Queerness

This past weekend, over 200 participants came to see the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights’ (TAPCPR) "看見跨性別藝文展 100 Ways to See Transgender" exhibition at 二空間 SPACE TWO. Since their first Transgender Film Festival in 2020, TAPCPR has made it a tradition to do larger scale public engagement programming around transgender issues every year in the month of November. Last year was the second Transgender Film Festival, and this year is the 100 Ways to See Transgender exhibition

Tenderness teaches us that if we consider softness with enough rigor, if we consider ourselves with enough softness, a wound is a portal, not an end.

From buzzy soap operas and historical dramas to award-winning films, programming centered on Taiwan continues to proliferate across Netflix. The latest entry: an episode of “Midnight Asia,” a six-part docuseries by InFocus Asia celebrating the diverse nightlife found in Asian metropolises, such as Seoul, Mumbai, Tokyo, Manila and Bangkok.

Having criminalized queerness, the Nigerian state ruthlessly promotes homophobia. In response, LGBTQIA+ Nigerians continue to mobilize, committing to the struggle for queer rights.

I hesitate to read works that portray Black queer trauma. Many of our collective narratives focus on pain and spiritual isolation, with very little room for much else. But there is a difference between a book that reduces us to our pain and a book that opens up the world by exploring the repercussions of being made to feel unclean, undesired, unkept, unhoused, unloved.

What is gayness if it isn’t visible via purchases? What is safety if it isn’t sanctioned by the consumer state? Without Target gay gear, many celebrants would be left indistinguishable from the average heterosexual white dude.

When I hear the conflicts that arise between my uncle and his wife, I circle back to his singular pursuit of having power over everyone and anyone. I listen as daily conversations drift into discussing how his failing body increases his dependence on others.