyalties could lie in such conditions, Sunak was vocally supportive of the UK’s most Anti-Sikh politician, Priti Patel, when she was being uncovered for “bullying” her workplace employees. He referred to as Patel “form” and stated the 2 have labored collectively “carefully”. Patel is an open supporter of the Hindu extremist outfit RSS and has not but defined her anti-Sikh feedback and actions in latest occasions.”
Young Black people change names and appearance to fit in at work study finds (Vic Motune, Voice)
From the article: “Solely 31 per cent of Black Gen Z members really feel in a position to be their genuine selves, in comparison with 66 per cent of White Gen Z. the analysis discovered. This implies the overwhelming majority of Black Gen Z really feel the necessity to change their self-presentation to ‘slot in’ with their colleagues.”
The problem with TikTok’s ‘clean girl’ aesthetic (Tiana Randall, i-D)
[CN: colorism, classism, misogyny]
From the article: “The concealment of labor and exertion eternalizes that the no-makeup make-up appears to be like we’ve been doing is a technique to disguise appears to be like of stress associated to poverty, sickness, or the failure to suppress the physique’s pure secretion.”
A Letter of Support (Emmanuel, NeuroClastic)
[CN: general references to anxiety and depression, burnout, trauma]
From the article: “I need to admit how this world operates at its core: its lack of humanity, its elitist-driven energy construction, and its want for violence are disgustingly poisonous. They don’t care about what their toxicity does to humanity and the setting as an entire.
“So in case you are studying this, handle your self on the market. Do good. Say what you’ll want to say. Be form. I’m rooting for you as a lot as I root for myself. In the event you can’t do a lot, then do what you may.”
Sarah Everard: Two women to face trial for attending Clapham Common vigil after Met Police prosecution (Jessica Frank-Keyes, London World)
[CN: injustice, general references to VAW]
Zawe Ashton on feeling galvanised after new film about violence against women (Naomi Clarke, Belfast Telegraph)
[CN: general references to VAW and assault reporting]
Maryland will air on at 10pm, 20 July on BBC Two.
Baopu #101: Effortlessly High Expectations [webcomic] (Yao Xiao, Autostraddle)
This week’s hyperlinks had been sourced and compiled by Holly, with because of Lissy for contributions.
The featured picture is an adaption of the Non-binary Pride flag, which has horizontal strips of yellow (skinny), white (thick), purple (thick) and black (skinny). It’s by Kye Rowan and is licensed underneath the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
The embedded YouTube video reveals Cleo Sol, a British singer-songwriter of Serbian-Spanish and Jamaican heritage, singing her track ‘Why Don’t You’ right into a dropdown microphone in a naked peach colored room with a white flooring. Her shiny black hair is pulled right into a bun and he or she wears a long-sleeved orange cropped high and white denims. Subtitles/closed captions available via YouTube.
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