start

For my most recent school project in term 2.2, I worked with my little brother to create a comic/ series of illustrations that would depict his struggles at school as a result of his selctive mutism. He generally finds it hard to explain exactly what he finds difficult, and how he experiences it. As a neurotypical ndividual myself, this has made me start to question my role in telling the stories of a community and experience to which I don't belong.

As a gay man this same problem is important to me when it comes to the queer community; wanting to see representation that is reflective of true experiences of said community. Some questions that I have been thinking about include:
To what extent should we rely on individuals outside of said community to tell their stories? Can stories only be truthful if told from individuals from within the community? How can allies to a community seek out//be supported by said community to make sure their representations are respectful?

When Looking through the interests of other individuals in the group, I was intrigued by mark's questions regarding allyship to the queer community as a straight man. I thought that our differing perspectives on queer (specifically gay) allyship (one coming from within the community, and one from outside) could lead to an interesting discussion on the topic.

Are queer stories more truthful when told by members of the community?

It's a Sin is a show that has recieved a lot of praise for its apperently honest and accurate depiction of the queer community in England during the emergance of the aids pandemic. Many have attributed this success to it's gay screenwritter, and the screenplay's reliance on his- and his freinds's experinces from the time. Could this show have been created by someone who didn't live through it?

Kheraj, Alim. “It's a Sin: 'There Is Such a Raw Truth to It'.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 10 Feb. 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/feb/10/its-a-sin-there-is-such-a-raw-truth-to-it.

NOTES FROM VARIOUS ASSIGNED READINGS

“Why (Queer) History Matters: The Politics of History.” University of Bergen, https://www.uib.no/en/queerhistorymatters.

Ryan, Hugh. “Why Queer Archives Are Important: A Study of LGBTQ Life - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, https://artsandculture.google.com/story/why-queer-archives-are-important-a-study-of-lgbtq-life/IgUxCMW95_E9-Q?hl=en.

This is an archive that represents an assortment of items that weren't considered important by the instituations of the time, but today tell us a lot about the history of the Pride movement. It shows how the archiving of such mundane things can become significant in the future, acting as important artifacts to fill in the gaps that exist in written history.

“Wear with Pride - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, https://artsandculture.google.com/story/cgXx5H08mNCTKw?hl=en.

Coming from a Christian household, there came a time where I didn't feel comfortable in being a part of this believe anymore. It felt like a restriction of the freedom I wanted to feel.

Although my upbringing with this believe had some positive sides, I couldn't look through the ignorance and somewhat rigid image that only a man and woman could be together and that very little personal interpretation was possible (not only sexually, but also in terms of wrong and right). I have always found it difficult to deal with the lack of diversity (cultural, sexual etc.) in my upbringing. You could say I felt and still feel like the black sheep of the family sometimes. I could never understand why peope with different sexualities couldn't be seen as the same; call it ignorant, or call it me being compassionate, caring and acceptant towards one another.

As the past shaped me, it also created conflicts within my mind; I've been given the opportunity to work as an apprentice in a queer friendly tattoo shop. I was very excited to be able to be a part of the shop and it's community. But my families beliefs, and the rigid image of a straight guy being part of a queer shop in the tattoo world is very rare and unspoken of. It makes me doubt everything; am I straight enough? Am I too boring as a straight individual to work there? Can I fit in as an ally without pretending something I'm not? How does it work with cultural appropriation? Am I going to be identified with a sexuality that I don't have? The difficulty with seeing myself as a ‘queer ally’, is that it seems like there is this perception of being constantly active in supporting rights etc, where as I just act in smaller things and just being supportive. These ‘rules’ to belong makes it bittersweet, but also opens the door to discussions that question the boundaries between heterosexuality and queer.

“Introduction to Archival Research: Types of Archives.” Research Guides, https://libguides.colorado.edu/c.php?g=1154758&p=8428086.

“Research Guides: Women's History Research in Archives: Libraries VS. Archives.” Libraries vs. Archives - Women's History Research in Archives - Research Guides at University of Wisconsin-Madison, https://researchguides.library.wisc.edu/womenshistoryinarchives/libraries-archives.

My interest in this topic comes from personal experience and that I can relate to the topic I as a queer person. I want to create out of enthusiasm and interest and choosing something I can relate to can help me. I have an interaction with my family daily where I don't know if I explained this misunderstanding now or better another time. I can notice the barrier between me and my family through the understanding of the queer community. They're trying to learn but they're still very much opinionated in their own way. Sometimes it's too much, it's complicated or they don't want me to mention it to anyone else. It is just a fear and a misunderstanding. My brother for example, didn't know anything about the queer community when I came out to him. He did not know how people can exist outside of his cis perspective. I had to explain to him, and he still sometimes gets confused, and it is just an interaction. Because he is family it is always around me. I like to think that the barrier between the two communities isn't as big as I can sometimes experience and that by learning and being more open in talking about the barrier can be narrowed down.

https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1437&context=disclosure

Thoughts on theme

When we first talked about the theme I didn’t completely see the point in thinking about ‘telling someone else story’. My immediate thoughts were that people from a marginalised groups should be given more opportunities to be able to tell their stories themselves when they would like to do so. But when I thought about it some more I realised I was being a bit idealistic. Sadly telling your own or your communities story isn’t always an option. It can be unsafe, you could be dealing with censorship or maybe people will just not listen to you (think of racism, homophobia, ableism, ageism, sexism, etc.). In this case other people could use their privilege to make your story be heard or you could use your privilege to make other peoples stories heard. Another reason why doing this is important is to take a burden away from an marginalised person or group. Why should the ones dealing with oppression of any kind also have to educate others on this.

Thus telling someone else’s story doesn’t have to be a bad thing. But we have to be mindful about the way we do so. We need to think about whether we’re doing this to amplify other voices or whether we’re doing it for ourselves and our own personal gain. We need to prioritise the well being of the oppressed and give credit where it’s due. We need to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl_Ja4_7Rfo (the wedding is off)
2:52-3:25, 4:13-4:34, 8:03-8:47, 12:31-12:42, (comphet 12:57 -16:09)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x__cWt6j188 (htba good ally at pride)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjKY0HhEpjk 🏳️‍🌈 MY COMING OUT STORY// 🏳️‍🌈 THE GOOD THE BAD 4:11- 4:30, 11:33-12:16, 12:59- 13:17, 13:35-14:27

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVGHraraVu8 Old Gays Share Their Coming Out Stories
3:09-3:55, 4:02-4:19

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwmW8g6AF48
8:31-8:49

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh1T9PXpEOw (coming out isn’t always easy)
3:00-3:22, 6:30- 6:58, 7:45-7:57, 8:20-8:37,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNIbb-52lGU
8:37-9:14

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVmBCzYyK08
4:33-5:13 5:53-6:16, 9:26-10:20, 14:02-14:33, 17:42-18:38, 22:12-23:13, 23:32-24:23, 26:26-26:45, 38:26-38:55, 45:00-46:17( shocking, allyship within the community)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWkBsSH9Zug
7:26-7:48, !2:20-12:47(comphet), 15:06-15:33, 19:42-19:54, 20:25-20:49, 27:56-28:37, 29:40-30:00, 30:52-31:44, 33:31-35:17, 38:25-38:54, 42:38-43:13. 44:13-44:25, 49:53-51:43( shocking, allyship within the community), 56:28-57:15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y75WX9s4xQ4
17:56-19:20, 22:43-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAohpbd07eA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OyLRnefkgM
0-0:09, entire video really

Use questions and answer them with audio

Something that resonates with you

‘Kevin Hart: Not my dream to be LGBT ally’

https://youtu.be/mBNyDdpKcbo

02:33 - 05:39

05:46 - 08:2

08:35 - 09:40

‘What is Allyship and Why is Allyship Important?’

https://youtu.be/hmN1_Bsb0FE

00:16 - 02:50

‘Sanders, defends gay soldiers, 1995’

https://youtu.be/MAFlQ6fU4GM

00:00 - 03:21

‘LGBTQ+ lawmaker confronts people protesting pride flag’

https://youtu.be/MevzDmdlj1U

00:00 - 04:27

2. Something that’s new to you

‘Russel Tovey reveals the queer artists that have shaped his life and career’

https://youtu.be/0icE4OXXYqk

00:00 - 03:54

3. Something that makes you curious

‘Trudeau’s historic apology to LGBT communities’

https://youtu.be/F_hyra4t4wg

00:00 - 01:20

4. Something that makes you feel safe

‘Tatiana Maslany tears up explaining why she’s an LGBT ally’

https://youtu.be/kRslGIxh5ms

01:10 - 2:20

Queer and Straight People Discuss Gender Identity’

https://youtu.be/DtxH0woBLW8

02:18 - 06:31

https://irasanyal.medium.com/activating-and-reclaiming-public-spaces-efaceffa1279

We decided to collect some audio relating to our theme individually.
We used this to help us choose the audio:

Something that resonates with you
Something that’s new to you
Something that makes you curious
Something that makes you feel safe

My audio:

A guide to lifelong allyship | Catherine Hernandez | TEDxToronto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3D-5-2EqHI
3:47-4:03
4:47-6:37

Kids Explain Allyship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZBUmq4EEf0
Whole video, especially 0:52-1:02

Joy Is Our Birthright
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVWvmDay7hg

Ocean Vuong talks about his work
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyA59W9kJHM
0:41-1:20

QUEER JOY AND RADICAL ACTS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7U38AE_SYA
53:04-56:30

A simple way to be an LGBTQ+ ally | Keegan Thoranin | TEDxLFHS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCXQiAG_6cg
2:50-4:13

WLW Characters in Cartoons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhlso4IVKL8
1:21-1:37

Archiving
When I thought of archiving I somehow immediately thought of collecting books, zines, texts of a certain era. I looked in to methods of archiving and found out that there is so much more you can do. For our project collecting sounds was the most fitting way to archive but I kept thinking of other ways to archive. During one of the classes we saw how the drag scene in New Zeeland was archived in an interactive website and it was one of the coolest ways to archive there ar I think. I also had this idea of archiving fabric by using a lot of different fabrics to create a piece of clothing. Now that a think about it even making a quilt can be a form of archiving.

But is archiving important? And why?
I found some sources that explain why archiving marginalised communities is important.

Something that resonates with you
Something that’s new to you
Something that makes you curious
Something that makes you feel safe

UNHhhh Ep. 119: Gurl, You Gay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOOcJGar2zI&t=473s

Bisexuals React to Bisexual Memes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8Mwj1nykdQ&list=WL&index=155&t=50s

How Queer Characters Have Evolved In Children's Animation | Movies Insider
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXeG-LGx25Y&list=WL&index=157

What Russians think about LGBT?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XavTuBMansA&list=WL&index=157

Can LGBTQ+ and Christians See Eye To Eye? | Middle Ground
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5jwTft6654&list=WL&index=158

How Can Homosexuality Be Wrong If It Doesn't Harm Anyone?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2nPRV8dmOk&list=WL&index=159

Is Homosexuality Accepted In Hinduism?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-og3Rvcyoco&list=WL&index=160

The Stonewall You Know Is a Myth. And That’s O.K. | NYT Celebrating Pride
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7jnzOMxb14&list=WL&index=161

Sex or radish?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm8B2NOOcCo&list=WL&index=162

Miriam Margolyes Reveals Explicit Reason Behind Her Curly Hair
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_uqXlSsAgA&list=WL&index=163

Black Trans Female Empowerment | Mila Jam | TEDxPrincetonWomen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dQkS7jxT1s&list=WL&index=165

Frameline Voices - Pay it No Mind: The Life and Times of Marsha P. Johnson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo0nYv9QIj4&list=WL&index=167

Audio reduced to 1,5 minutes:

We decided on creating a physical space you can sit in to listen the audio we made. We realised that a lot of the audio we chose can be pretty confrontational and maybe difficult to listen to but still important. That's why we want to make the space you can sit in comforting and give off a warm feeling. At first we were discussing whether or not to also make a projection for in this space but we decided that it wouldn't really add to our message and we want our audience to focus on the sound. We want to make some sort of tent you can sit in by yourself or with one other person.
Some inspiration: