Subramanian Swamy, Transgender Pastors, And Options To Donate
It's the second edition of Queering About.
If you're new - hello!
If you're not - welcome back!
We’re two queer journalists curating and writing about all things LGBTQIA+, from India and beyond.
As June draws to a close, Pride 2020 has come to an end. And what a Pride Month it's been for us Indians. A devastating pandemic, locust attacks, earthquakes, cyclones, the economic impact of the unprecedented lockdowns- whew. That's not even counting some of the atrocities the Indian state chooses to inflict on its own people, including (but very much not limited to) the brutal custodial rape and murder of P Jayaraj and his son J Fenix in Tamil Nadu. The rest of the world hasn't fared a lot better, but at least people there have managed to have their say. (We won't lie, we've been watching some of the statue-topplings with a lot of glee.)
Tough times all around, and we're so glad you're here with us today. Maybe we could all just pause and take stock of how much we've all been through.
Also, one of our writers who's turning 25 this Tuesday - been here for a full quarter of a century! Whoo-hoo! - overburdened themselves with so much work this weekend that this edition was written almost entirely by their partner-in-crime. Sorry, man. At least I did the edits?
Anyway, on to everything else...
And now, the news.
Let’s get to the big stuff that made headlines this week in India and around the world:
Looks like Mr. Subramanian Swamy learnt nothing over these past few years about queer people. He retweeted his 2016 opinion in a Times Now News piece, maintaining that homosexuality is a genetic trait. Okay, boomer.
The lockdown has been a distressing time for Indian queers. The South China Morning Post and Al Jazeera ran pieces about the struggles faced by LGBTQIA+ due to the lockdown. Humsafar Trust, an organisation that works with queers, stated that it received 87 distress calls during the lockdown months, compared to about seven the month before that. Cases of people inflicting self-harm or having suicidal thoughts are on the rise as there has been an increase in surveillance and a lack of private spaces in which to own their identity. TOI has done a piece on working from home as a queer person (warning: it’s behind a paywall).
In support of black queer lives, parades and rallies have been planned in London, New York, Berlin, and Taipei. Organisers have said that strict social distancing rules are to be followed at parades, along with wearing face masks and using hand-sanitisers. Former members of the Gay Liberation Front, a 1970s activist group, for their 50th anniversary on Saturday will be walking the cancelled London Pride’s route. In New York, thousands are expected to attend Sunday's Queer Liberation March.
June 26th was the five-year anniversary of the Marriage Equality Act in the USA. We're not sure we really fully believe in traditionally heteronormative life goals, but we do believe that all human beings deserve to have the governmental and financial benefits that authority-sanctioned marriage brings, so yay! It's worth remembering that the law was passed by ONE vote in a 5 against four decision and that laws, once passed, can be overturned. We're thinking a lot about this quote: “As the State itself makes marriage all the more precious by the significance it attaches to it, exclusion from that status has the effect of teaching that gays and lesbians are unequal in important respects.”
17 corrections officers are to be disciplined, also in the USA, for their conduct towards Layleen Xtravaganza Cubilette-Polanco, a 27 yr old trans woman, who suffered a fatal epileptic seizure on in 2019. She went unchecked for 45 minutes despite jail policies highlighting that she needed to be checked every 15 minutes.
Three men - David Wails (49), Joseph Ritchie-Bennett (39), and James Furlong (36) - were stabbed in a park in Reading in the UK, on the evening of June 20. All three were prominent members of the local LGBT+ community. Khairi Saadallah (25) has been arrested for the crime and is to appear at the magistrate’s court on Monday. Though no motives have been ruled out, it is being treated as a terrorist incident.
More bad news from the UK: the country's getting ready to roll back the rules that allow people to change their legal gender by “self-identifying” as male or female. This comes at the same time that they are instead focusing on a ban on “gay cure” therapies. The self-identification route was one that was put up under Theresa May’s government to help transgender people change their birth certificate without a medical diagnosis. To us, the move feels not only transphobic but one that explicitly pits the trans community against the rest of the queer community. It's a dangerous route to take in this current atmosphere of anti-trans 'feminism' and 'LGB' alliances becoming more common in the UK.
Remember when we told you about current Polish President Andrzej Duda compared being queer to tyranny under communism? Now, close to a hundred Poles took part in a 5K “Equality Run” last Saturday in Warsaw, to push back against his bigoted rhetoric. WHOOP!
This is my (Zoon’s) favourite news item today: Russia, a place where gay marriage is still not legal, has recognised a same-sex union because it was conducted abroad, making them eligible for tax benefits! Igor Kochetkov, the head of Russia's LGBT Network, applied to the country's Federal Tax Service to receive certain tax benefits and reductions, specifically for a tax deduction for the life insurance expenses of his spouse - and it was allowed. Loophole!
The blot of ink on your favourite white trousers that is Graham Linehan (Irish writer of the sitcom IT Crowd and full-time transphobe) has now been banned from Twitter for violating their platform’s rules against hateful conduct. A Woman’s Institute post wishing a happy Pride to their transgender members was too much for him, after which he took to repeatedly tweeting “Men aren’t women tho” in replies.
Sidenote: check out this amazing response from Hozier, our Forest King, who got REALLY tired of Linehan's transphobic bullshit earlier this month.
A Canadian Baptist pastor, Junia Joplin, came out as a transgender woman to her church in an online sermon. She also discussed embracing one’s truth which was incredibly inspiring, especially at a time where radical religious voices drown out everything else.
Congratulations to Ritchie Torres and Mondaire Jones, who have won local elections in New York, while Puerto Rican-Dominican queer Latinx candidate Samuel Nemir Olivares has won his race to become district leader as well! Torres and Jones may now become the first openly LGBTQ+ Afro-Latinx and Black members of congress.
And the Native American Navajo Nation, who were meant to celebrate their first Pride this year, have now moved it to an online Pride! Support for LGBTQIA+ people has grown in the Navajo Nation, with them flying a Pride flag for the first time last year. “We are looking out for our People, our family, our friends, our relatives and everyone who supports the LGBTQ community,” said Speaker Damon.
What We’re Into
The events we’re attending, the books and articles we’re reading, the films and shows we’re watching and the music we’re listening to.
This piece, written by two psychiatrists from NIMHANS, focuses on the importance of older queers in mainstream LGBTQAI+ discourse. They highlight that research across the world shows nearly 5 to 10 percent of older adults identify as queer across countries, but they lack representation in research, civil rights, and media; falling prey to the ageist trope of bitter homosexuals.
On the other side of the age spectrum, The Hindu featured an article that gives voice to queer kids - those in schools or colleges - and discusses how comfortable they are about their identity in academic spaces. It also highlights how some educational spaces have been trying to embrace queerness. Baby queers — welcome to the community <3
Rolling Stone India has a list of queer Indian artists that you should know about.
Chinese-Singaporean photographer Charmaine Poh explores what desire looks like in a feminine queer relationship through her photo series "How They Love.” It features Singaporean queer couples posing in front of their parents’ traditional wedding pictures, with the subjects highlighting what’s important to them in a relationship. It’s so, so sweet.
Here’s a list of queer South East Asian musicians you shouldn’t be missing out on; such bold voices from a region where queer relationships are still illegal.
And a great piece from the New Yorker on how Queer Liberation March is a radical new change to the idea of Pride Marches.
Donate to the community
Ambedkar University Delhi is raising funds for multiple initiatives that are supporting various vulnerable sections of the society. Head out to their Instagram to help them out!
Grace Banu, a writer, trans engineer, Dalit & Trans Rights Activist has a great list of resources to donate to trans women in Tamil Nadu.
Rest in Power.
Angela Madsen (60)
A record-breaking Paralympian, LGBT+ activist and Marine veteran, Angela tragically passed away while trying a solo row journey across the Pacific. She was last heard of by her wife Deb Madsen on Saturday evening (June 20) when Angela said she was going to enter the water to complete maintenance.
Mental Health Resources:
Sahaya Help Line: 080-223 0959
Operates: Only on Tuesdays and Fridays, 7 pm - 9 pm
Sappho Helpline: +91-9831518320
Operates: 10 am – 9 pm
Space: (toll-free tele-counselling helpline) 1800111015
Operates: 10 am - 6 pm every day.
A list of other places to call if you need help, clarity, or just someone to talk to.
A non-exhaustive list of queer+ve therapists in India bought out by Gaysi Family.
Queer Quote of the Week:
If I wait for someone else to validate my existence, it will mean that I’m shortchanging myself.
Zanele Muholi, A queer South African activist and artist.
Thank you for reading, and see you for our next letter!
Stay in touch: queeringabout@gmail.com. We’re also on Twitter!