Tag Archives: racism

#SafeWordSociety Is the Safe Space Podcast We Need Right Now

A safe word is magical.

Many couples use it during sex, especially when practicing BDSM. If you get too overwhelmed with what your partner is doing, you can say your safe word – and boom, the uncomfortable situation ends. You feel safe and comfortable again.

If only the world worked like that. Wouldn’t it be great if, whenever a straight white man speaks over you in a meeting or you remember that Donald Trump is the US President, you could speak a “safe word” and return the world to something comfortable?

#SafeWordSociety is the next best thing. This podcast is a comforting safe space where you can be free from racism, misogyny, homophobia and ableism, at least for one hour each week.

https://twitter.com/safewordsociety/status/869631062951038977

The podcast delves deeply into the nuances of surviving as a queer or transgender person of color (QTPOC). The podcast specifically focuses on NYC, but it’s uplifting and applicable for queer women who live all over the globe. Their purpose is to “create a safe space in media for versatility while uplifting the stories of those that aren’t often heard.”

Every week, the bubbly host Kristen McCallum teams up with Lamika Young to conduct interviews with influential people fighting for QTPOC rights.

For example, on the episode The Quench, they sat down to chat with Morgen Bromel, CEO and Founder of Thurst, who will help you get got this cuffing season.

This revolutionary app focuses on queer and transgender people of color, who are often overlooked on mainstream social networking sites because they’re not conventionally desirable.

https://twitter.com/safewordsociety/status/831902417428045826

In the episode “Workplace Woes,” they shot the breeze with a transgender IT professional and a gender nonconforming university administrator, discussing the fails of workplace inclusivity.

New episodes debut every week. Learn more at the official website, or get caught up by bingeing the first dozen episodes directly on their Libsyn page. If you’re a QTPOC and have ideas for what you would like to see covered, don’t hesitate to contact them – they need your voice on air.

South African Activists Call Cape Town Pride ‘Racist’, Say It Should Become More Inclusive

The topic of racism in South Africa is not a new one. From 1948 until 1994, South Africa went through an awful period of racial segregation called apartheid. Although most people in South Africa were black or of other ethnic minorities, their rights were taken away from them and Afrikaner minority rule (Afrikaners are a white ethnic group) was enforced.

It’s unsurprising then, that there are ongoing complaints by South Africa’s LGBT community that the annual Cape Town Pride celebration is not just exclusionary but is inherently racist too.

While it’s unclear as to how Cape Town Pride has been racist, activists have raised issue with the fact that Cape Town Pride is mostly focused on white, gay men and fails to address the issues of queer women in townships, such as the fact that that they are often threatened with rape or have verbal abuse thrown at them.

A group of like minded activists who agree that Cape Town Pride needs to change have set up Alternative Inclusive Pride which takes place at the same time as Cape Town Pride. What’s key is that despite the timing of the AIP, the organisers aren’t calling for a boycott and instead hold seminars, parties and continue to ask for Cape Town Pride to involve the wider LGBT community in its planning.

Funeka Soldaat, a member of Alternative Inclusive Pride as well as being the chairperson of Free Gender, a lobbying group explains that “Protesting at the event was the last resort for us, we’ve been engaging with the organisers for a while, but they chose not to listen”.

However, despite the insistence that Cape Town Pride needs to change, Cape Town Pride director, Matthew van As has retaliated saying that actually, Alternative Inclusive Pride’s protest is racist.

“I don’t agree with the method they used. I find it slightly racist because Pride doesn’t see colour or gender, anyone is welcome to get involved and you can choose not to join in.

They were given until the 20 December to add any new events to our calendar, but we didn’t get anything. About two weeks before Pride, we were contacted to say there was unhappiness about the calendar. It was too late for us to change things a week before a festival.”

Matthew van As

van As also notes that his organisation has held Khumbulani Pride in Gugulethu where they have talked about homophobia in the townships.

It’s unlikely that the situation will be resolved soon but we’ll keep you posted once we know more.

Comedian Sabrina Jalees: “I Came Out and My Muslim Dad Stood By Me”

This video by with Comedian Sabrina Jalees and her father Sayed is a great example for struggling parents of LGBT children, no matter their background.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdMl5k2S1K0

“Before I realized I was gay, I was kind of homophobic. I mean, that’s disgusting! Two women—together? Ugh. Really, I guess, I was just afraid that that was me.”

Sabrina Jalees

Jalees grew up in a multi-ethnic home (her mother is from Switzerland, and her father is from Pakistan) in Toronto.

Comparing her ‘Coming Out’ to cliff diving, Jalees knew that tell her family about her sexuality would be hard, but she felt very strongly that she needed to tell her parents.

“I came out to my parents, because I wanted to keep my relationship with them.”

Sabrina Jalees

Right after she told her father, she remembers him, after a long stretch of shocked silence, saying, “Well… We didn’t raise you guys to be liars”, and from that moment on, Sabrina knew things were going to be reasonably all right.

While she was growing up, Sabrina’s family played host to her various aunts, uncles and cousins, moving to Canada and the US from Pakistan, and Sabrina became very close with her extended family.

Even though she knew it was difficult, she believed very strongly that to be true to both herself and her relationship with her family, she needed to tell them about her life and her recent marriage.

In an email to her aunts, uncles and cousins, she wrote:

I got married this past summer to an amazing woman named Shauna. Although some of you do know, I’ve found it hard to be open with all of you about this part of myself. I really avoided “coming out” for a long time because I love all of you and didn’t want anyone to see me in a different light or judge me. I do not want to keep hiding this from you because I feel that if I continue “not mentioning” this part of my life I’ll completely drift away from you guys.

There were no responses. Sabrina quickly realized that none of her extended family members were planning to write back to her. Many de-friended her on Facebook. Eventually, she heard from one of them that the official family line was, “our support for Sabrina ends here.”

“I thought there would be more of a conversation around it. I never expected them to just shut off and throw me out.”

Sabrina Jalees

Her parents embraced her life, and made sure the rest of the family knew it.

 

A Touching, Inspiring and Funny TedxTalk by Lesbian Comedian Sabrina Jalees

Throughout history, comedians have used humor to shed light on subjects that are typically considered to be uncomfortable or taboo.

In this recently posted TEDxTalk, comedian Sabrina Jalees approaches the topics of racism and sexuality, as she tells a coming-of-age story.

After working up the courage to tell her Muslim family that she was a lesbian, Sabrina learned that being true to herself and taking pride in her individuality would not only enhance her material, as a comedian, but that ultimately it would lead to a happier life.

Jalees is a Canadian comedian, actor, keynote speaker, writer and host of ‘My Sexy Podcast”. Now based in Brooklyn, she started her comedy career early at the age of just sixteen, when she took the stage and performed on open mic night at the Yuk Yuk Comedy Club in Toronto.

This talk is positive, insightful, and funny. Hell, the opening lining is…

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“Legally I do have to tell you, by the end of this talk, you’ll all be lesbians.”

Sabrina Jalees

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