“But if you sit around thinking what to do and end up not doing anything, why bother even thinking about it? You’re better off going out on the town and having a good time. No, we have to think and act. That’s what we’re doing here, and that’s what you have to do.”
― Elvia Alvarado, Don’t Be Afraid, Gringo
Author Archives: spacedisruptor
Welcome Change: Vatican’s Move to Bless Same-Sex Couples a Sign of Inclusivity Push by Pontiff
“On the outside, they present themselves as righteous, as good: they like to be seen when they pray and when they fast, when they give alms. [But] it is all appearance and in their hearts there is nothing … They put make-up on their souls, they live on make-up: holiness is make-up for them”
― Frédéric Martel, In the Closet of the Vatican: Power, Homosexuality, Hypocrisy
Gospel of Hatred: Recipe for Fatal Trust and Regressive Revolutions
“The prophecy, like an angered beast, had gone berserk and was destroying his mind with the ferocity of madness . . . until all that he knew, all that was him, all that had become him was left in disarray. To my brother, Ikenna, the fear of death as prophesied by Abulu had become palpable, a caged world within which he was irretrievably trapped, and beyond which nothing else existed.”
― Chigozie Obioma, The Fishermen
Pink Camouflage – The Pinkwashing of the Israel-Palestine Conflict
“In the case of Israel-Palestine, a one-state solution will arise only on the U.S. model: with extermination or expulsion of the indigenous population.”
― Noam Chomsky, Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on the U.S.-Israeli War on the Palestinians
Gospel of Hate: How Uganda Became an Ideological Battleground
“The Government of Uganda must significantly improve its record and hold accountable those responsible for flawed election conduct, violence, and intimidation. The U.S. Government will continue to evaluate additional actions against individuals complicit in undermining democracy and human rights in Uganda, as well as their immediate family members.” – Antony Blinken
Red, Yellow, White, and Blue: How the Vietnam War Shaped US and Global LGBTQIA+ Rights Discourse
“A lot of them were like prissy. 1 mean looked on the faggoty-type side. You could tell they were corpsmen.
But I mean if that guy was in marine boot camp he’d of got bounced out. Or he’d have so many problems within the system that he fucking wouldn’t be able to hack it. He’d go out of his mind. He’d be called “a faggot.” – ARVN as Faggots: Inverted Warfare in Vietnam
Hollywood Inclusivity and African-South Asian Queer Visibility
“That episode ended. I waited for the following week to see more. This was
before you could binge-watch series. When the day came, I worked things
out again so I’d have the TV to myself. The plot went something like this: Guy’s dad doesn’t know he’s gay, keeps trying to get son with girl, but suspects son’s new flatmate is homosexual. I cringed, heart fluttering, whenever the flatmate sauntered into a scene like he had the right to set everyone else on edge.” – Siya Khumalo: You Have To Be Gay to Know God
As Good as a Mile: Inches as Masculinity and Attraction Currency
“With his pendulous penis swinging from side to side, the beast clip-clopped up a rickety flight of stairs led by Pablo Zapata’s wife, who took him through a beaded curtain into a room where a bevy of sullen women reclined on tatty sofas. A collective gasp rang out among the group and many crossed themselves in silent prayer.”
― Kevin Ansbro, The Minotaur’s Son & Other Wild Tales
Fine Lines: Explorations of queerhood through drawing
Behind these eyesA child cries Brick hands reaching to be heldThe sun’s gazes through the curtainMelting, scorching, pealingA womb within a room on the edge of doomFleeting, fleeting, repeatingEyes openA cry of despair when there is no one there to careCrash, crash, crashWhere did you stash it? Where did you stash it?Show me! Show me!Continue reading “Fine Lines: Explorations of queerhood through drawing”
Navigating Intersectionality: Black Queer Feminism in China and South Africa
“Black feminists and LGBTQ activists are labeled “hijackers” and said to be divisive or co-opting or distracting from what is important, and what is “important” is the mainstream narrative propped up by patriarchy and misogyny (straight-up hatred of women).”
― Charlene Carruthers, Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements
Elephant in the Room: The True Scale of Suicide in South East Asia
“I have had to experience so much stupidity, so many vices, so much error, so much nausea, disillusionment and sorrow, just in order to become a child again and begin anew. I had to experience despair, I had to sink to the greatest mental depths, to thoughts of suicide, in order to experience grace.”
― Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha
Excellently Draped: Content Creator Leads the Charge in Traditional Indian Garment Revolution
“I need to see more males wearing dresses, tights, stomach-outs, short pants, etc. Break the systematic masculinity …a piece by piece, boys.” ― Mitta Xinindlu
Graphic Dreams: China-Based Artist Reimagines Anime and Queer Beauty
“This is a story of art without markets, drama without a script, narrative without progress. The queer art of failure turns on the impossible, the improbable, the unlikely, and the unremarkable. It quietly loses, and in losing it imagines other goals for life, for love, for art, and for being.”
― J. Jack Halberstam, The Queer Art of Failure
Legacy of Genocide: Queer Suffering During Khmer Rouge’s Reign of Terror
“The West’s post-Holocaust pledge that genocide would never again be tolerated proved to be hollow, and for all the fine sentiments inspired by the memory of Auschwitz, the problem remains that denouncing evil is a far cry from doing good.”
― Philip Gourevitch, We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families
No Gays in Iran: Dogged Anti-LGBTQIA+ Efforts Hound Queer Iranians at Home and Abroad
“LGBTI people suffered systemic discrimination and violence. Consensual same-sex sexual relations remained criminalized with punishments ranging from flogging to the death penalty. State-endorsed “conversion therapies” amounting to torture or other ill-treatment remained prevalent, including against children. Hormone therapy and surgical procedures including sterilization were mandatory for legal gender changes. Gender non-conforming individuals risked criminalization and denial of access to education and employment.” – Amnesty International
Desirability Politics: The Slow Transformation of “Asian” in Hollywood’s Hierarchy
While continental Asia holds is home to a population of 4.561 billion as of 2018 and is divided into over 45 countries, many of which boast of great ethnic and cultural diversity, the term “Asian” is one that confounds much of the rest of the world. From Japan, North and South Korea, and the PhilippinesContinue reading “Desirability Politics: The Slow Transformation of “Asian” in Hollywood’s Hierarchy”
Matty Healy and the Cult of the White Savior: The Problem with Performative Allyship
“There are so many ways of being of being despicable it quite makes one’s head spin. But the way to be really despicable is to be contemptuous of other people’s pain.”
– James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room
Dangerous Disinformation: Sex-ed Seminar Encourages Anti-LGBT Discrimination in China
Gay men who have sex with men are disproportionately impacted by the HIV epidemic. In 2019, the risk of acquiring HIV was 26 times higher for gay men and other men who have sex with men than for the rest of the population. In 2019, 23 percent of new HIV infections were among gay men and other men who have sex with men. In western and central Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia and the Pacific, that figure has risen to more than 40 percent.
– UNAIDS Human Rights Fact Sheet 2021
The Erdoğan Solution: Gender and Sexual Minorities Targets in Turkish Culture War Battle
Imagine being on holiday in one of the world’s most beautiful and historic countries, one that you have longed to visit for as long as you can remember. While asking for directions from police officers, you are placed under arrest. You have unwittingly stumbled into a sweep. The reason for your arrest? You look Gay!Continue reading “The Erdoğan Solution: Gender and Sexual Minorities Targets in Turkish Culture War Battle”
Living Nightmare: Former Shanghai Resident Arrested in Turkey for “Looking Gay”
As thousands take to the streets of Istanbul and Izmir in defiance, they risk facing tear gas and rubber bullets. The authorities should allow LGBTI Pride Marches in Türkiye to go ahead safely and without interference.
– Nils Muižnieks, Amnesty International’s Europe Director.
Piquing Duck 