Queering the Perspective

Soyeohang Rai (he/him) is a learning photographer and design student of Nepalese descent living in New Delhi.

In this episode we take a deep dive into the topic of indigenous knowledge, colonization, gender and language. Soy speaks about their upbringing in a rural hill village and the influence of the English language as a way of overwriting local, ancient languages spoken in the region. Connecting to that point, he also explains the detrimental consequences of colonization under the "promise of progress" and the imposition of the gender binary in a culture where gender did not exist in such rigid forms. A very drastic example of that are traditional dances which used to be performed by everyone and today only by cis women.

This episode is a big reminder for the importance of an anti-capitalist, decolonial global understanding of queerness. For more background information on language and colonialism check this blogpost on our website

This podcast is partially funded by Heinrich Böll Stiftung Phnom Penh, Cambodia & Heinrich Böll Stiftung New Delhi, India in collaboration with SafeSpaceBtB

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if you would like to join the podcast community, you can now become a member via Steady starting at 2,50€ per month or donate directly to us via paypal: [email protected] and as always

feel free to reach out if you have any feedback, questions, suggestions for future topics/guests via Instagram or e-mail: [email protected]

I am your host Béla Belissima, non-binary soul from Berlin on the journey to dismantle our cis-heteronormative world and look beyond all binaries. Re-writing our narratives and telling our own stories. Thanks for being here

In this second episode of season 4, the guest is Abha Bhaiya (she/her) who is a feminist, activist, researcher, trainer and the builder of the institution and the retreat centre Jagori Rural Charitable Trust in Himachal Pradesh, India.

Abha begins the episode by explaining the origins of the feminist movement in India and her personal involvement in it through the founding of Jagori in 1984. We continue by talking about the difference of feminist organizing in the urban and the rural sphere, followed by her ultimate decision to set up a feminist centre in the rural area of Himarchal Pradesh and what the main work of the organization currently is. Towards the end, Abha addresses the intersection between feminism and queerness and in how far they are integrated together in the organization.

Intersectional feminism is the only way to a future. For more background information on the feminist movement in India Check this blogpost on our website

This podcast is partially funded by Heinrich Böll Stiftung Phnom Penh, Cambodia & Heinrich Böll Stiftung New Delhi, India in collaboration with SafeSpaceBtB

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if you would like to join the podcast community, you can now become a member via Steady starting at 2,50€ per month or donate directly to us via paypal: [email protected] and as always

feel free to reach out if you have any feedback, questions, suggestions for future topics/guests via Instagram or e-mail: [email protected]

I am your host Béla Belissima, non-binary soul from Berlin on the journey to dismantle our cis-heteronormative world and look beyond all binaries. Re-writing our narratives and telling our own stories. Thanks for being here

Here is a little preview on what to expect from the new season: "Queering the Perspective: South (East) Asia Edition. From one of the founders of the feminist movement in India, the first gender non-conforming model walking Colombo fashion week in Sri Lanka, community organizers reimagining masculinity and talking Indonesian queer history in Bali, a public advocate for LGBTQ* rights and sex worker in Bangkok, Thailand to the owner of Cambodia's first gay dance company: our interviewee ALL have a story to tell.

Joys, hardships, solidarity, stigmatization, anti-capitalism and critiques of colonization and its consequence. This season invites you to broaden your idea of gender, queerness and intersectionality.

Hope you enjoy <3333

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if you would like to join the podcast community, you can now become a member via Steady starting at 2,50€ per month or donate directly to us via paypal: [email protected] and as always

feel free to reach out if you have any feedback, questions, suggestions for future topics/guests via Instagram or e-mail: [email protected]

I am your host Béla Belissima, non-binary soul from Berlin on the journey to dismantle our cis-heteronormative world and look beyond all binaries. Re-writing our narratives and telling our own stories. Thanks for being here

Welcome to this VERY FIRST EPISODE of the new SEASON 4 of "Queering the Perspective". The first guest is Santa Khurai (she/her) who is a Nupi Maanbi (trans woman) from Manipur, India. She belongs to the indigenous Meitei community of the region and has dedicated her life to advocacy and documentation of the realities of trans people in Manipur.

In this episode we speak about the challenges faced by the trans* community in Manipur and what makes their lives unique compared to the rest of India. Santa also talks about the Amaibi community which traditionally held the roles of (queer) spiritual leaders in the region but are now being marginalized. In the very end of the episode we talk about her movie "Nawa - The Spirit of Atey", which won the best non-fiction award at the Nagaland Film Festival 2019."

Santa's experience and insights show that there is no one version of transness and our awareness must extend to trans* communities worldwide. For more background information on the forgotten history of trans women in Manipur Check this blogpost on our website

This podcast is partially funded by Heinrich Böll Stiftung Phnom Penh, Cambodia & Heinrich Böll Stiftung New Delhi, India in collaboration with SafeSpaceBtB

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if you would like to join the podcast community, you can now become a member via Steady starting at 2,50€ per month or donate directly to us via paypal: [email protected] and as always

feel free to reach out if you have any feedback, questions, suggestions for future topics/guests via Instagram or e-mail: [email protected]

I am your host Béla Belissima, non-binary soul from Berlin on the journey to dismantle our cis-heteronormative world and look beyond all binaries. Re-writing our narratives and telling our own stories. Thanks for being here

Guest on this episode recorded at the visionskultur festival in september 2022 is the magnificent non-binary singer, performer, hair & make-up artist Rhama (they/she) .

In this Live-Podcast, we dive into queerbaiting and queer gatekeeping as two contemporary phenomena surrounding contemporary queerness. This conversation stands in the context of frequent discussions surrounding queer branding and rainbow capitalism as for instance seen with the controversy surrounding the Vogue Cover of Harry Styles in a dress . While many of these criticisms are very valid, they also contribute in some instances to an atmosphere of gatekeeping within the queer community through sentiments like “not being queer enough”. We aim to balance these different sides and present a more or less nuanced image of some of the challenges of queerness in recent years.

This is the very last episode of the season three of "queering the perspective". I hope you enjoy our conversation as well as all the other episodes of this season. Stay tuned for what's to come. I can tell you its gonna be gooooood and it might come a little sooner than expected.

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if you would like to support this podcast you can now become a member via Steady or donate directly to me via paypal: [email protected] and as always

feel free to reach out if you have any feedback, questions, suggestions for future topics/guests via Instagram Facebook or e-mail: [email protected]

I am your host Béla Belissima, non-binary soul from Berlin on the journey to dismantle our cis-heteronormative world and look beyond all binaries. Re-writing our narratives and telling our own stories. Thanks for being here

Long overdue, I am beyond happy to present to you the recording of the Live-Podcast in July 2022 at Fusion Festival with queer architects Shannon & Raeza . We start off by discussing what queer architecture means, how it is a means to break functionalist, capitalist usages of spaces and breaking social, binary norms through architecture. Then we continue talking about queer commemorations in the public space, so called "gay villages" and the concept of "gaytrification". Lastly we address queer architecture in the context of cruising, darkrooms & voyeurism.

This episode was a long time in the making and I felt/feel super thankful to have gotten the chance to dive more into this highly interesting topic and I hope you learn a thing or two while listening <3

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if you would like to support this podcast you can now become a member via Steady or donate directly to me via paypal: [email protected] and as always

feel free to reach out if you have any feedback, questions, suggestions for future topics/guests via Instagram Facebook or e-mail: [email protected]

I am your host Béla Belissima, non-binary soul from Berlin on the journey to dismantle our cis-heteronormative world and look beyond all binaries. Re-writing our narratives and telling our own stories. Thanks for being here

Here comes to you the recording of our very first live-podcast at Fluid Festival 2022 . It was one of those 36 degrees days with a lot of wind (which you can hear at times), but I still had a great time talking with the multidisciplinary artist Dornika aka Manyfacedgodx (they/she) .

We started our conversation talking and analyzing different beauty standards, the dynamics of fatphobia, dieting culture, sizing, as well as the intersection of fatness and class, race and gender respectively. In the second half of the podcast we are focusing on body empowerment, overcoming internalized shame & feeling oneself.

If you are looking for your daily dose of self-empowerment & body positivity, give a listen to Dornika's debut song Fatbulous which we also talk about in the episode <3

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if you would like to support this podcast you can now become a member via Steady or donate directly to me via paypal: [email protected] and as always

feel free to reach out if you have any feedback, questions, suggestions for future topics/guests via Instagram Facebook or e-mail: [email protected]

I am your host Béla Belissima, non-binary soul from Berlin on the journey to dismantle our cis-heteronormative world and look beyond all binaries. Re-writing our narratives and telling our own stories. Thanks for being here

Guest of this episode is the Egyptian-German writer, researcher, and health practitioner Ahmed Awadalla (they/them) . Awadalla's community practice centers on the well-being and participation of marginalized groups including LGBTIQA+ people, migrants, refugees, and young people. Their writing and research foreground the intersections between health, migration, and radical sexual politics and investigates queer identities, intimacies, and historical narratives. They contribute to various media publications, anthologies, and journals.

In this podcast we are speaking about global (sexual) health in the forms of epidemics like HIV/AIDS or Covid-19 and the connections with power structures upholding social hierarchies. We address the notions of fear, stigmatization of sexual diversity as well as racialization and colonial continuities. In the end, we also turn to the current case of Monkeypox and Awadalla elaborates on how they wish sexual health should be handled in the future from a community perspective.

This is the third edition of the artist talk series in cooperation with the QTL Summer Pride Festival

Note: sorry for the whitenoise in the background, there must have been some kind of issue with the recording, hope you still enjoy this episode

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if you would like to support this podcast you can now become a member via Steady or donate directly to me via paypal: [email protected] and as always

feel free to reach out if you have any feedback, questions, suggestions for future topics/guests via Instagram Facebook or e-mail: [email protected]

I am your host Béla Belissima, non-binary soul from Berlin on the journey to dismantle our cis-heteronormative world and look beyond all binaries. Re-writing our narratives and telling our own stories. Thanks for being here

------

if you would like to support this podcast you can now become a member via Steady or donate directly to me via paypal: [email protected] and as always

feel free to reach out if you have any feedback, questions, suggestions for future topics/guests via Instagram Facebook or e-mail: [email protected]

I am your host Béla Belissima, non-binary soul from Berlin on the journey to dismantle our cis-heteronormative world and look beyond all binaries. Re-writing our narratives and telling our own stories. Thanks for being here

------

if you would like to support this podcast you can now become a member via Steady or donate directly to me via paypal: [email protected] and as always

feel free to reach out if you have any feedback, questions, suggestions for future topics/guests via Instagram Facebook or e-mail: [email protected]

I am your host Béla Belissima, non-binary soul from Berlin on the journey to dismantle our cis-heteronormative world and look beyond all binaries. Re-writing our narratives and telling our own stories. Thanks for being here