Writing for LGBTQ+ rights
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We talk about ‘LGBTQ+ equality’ but what does it really mean? From the criminalization of homosexuality in sixty-three countries and staggering levels of violence towards trans people to a lack of recognition of intersex rights, there is a long way to go when it comes to the safety and happiness of queer communities.
We Can Do Better Than This is an essay collection bringing together thirty-five global voices to discuss what still needs to change. At this event, the anthology’s editor, Brussels-based British journalist and former Passa Porta resident Amelia Abraham, joins two of the book’s contributors to discuss how writing can lead to societal transformation.
Raising awareness, telling stories, educating, campaigning and building solidarity – writing has practical uses when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights. It is also a speculative medium through which to imagine a brighter future.
About the guests
Amelia Abraham is a lesbian-identified journalist from the UK, writing about LGBTQ+ politics and culture for publications such as The Guardian. Her first book, Queer Intentions: A (Personal) Journey Across Queer Culture, explored the mainstreaming of queer culture in the West and asked, ‘When it comes to acceptance, who is getting left behind?’ She is the editor of We Can Do Better Than This, published in 2021 by Vintage.
Travis Alabanza is a performance artist and playwright, soon to publish their much-anticipated autobiography, None of The Above. Their essay in We Can Do Better is called ‘Everyone’s Trans, Now What?’ It explores anti-trans hate crime and imagines a ‘trans-majority future’.
Adam Eli is a Jewish American activist living in New York. He is a community organizer, writer of the book The New Queer Conscience, and founder of Voices4, a non-violent direct action activist group based in New York, London and Berlin. His essay in We Can Do Better looks at the evolution of Pride in New York City over 50 years.
over de moderatoren
Scheef Bekeken is probably the first queer podcast of Flanders. In every episode, hosts Max De Moor and Tim Devriese take apart clichés from lgbtq+ culture and put them back together again — the right way. Last year Scheef Bekeken and Passa Porta collaborated with Amelia Abraham to make an episode about cruising. Max De Moor is a journalist at De Standaard. Tim Devriese exchanged his journalist's pen for a keyboard at the European Commission.
picture Travis Alabanza © Karis Crawford
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