It Belongs To The People

Today's episode, I must confess, is one that hits directly home, for we will comment on a sport I utterly loved as a kid, football. Believe it or not, I even had dreams to even become a professional footballer but things happened along the way. Long-story-short, let's say my mannerism and voice (for I had a "feminine" voice compared to my teammates), hampered my success as a sportsman even though my abilities as both goalkeeper and centre-back was in the words of my coach "astounding". Abusive commentary and attitudes towards me were a daily habit I had to be accustomed to because you know, it's always just a fun game and boys will be boys. Eventually, I fell out of love for the sport when I accepted my sexuality. And happily, nowadays I'm grateful I didn't continue on the path of being a professional footballer, for reasons why we are going to comment on this episode with our interviewee Beth Miles.

Beth is a member of a marvellous football team from London, called Goal Diggers. In its five years of life, the team composed of women & non-binary people has changed the perception that many have with football being primarily a male sport. Nowadays with more than 200 associates, Goal Diggers stands for creating a place where inclusivity is the key and ability is to be developed, not as a primary reason why one should be negated entrance on the pitch. 

Beth besides being a right-back she is also the social secretary of the team, which means she creates incredible gatherings outside the matches. Beth hosted an episode on the BBC  Radio 4 programme called "My name is..." where she discusses the necessity male football has to learn from female football how to add inclusivity and dismantling of prejudices, so know to us all, into their agenda. I'll leave the link for the episode in case you wanna hear it, it's of course beautifully hosted and edited. 

In our talk today we're going to delve into her story with football, how the football pitch and society reflect each other, female football and inclusivity, coming out as a sportsman and why it's been taking us forever to hear of a gay or bi or transsexual footballer and how sports can become political acts. 

On this week's episode, I'm utterly excited, and cheerful, and bubbly for we are going to comment on a short movie called "In France Michelle Is a Man's Name" which tells the story of Michael, a young trans man, who returns home on the rural American West after a period of estrangement from his parents.

As a short introduction that won't nearly cover all their accomplishments and who they are - Em Weinstein is a writer and a director of short films, musicals, and interactive installations. Em is an alumnus of the Drama League Directors Project and is a New Georges Associate Artist. Em received an M.F.A. in directing from Yale School of Drama in May 2019.

Em’s first short film Candace has played at festivals worldwide including the Mill Valley Film Festival, Outfest, the Rhode Island International Film Festival, and the American Pavilion Emerging LGBTQ Filmmakers Showcase at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won Best Film.

Their new film "In France's Michelle Is a Man's Name" which I watched for at least 15 times, is a thought-provoking, self-introspective analysis on the dynamic of masculinity and fatherhood in the lives of queer people. As a nonbinary person, which means that Em fluctuates between the feminine and the masculine realms, tells me during our conversation that one the main reasons why they decided to create the film are based on the need we ought to acquire to reevaluate our genders, and how they can be socially-restrictive and mentally self-degrading if we let it be the primary source of how we mould our personality, therefore who we are.

On our talk, we'll analyse some scenes of the film, the subjective meaning and social commentary Em infuses in his work, how growing up in the arts helped them to become self-realised about their gender, parenthood in modern times, how we can nurture positive masculine interactions and unpack what once was considered the norm and much more.

Whenever the topic of fashion is brought up to the table, two stark perspectives are met - on one side the extreme admiration for high garments and styles, on the other, complete disregard for the industry. Wherever you find yourself in this discussion, both realms rarely remember those who display the so loved or hated garments - the fashion models.

Since their first strides on runways, fashion models have endured, with no twitch of their mouths, the hard work lived in the backstage only know to them whilst prevailing in a culture that portrays them as mere mannequins and shallow individuals, diminishing every possible chance of multidimensionality of these workers.

Contrary to what many believe, not all models are the likes of your imagination of the fashion world, so that's why I decided to invite someone that has been in this business for 7 years and has modelled for the likes of Kate Spade, DKNY, Estée Lauder, Vera Wang, Oscar de La Renta, Zadig & Voltaire and Phillip Lim.

By showcasing the backstage of the so presupposed "glamorous life" of models, Luiza Scandelari gained notoriety for creating an informative and welcoming space where people can connect with her whilst being open about the real life of an international model, the day to day hustle and bustle. I found it moving when she told that the creation of her channel has a way to share her voice, to show that she has experiences to tell, much of what we've been trying to do with our programme here. A perfect match of ideas.

Many unfortunately still consider modelling as futile and superfluous work and unfortunately don't give the recognition and proper care the workers in this industry are due to receive, which leads to abusive practices we've seen in last years being denounced by models, especially female workers.

In our talk, we discuss Luiza's first stages working in the fashion industry as a 17-year-old girl lost in Milan, how to protect young models, and why fashion matters as a mirror of what is happening in our societies, just as arts do. Luiza and I believe that clothes are the upmost and most democratic form of expression whether you fancy abiding by it or not.

On today's episode, we are receiving a figure of light, someone who as she states "I use magic to empower myself and others" trough love and self-acceptance doesn't matter the conditions you're being surrounded by. Sol is a Drag Queen, singer, writer, healer and a fabulous witch. Apart from these amazing titles, I can confirm she's one of the best things that has happened to me since lockdown started. She showed me the importance of love whilst being an advocate for social change, a change that must start within yourself.

In our lovely talk, we're going to address Sol's experience as a black gender non-binary person in the queer community and in the black community and how both aspects of her life have been coinciding, drag queen performances as an introspective vehicle beyond the material realm, cherry-picked diversity and the necessity of representing different bodies and minds when addressing the whole LGBTQIA+ acronym, her story growing up in Harlem, New York City, self-healing and forgiveness to move forward.

Sol's article about being black and philanthropy in the workplace - https://www.peakgrantmaking.org/insights/assimilation-and-authenticity-being-black-in-philanthropy/

On this episode of "It Belongs To The People" we're pondering about something I dearly love - vintage styling as a form of self-liberation from, ironically as it may sound, traditional modern views of styling. 

As a mean to differentiate, unify or identify, clothes also started to become more than these concepts, it became a statement of how we understand the concept of personality.

Obviously, backup by the growth of social media, trends and consciousness about how we want to present ourselves, the demand for clothes also skyrocketed beyond limits, causing a lot of negative environmental impacts all over the world and exploitation of cheap labour in other countries.

Thinking about that, I decided to invite someone that has been living her life in a manner that is completely the opposite of what we've seen in fast fashion and fast modernity nowadays. Noortje Laan is a painting artist, florist designer and someone that I utterly admire. 

By embodying a vintage lifestyle, Noortje found a new form to see the world and also herself. And her clothes, as you're about to hear, is one big asset in this beautiful process. From the 19th century to the rockabilly swing, she discovered how to create significance to a humble piece of fabric.

By listening to her story, I hope we can understand better the importance of clothes to our lives in a productive anti-consumerism manner. Also, in our talk, we are going to address the evolution and the rise slow fashion, and an analysis of trends and how our clothes can shape our lives in a sustainable manner, for the environment and also our wellness. 

On our fifth episode, I'm thrilled to introduce you guys to a person that I admire from the very core of my being. Roshan Nausad is a makeup artist, activist and is someone that beans light and enchants everyone who comes in contact with them by their friendless and warmth. Needless to say, but his Aussie accent is also a plus on his social skills. Born in India but moved to Australia at the age of four, Roshan has learned through the years how to embrace his Indian heritage whilst conveying their life in a new country. Now at the age of 21, they use their Instagram as a platform to spread self-love and acceptance to the brown community, especially the South Asian population. Roshan is gender-nonconforming so that's I'm using the pronouns them, they.

One of the topics very much discussed by Roshan is the skin bleaching industry, a culture that has lived for ages in his home country. Skin bleaching, skin whitening or fair skin are terms you're gonna hear trough our talk. These terms are a result of the racial system imposed in India that for centuries have structured how the society and its population make sense of the word and of themselves. 

During our episode, we'll address the structure of the caste system regarding one's skin colour and how skin bleaching creams are the only opportunity for social mobility for dark-skinned people in India. Also, we dabble on the role-play of colourism in India as a colonial heritage and how to move away from its grip nowadays. 

Music in this ep:

M.I.A - Jimmy.

Chet Baker - Time after time.

On our fifth episode, I'm thrilled to introduce you guys to a person that I admire from the very core of my being. Roshan Nausad is a makeup artist, activist and is someone that beans light and enchants everyone who comes in contact with them by their friendless and warmth. Needless to say, but his Aussie accent is also a plus on his social skills. Born in India but moved to Australia at the age of four, Roshan has learned through the years how to embrace his Indian heritage whilst conveying their life in a new country. Now at the age of 21, they use their Instagram as a platform to spread self-love and acceptance to the brown community, especially the South Asian population. Roshan is gender-nonconforming so that's I'm using the pronouns them, they.

One of the topics very much discussed by Roshan is the skin bleaching industry, a culture that has lived for ages in his home country. Skin bleaching, skin whitening or fair skin are terms you're gonna hear trough our talk. These terms are a result of the racial system imposed in India that for centuries have structured how the society and its population make sense of the word and of themselves. 

During our episode, we'll address the structure of the caste system regarding one's skin colour and how skin bleaching creams are the only opportunity for social mobility for dark-skinned people in India. Also, we dabble on the role-play of colourism in India as a colonial heritage and how to move away from its grip nowadays.  

Music in this ep:

M.I.A - Jimmy.

Chet Baker - Time after time.

Get in everyone, 'cause today we are going to court, and the Brits are ready to spill the hot cuppa.

I've got to say, I'm super excited for our fourth episode where we gonna talk about queerness in a very unusual place when we think about the LGBTQ+ community, which is the legal setting. One of the most prominent conversations we're having in recent years is how we can promote diversity of sexes, races and beliefs in different scenarios. Created by Liv Reily and Owen Hussey, Queer Lawyers of Tomorrow, is an organisation aiming to promote, assist and propel LGBTQ+ individuals in the legal career via a platform where these minorities can feel welcomed to be who they are and also continue in their legal profession. With a networking community, events, application support, shared opportunities and an ally network, Queer Lawyers of Tomorrow hope to promote an ever-expanding openness in the legal work field.

One of our guests today is Liv Reily. Liv has just graduated in Law at the University of Exeter and wants to work with entertainment law. As I mentioned before, she's also one of the founders of Queer Lawyers of Tomorrow. We are also receiving another guest today, Callum Ward. Callum is a final year student of Law at the University of Lincoln and is also one of the admin assistants of QLT as well. He wants to work with family law in the future.

With them, we gonna address Liv's experience being a member of the LGBTQ+ community whilst being a lawyer, and in contrast, Callum's experience of not being a member of LGBTQ+ community but how by being an ally has helped him and what's the necessity of allyship to social movements nowadays. Needless to say, our talk today is extremely important, informative and inspiring.

One of the things that caught my attention the most is how the members of Queer Lawyers of Tomorrow, decided to create this astounding platform after many frustrations in the work field because of their sexual identity. An so forth set themselves to build a space where they can be accepted and welcomed. Showing that everyone must be invited to the legal party. So better open your vacancies, or, we are suing (finally reached my dream to say it out loud on the internet).

Happy belated pride everyone.

Matt xxx

In the third episode of 'It Belongs To The People', we received the screenwriter and producer for Warner Bros, Eric Kaplan. After a very serendipitous encounter via an Instagram story, we both realised how we lived almost the same aforementioned event in the same time span and how our experiences entangled one another during our conversation and created a thread much needed for when in times of sorrow - the thread of sharing for internal healing. When one of my biggest companions since childhood passed last April, I kept myself and what I was feeling at that time in the echo chamber of my head. Honey and I lived together for 18 bloody years, so you can wonder how difficult, to say the least, it was to endure this occurrence amidst a pandemic.

Having difficulty to share my feelings with people had always been a tremendous issue in my life - every Scorpio will relate - so when my little friend passed, the guilty of being distressed about it whilst people were dealing with far more painful events 'round the world, just intensified the avoidance of letting myself be vulnerable to my own emotions and also trust people of which I could procure in times of need, whether it was my friends or family.

After weeks of brooding and self-berating, I finally came to the realisation of how such a very intimate death, such as of Honey's, made me ever more alive. I understood that death is not an enemy, a never-ending sorrow, but actually, the pain we feel is the utmost reaffirmation of everything that constituted the love you felt for the one who once lived, and acceptance of what you cannot change does belittle in any form what you will always feel for that loved one.

In the third episode of 'It Belongs To The People', we receive the screenwriter and producer, Eric Kaplan. After a very serendipitous encounter via an Instagram story, we both realised how we lived almost the same aforementioned event in the same time span and how our experiences entangled one another during our conversation and created a thread much needed for when in times of sorrow - the thread of sharing for internal healing.

The names you'll hear at the beginning of this episode belongs to all the black people killed over the years at the hands of law enforcement and/or to police brutality. 

After the unfortunate murder of George Floyd last month, the Black Lives Matter gained recognition once again in the media. If you've given a listen to our first episode you know that this podcast is dedicated to all beings who deserve a safe space of which to share their stories. I couldn't start this journey with you all without addressing the marginalised lives of many being left behind. 

In this episode of 'It Belongs To The People', my dearest and warmest friend Meckayla Leewong and I discuss the subtle forms of racism in our society. We hope to shed a light into the plagued structural racism in our society, from the foolish commentaries black people have had to endure that escalates to violent and vicious acts of violence as we have seen throughout the years. Black Lives Matter.

Films:

13th by Ava Duvernay 

American Son by Kenny Leon 

Dear White People by Justin Simien 

See You Yesterday by Stefan Bristol 

When they See Us by Ava Duvernay 

Matangi / Maya / M.I.A 

Organisations: 

Antiracist Research + Policy Center 

Black Lives Matter 

Black Women’s Blueprint 

The Conscious Kid Equal Justice Initiative 

Families Belong Together 

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

 MPowerChange 

NAACP 

National Domestic Worker Alliance 

RAICESSisterSong 

United We Dream

Books:

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Longer-Talki...

White Fragility - https://www.amazon.co.uk/White-Fragil...

Me and White Supremacy Workbook - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Me-White-Sup...

How to be Antiracist: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Be-Antir...

The Souls of Black Folk by Dubois: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Souls-Black-...

Reach out to us to share your suggestions, questions and interviewees:

[email protected] 

@loonymatt

Music in this episode:

Goldmund - Sometimes.