Stemme Magazine - Issue 7

where stud meets femme. a magazine for queers.

Issue 7

cover illustration by Rupert Tuesday

rosie rosie jones jones // the the little little book book of of queer queer icons icons // dragprov dragprov revue revue brighton brighton comedy comedy garden garden // Jordan Jordan gray gray // STARE STARE // MĂŠfi MĂŠfi Diallo Diallo

JUNE 2019

Welcome...

Firstly, Happy Pride Month and welcome to Stemme issue 7! We’re coming up to our second birthday now and we can’t thank our supporters enough for reading, contributing and advertising with us.

Secondly, if we think back to this time last year, things were looking pretty different. We had a summer of activism in the community. When anti-trans protestors gatecrashed the Pride in London parade, there was a dark cloud cast over what should have been a wonderful day.

In true Brighton style, our community rallied and launched #LwiththeT. It was such a proud moment. Our community’s reaction defined Pride and what it’s supposed to be. We can only imagine what this year holds.

So finally, let’s fast-forward to this summer. London is about to have its very own Trans Pride - it’s inaugural year. We’ve seen #GwiththeT, #BwiththeT and more amazing groups emerge to show their support. It’s with great pleasure that we can be part of this incredible movement.

As we launch this edition of Stemme, we implore you to read, discuss, get angry, and laugh.

Welcome to the seventh edition of Stemme.

Freya Hughes Editor

Stemme Magazine - we’re looking for contributors, get in touch! stemmemagazine@gmail.com @stemmemagazine

stemmemagazine.co.uk

Editor - Freya Hughes Deputy Editor - Jules Haydon Guaitamacchi Design - Rosie Blackwell-Sutton Contributors - Mefi Diallo, Alex Adams, Rupert Tuesday, Kid Squid Illustration, Christina Doyle Cover Art - Rupert Tuesday With special thanks to everyone involved.

We’re always looking for writers, artists and advertisers.

Drop us an email at stemmemagazine@gmail.com

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welcome to Draguation by jules haydon guaitamacchi to be a space for students to explore and blur gender boundaries while celebrating the art of drag” founder of Dragsoc, Ally Goldberg told Stemme. I was lucky enough to attended the Drag Soc end of year party. I watched events and stage manager, Ally and President, Ed, hand over their roles to the remaining society members. It was a touching ceremony as members gave heartfelt speeches after a night of incredible talent and vibrant performances. I was moved to see a group of people, who evidently thought of each other as family. They laughed and cried while telling stories of their journey together. I considered how difficult it must be for queer students to feel comfortable with such a hetronormative environment dominating the student club scene.

“Graduating this year and saying goodbye to Drag Soc felt like losing a part of me, but equally I felt I was leaving something behind that will be important to so many people”. With graduation fast approaching it made sense for students to have an alternative club night of their very own, except this time off campus and a part of the Brighton queer scene. From the founders of Drag Soc comes Draguation, a regular, queer, student themed club night. The launch party ‘Queers out for Summer’ will take place on 1st August from 7pm until late, at popular, seafront venue, Patterns. With thousands of students arriving in Brighton every year, the excitement and nerves of living away from home must feel overwhelming. There are so many events designed for meeting new people and making

In 2016 the first ever Drag Society was founded at the University of Sussex. Drag Soc became the home of many aspiring drag performers who have since become a success in their own right, Grim, Prince of Persia, Calypso and Lydia Eastlope to name a few. It became a home for many queer students at the University and was even voted the most inclusive society for LGBTQ+ students in the UK, by the TAB in association with Bloomberg.

Drag societies soon began to pop up all over the country, including SOAS, Nottingham Trent, Rohampton, Greenwich, Bath Spa, Sheffield, Glasgow and Hull. “Drag Soc was intended

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new friends, but there seems to be a complete lack of events specifically for LGBTQ+ students.

For some being away from home can mean the opportunity to explore sexuality and gender for the very first time. Draguation aims to provide a space inclusive of all ages, encouraging the queer community to come together and celebrate as one big family.

Kicking off this years Pride weekend, Queers out for Summer is the queer graduation party of the year! Performers include, host for the evening and drag superstar FRUIT, new Drag Society president himself Prince of Persia, queerlesque and parody singer Olive Hooters, dancer and Youtube sensation Kelsey Ellison, as well as resident DJ and founder of Gal Pal’s Jumeau, who will DJing the night away with queer pop party anthems, wildcards and deep cuts that make you want to move! More acts have yet to be confirmed so watch this space! Expect a pool party, fancy dress, drag, dancers, cabaret, glitter, and so much more! Attendees will be welcomed at Pattern’s scenic terrace and at the end of the night, the draguates of the

evening will be voted by a panel of ‘Drags Den’ judges, who will be handing out very special graduate mortarboard caps. Queers out for Summer is the launch of Draguation which will be a regular student themed night, taking place throughout the year… and the next stop is Freshers Week! Get ready to throw your grad cap and tassels in the air like you just don’t care! Join the event now @draguationbtn. Tickets available on DICE!

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ROSIE JONES by jules haydon guaitamacchi British comedian Rosie Jones’ career is on an amazing trajectory. Having written for panel shows Would I Lie to You?, The Last Leg and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, she also has appearances on The Last Leg, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Hypothetical and Silent Witness under her belt.

Born with ataxic cerebral palsy, Rosie weaves in a bit of mischief to her comedy, constructing jokes to subvert the punchline that audiences expect. For instance, she has used the opening line, “As you can tell from my voice, I suffer from being northern.” Having seen her rise up to the top of her game, we thought we’d get to know Rosie a little more.

What inspired you to become a comedian?

I worked in TV for 6 years and really enjoyed it. I worked on comedy shows but I slowly began to realise that I wanted to do something more creative. I’ve always loved writing, but because I’m disabled and have a speech disability I thought I could never become a comedian. Especially because there was no-one out there like me. After a while I began to realise that I could be that person. I knew if I didn’t try I would only regret it. From the first gig I fell in love with it completely and got the bug. I’ve found what I want to do now and I’ll never look back.

What’s it been like rising to fame?

It’s not about fame or whether I’m recognised. It’s about doing a job I love and enjoy. I’m paid to make people laugh and that matters to me more than fame. What really excites me is promoting the disabled and queer community. It’s more about getting my face and my story out there. This is how I talk. This is who I fancy. And aside from all the labels, hopefully I’m funny and good at my job. That’s all that really matters.

What’s it like coming out in the comedy industry?

I was worried about coming out. When I started out I would write jokes about fancying

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men because I thought that’s what I was supposed to do. I thought it would be too much for an audience that accepted me as disabled to accept me as gay. When I made jokes about fancying men it would get me down, I wouldn’t feel authentic and I am an authentic person. When I came out, I was so nervous, but I made sure I had a bloody good joke to come out with. I think because I appear quite femme, people don’t automatically assume that I’m a lesbian and I use that to my advantage. I came out to my friends and family and they like me as a person. I can talk openly about liking women and it’s not an issue and that’s so refreshing.

What are some of your favourite jokes?

It’s hard to pick favourites because they’re all my babies! I like my dirty jokes, my cheeky jokes, because when I go on stage I usually wear cute little dresses. I think a lot people underestimate me and think I’m an adorable little disabled girl, so when I say something outrageous you can feel the audience thinking “oh, did she really just say that?”, “yeah I fucking did!” And I’m sure they change their opinion of me! I think people shouldn’t immediately assume they know everything about me.

What would you say to an aspiring comic with a disability?

Just do it! I think comedy is an incredible world and an amazing space. People think we’re just telling jokes but it’s more than that it’s opening peoples eyes to a whole new world, allowing them to see into your perspective. Comedy is about the different voices. So if you have funny bones and a unique and interesting story to tell, do it. If you have a physical disability, it won’t be a walk in the park. A lot of comedy venues still have problems with accessibility but the only way we’re going to combat and change that is having more

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disabled comedians in need of ramps instead of stairs. I think it will begin to change over time.

Do it because I did it and I don’t regret it for one second.

What’s next for Rosie Jones?

I’m doing the Brighton Comedy Garden from Weds 19 – Sun 23 June. That’ll be great because I bloody love Brighton! I’m currently writing and have lots in the pipeline. I’m also writing a new Edinburgh show called ‘Backwards’ which will be at the Pleasant throughout August. So, if you’re there come along!

Find Rosie on Twitter @josierones Or Facebook @rosiejonescomedian

the little book of queer icons by freya hughes When we were about to have our planning meeting for this particular edition of Stemme, our Deputy Editor and I were in The Marly (quelle surprise!). About to plot out the intricacies of this magazine, we were asked if we could make way for a book launch. It was a little unexpected, but pretty cool. We both wanted to know more.

As we chatted to the press team, they told us that it was due to be published in March 2019.

The Little Book of Queer Icons is described as “a tribute to the ground-breakers, risk-takers and game-changers.” It seemed a fitting time for such a book, this year marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising in New York. Many, or arguably all, of the activists involved gambled with their own safety to pave the way for future generations to live as their true selves. Talk about game-changers.

And what better city to launch it than our fair Brighton.

“it’s important to tell the queer stories of people who struggled before us, so we can live a relatively open and happy life.

So, back in the Marly, there we were being told the left-hand side of the pub was being closed off. The launch was a roaring success.

Curated by Samuel Alexander, a writer with LGBTQ+ issues and topics always in mind, and illustrated by Brightonian Phil Shaw, whose creative projects include prop making for blockbuster movies and costume making for local drag queens, the icons have been carefully chosen.

Samuel said: “The main reason I wanted to write The Little Book of Queer Icons was to put a spotlight on the amazing work of these people throughout queer history. I definitely wanted to include a number of icons that perhaps haven’t received the level of recognition they deserve. For example, I had a bit of difficulty finding lots of information on Booan Temple. In fact I wouldn’t even know about her had it not been for a Facebook

world, and validated queer lives. There are profiles of 38 icons, each with a full page of coverage which includes a hand-drawn illustration and concise biography.

Characters from across history and the world were all considered, with the likes of Lile Elbe, Marlene Dietrich, Stormé DeLarverie, Ian McKellen, Leslie Feinberg, Li Yinhe, and many more featured. Illustrator Phil said: “I wanted to illustrate the book because it’s important to tell the queer stories of people who struggled before us, so we can live a relatively open and happy life. I’d love for it to do even a little part to normalise queer people and show us to be the diverse and amazing people that we are.

video doing the rounds during Pride Month as I was writing the book, but she was incredibly brave during the introduction of Section 28.

I also didn’t want to solely focus on Western icons - the work of Li Yinhe on behalf of China’s LGBTQ community is so inspiring, and I think it’s important that we recognise what’s going on with the rest of our community beyond our own borders. To me, their bravery makes them just as deserving of the spotlight as say Freddie Mercury or Harvey Milk they’ve fought just as hard for our rights and I want people to know who they are.

To bring the book to life, the subjects all fit a criteria: they’ve all “lived their [lives] as unapologetically queerly as possible”.

They’ve fought for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, shared their experiences with the

Curator Samuel Alexander gives his final word on what he wants the book to achieve, “I hope that The Little Book of Queer Icons can be a sort of “entry level” piece in to queer culture - it’s bite sized, it includes some of your favourite people and some you may not recognise. I’ve tried to explain terminology as best I can - there is an unfortunate trend of calling out people that don’t use academic level language when discussing the LGBTQ community, which is a little on the elitist side for my liking. I want people to ask questions and more importantly be inspired to go out and find answers to them, and feel like it’s okay to ask for help along the way. If The Little Book of Queer Icons can act as a springboard for people to go out and learn more about the history and culture of our LGBTQ community, then I couldn’t be happier with it.”

Juno Dawson – extracted text THEIR AWESOME ACHIEVEMENTS Juno Is a tireless transgender rights activist, writing about transgender issues, creating video campaigns and appearing on talk shows to discuss and defend the transgender community.

Juno Has become a public transgender role model calling for more queer and transgender role models and writers.

Juno Has written an impressive 14 books to date in a six-year career, with The Gender Games soon to become a UK television show. She is unafraid to write about difficult topics in young adult fiction, such as addiction in Clean or spinechilling horror in Say Her Name.

Juno Won the Queen of Teen award for writing teen fiction in 2014.

“No panel, no scientist, no politician, not the WHO, no one can tell me or you - how it feels to be male or female.”

dragprov revue christian adore suits and stepped out into the world as Christian Adore, everything felt beautifully simple.

Has anyone influenced or shaped your drag?

Colin Hoult’s Anna Mann is a character comedian who was a real inspiration for me and my drag partner Eaton Messe when we were getting started, because – although he self-identifies as character comedy, not drag - the dark, quick humour and improve skills he uses with his audiences showed us the art of the possible. Also, the cast of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. They’ve pretty much achieved our idea of musical comedy nirvana.

How did you get started with drag?

Drag started as a procrastination technique when I was studying for my finals at university.

I was desperate for an excuse not to look at the mountain of books on medieval romances…

So, it was either drag or learn how to make really good Espresso Martinis. I did both. I’m an overachiever. Teehee. I’d already been experimenting with binding my chest because I was going through a bit of a “gender, what are you and what are your intentions towards my body” moment. Due to health complications, I hadn’t had periods or a “womanly shape” for most of my life, and then during my final year of uni, I suddenly got ALL THE HORMONES and I freaked out a bit.

In terms of aesthetic, Willy Cartier’s face was the template for my first forays into contouring.

Thanks, bro.

How do people react to your drag?

It completely depends where I am. Amongst most liberal folk that I meet, the most salient response is one of excited shock: either people don’t know what a drag king is in the first place, or are surprised that “OMG THAT’S YOU?!”

Others are really compelled by the makeup and beauty of the art form, as well as the improv skills that we use in our shows. Drag sceptics, like my mum, were won around to the idea once she’d seen Dragprov’s full show, as she realised that LGBTQ+ art isn’t actually the ‘dirty’ or hyper-sexualised form she originally thought it was. Lots of older folk seem to associate drag with debased or irresponsible lifestyles which – in my experience – couldn’t be further from the truth!

So it was at that rather stressful intersection of exams and my body deciding to be a lady, that I realised drag was something with which I wanted to play. I didn’t know what my relationship was to my very rapidly changing body, or gender, or… anything really. All I knew was that when I put on the makeup and the

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The only time I get negative responses are when I’m travelling on public transport before and after gigs. I’ve had some really scary run-ins with homophobic groups of men, who shout things like “I’m going to f***ing kill you faggot” at you. I failed to point out at the time, due to the fear and whatnot, that they were using a very inaccurate term for the kind of gay that I am… but I’m not sure pedantry would have gone down too well. Also, some drag queens don’t think kings are legitimate, skilled drag artists. But, I literally have no time for that. Thank u, next.

How do you feel about how mainstream drag is these days?

Mainstream drag has done my career a lot of favours. You get a lot of, “omg I LOVE drag.

Trixie Mattel is EVERYTHING. YAS. QUEEN.” And that’s great. I just really hope that the mainstream drag race fans take the time to see local shows and patronise the shows and acts which are actually propelling the art form forwards in interesting ways. Mainstream drag has blossomed alongside mainstream discourses around gender fluidity and trans identity, so I just hope that drag’s newfound popularity grows with and becomes a platform for, the plurality of queer identities in the LGBTQ+ community!

What made you decide to put on your own events?

Dragprov is not a conventional drag show.

We are a musical improv double act, who make up songs, scenes, raps, even long-form two-hander musicals. We tell stories, with fully fleshed out characters, and early on in our development, we realised that we wanted an hour-long show to play with so that we could do justice to the stories and characters we created. We now host a monthly show – The Velvet Curtain Club – at the Phoenix Arts Club in London, and we wanted to create a

space where other queer comedians and drag guests could develop their sets outside of the cabaret circuit. Longer slots, with comedy audiences who had come for a comedy show, not a conventional drag show. Our drag characters Christian and Eaton are very well suited to hosting a night, and we wanted a chance to play with that more.

Tell us a bit about what we can expect from your events?

There isn’t another improv act doing what we do, and there isn’t another drag act doing it either. We’re a double act doing improvised musical comedy that is rooted in characters and the relationship between them, which the audience gets to see evolve on stage (while catching glimpses of the real friendship underneath the characters). It’s award-winning comedy, with musical theatre-styled songs created by trained musicians, and it’s family friendly.

Who are your favourite local drag acts?

We are big fans of Cinebra, so we’ll definitely be seeing Glenda and Rita and History of Horror at Brighton Fringe. We also love Felix Le Freak to pieces, and – in my personal opinion – she is one of the funniest, wittiest queens around. I also love performing with Oedipussi Rex, whose attention to detail, act ideas, and costume design is second to none, and Kate Butch, who is the only person I know who has more niche knowledge of musical theatre than I do.

What have you got planned for the rest of 2019?

We’re plotting some appearances at the Underbelly on Southbank later in the summer, as well as Bristol Pride, Nottingham, and many more. It’s an exciting year for us, and we can’t wait.

Follow Dragprov Revue on Instagram: @dragprov

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brighton comedy garden by freya hughes Sometimes you’ve just gotta laugh. So it’s a good thing the lovely team at 57 Festivals are landing in Brighton from Weds 19 - Sun 23 June, this year. They’re bringing the first ever Brighton Comedy Garden to Preston Park, a boutique-style festival nestled in the beauty of one of our most cherished outside spaces.

Brighton is famous for its vibrant arts and festivals scene, and we hope to add even more quality to that. Perhaps now more than ever it’s good to be reminded of the absurdity and humour in life and our acts have some of the most brilliantly absurd minds in the country.”

Other guests include the legendary Alan Davies, mostly known for asking the stuff the audience wants to on QI, multi-award winning Live At The Apollo star Sara Pascoe, and the hilariously surreal 8 Out Of 10 Cats team captain Sean Lock, with many more gracing the stage over the five days.

Spanning five nights, expect your sides to split.

We’re waiting impatiently for the chance to see Brighton legend Zoe Lyons, the ‘Ruff Stuff’ herself Suzi Ruffell, character comedian and all-around hilarious Lolly Adefope, and Rosie Jones who’s now known for taking mischief to a whole new level. If you can’t find us, we’ll be down the front being heckled.

Roll up to the giant Big Top tent and gorge yourself on a delicious range of street-food traders, taste the sensational craft beer, and watch the sunset with some lush summer inspired cocktails. Kick back and enjoy the laughter!

This comedy extravaganza is the latest venture from sibling team Will Briggs and Cass Randolph who are behind two hugely popular comedy events: Greenwich Comedy Festival (Time Out’s ‘favourite London comedy festival’) and their equally lauded Bristol Comedy Garden.

Brighton Comedy Garden comes to Preston Park, Brighton from Weds 19 - Sun 23 June.

Organisers Will and Cass grew up steeped in alternative comedy thanks to their notorious stepfather, Malcolm Hardee, the infamous comedy promoter and exhibitionist. With their production outfit, 57 Festivals, the pair has spent the past decade delivering consistently superb line-ups and good times in London and Bristol. Coming for Brighton next, Cass says:

brightoncomedygarden.co.uk @brightoncomedygarden @BTNcomedygarden

“We’ve always had Brighton in mind as a dream location for what we do and now, with our events in Greenwich and Bristol hitting their stride, we feel it’s the right time to bring Brighton a piece of the action.

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Jordan Gray by jules haydon guaitamacchi Jordan (Redford, Gossamer) Gray is an English comedian, recording artist, radio host, actress, author and Pokémon Master. She came to fame on BBC1’s The Voice UK in 2016 on #TeamPaloma. Jordan made TV history as the show’s first ever transgender contestant – and the first competitor ever to be asked back to the show within the same series. Her Battle Round duet with Theo Llewellyn is widely regarded as not only the series’ emotional highlight but also one of ‘the most honest moments in reality television’.

What’s the response from the community been like?

They’re the greatest joy of my life. I spend my life hoping to live up to their expectations and I genuinely enjoy it.

How did you get started with standup?

After The Voice, I brought out a single that didn’t sound anything like me. I realised I’d lost my way and, thankfully, standup was waiting for me on the other side.

How would you describe your comedic style?

Ironic narcissism and thinly veiled flirting with the front row.

In 2017, after a decade in the pop and indie music industry (touring and recording under the pseudonym Tall Dark Friend), Jordan announced her leap into stand up comedy.

What’s your favourite material?

I love joking about my career in music. There’s always comedy in tragedy and pursuing a career in the arts is as tragic as it gets (do it!)

How did it feel to be the first trans contestant on The Voice worldwide?

I felt a lot of responsibility sat on my shoulders.

The producers do their best to shield you from the chaos that starts to swirl around you on social media. I didn’t even realise until the Battle Round that I was the first. But from the get-go, I loved the responsibility.

What are your future goals?

I have fallen in love with writing for TV, I have a project in my heart that has to come out eventually. Right now I’m writing myself into fun silly comedies and hoping to improve my comedy voice.

Do you think we still have a long way to go for more trans representation on TV and in the media?

My own personal mission is to even the playing field by giving the non-LGBTQ+ community a friendly, accessible, flawed trans person that they can relate to. I know real-life trans superheroes who are doing amazing things for OUR community. I like to think my job is to use comedy in the role of a ‘public liaison’ with everybody ELSE.

What’s in the pipeline for Jordan Gray?

Getting married in July to the second sexiest woman alive. You can’t have her. She’s mine.

Anything coming up in Brighton?

I very much hope to return to Brighton Beyond!

Plus, God knows Brighton has comedy bars coming out the wazoo! If you DIDN’T know that, get out there and explore. Funny is everywhere. jordangrayofficial.com / @talldarkfriend

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- what’s on -

Photo by Helen James

Fat Cabaret presents: trans fats

Free the nipple: a feminist utopia 22nd June, 2pm, Free Brighton Seafront

12th July, 7.30pm, £8 The Marlborough

Here we go again! Free the Nipple Brighton 2019 is a-go!

A fat positive live performance night hosted by Brighton’s own, Chub Rub.

Your favourite feminist posse returns to grace the streets of this amazing city for the fourth year running! We’re the biggest Free the Nipple collective in the UK and this year we promise to be bigger, brighter and bolder than ever before!

Our favourite trans, non-binary, intersex and gender non-conforming fatties will be taking to the stage for a night like no other.

If you would like to perform at this event, please get in touch with Rosie at FAT Cabaret: fatcabaret@gmail.com

Join us to march, shout, sing and dance for the true meaning of body equality!

Find out more freethenipplebrighton.wordpress.com

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riots mixtape: songs and stories of pride 2nd August, 6.30pm, £8 - £12 The Spire

Art party-makers Traumfrau join forces with The Queer Songbook for a truly original live creative party, celebrating Brighton’s vibrant community and queer voices. They’ll be exploring what Pride has meant through the decades, from the Stonewall Riots to personal stories.

The Traumfrau team say, “At Traumfrau we praise ourselves for our events’ inclusivity. In the past 12 months, we have made a further commitment to accessibility and inclusivity. This is a result of working closely with and learning from other organisations. A commitment to accessibility and inclusivity comes at a financial cost for our organisation, and we are hoping Pride Cultural development funding can help us absorb costs of implementing those improvements: free tickets for unwaged people, accessible toilets hire, accessibility consultancy.”

The Queer Songbook: Songs, Stories & Sweets for the Soul is a collaborative mixtape of songs reflecting the queer experience, as chosen by our guest singers. In a stunning line up, each song will be performed live, backed by the incredible Queer Songbook Band, a live ensemble of queer musicians. Guest artists are local role models, not necessarily singers, representing the whole spectrum of the LGBTQ+ community and experience. They’ll present their dearest, queerest song - the song that spoke their truth, strummed their pain, or lit a defiant flame in their youth..

The Queer Songbook say, “We believe in the validating experience of seeing someone “like you” on stage, and on the inspiring and healing effect that has on an audience that too often doesn’t see itself represented in the media or arts. This is particularly true for LGBTQ+ people who experience both queerness and other diversity, ie age, ability, race.”

traumfrau trans pride 20th July, 9pm, £TBC Charles Street Tap and Patterns Traumfrau is joining forces with Trans Pride Brighton to bring you the biggest, fiercest, and most diverse after party yet!

Taking place across two neighboring venues, expect trans and non-binary live artists and performers with political, engaging, fun, affirming, joyful, interesting and entertaining sets.

Traumfrau is celebrating Pride in its inimitable style - iconic, radical and fun. Bringing on stage the fiercest of Brighton’s queer talent, prepare for goosebumps, tears, and laughter!

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- what’s on -

stare by alex adams

Who is involved in the STARE project?

Photographers Lucy Le Brocq & Veronika Teo and illustrator Hazel McCoubrey.

What’s STARE all about?

Female body hair! STARE is about opening up a conversation and encouraging acceptance of the body hair of anyone who identifies as female. We all grew our body hair for several months and documented the experience.

Tell us a bit about how you started working together on STARE? Hazel approached Lucy and asked if she’d be interested in doing an exhibition together, and Lucy mentioned a project she had been working on about body hair. Lucy had initially been inspired by Veronika’s body hair and her battle with society’s expectation of how she should look. It’s a contentious issue that we wanted to explore further and challenge current beauty standards.

Why is it important to show female body hair in an exhibition like this?

Many women feel they have lost control when it comes to choosing what to do with their body hair. We wanted to offer a new perspective, to support and encourage women to question the possibility of accepting their body hair without feeling ashamed or ‘less feminine’.

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What can we expect from you over the summer?

In this first exhibition STARE lead us to examine ourselves and our own relationships with our bodies, we want to take the project further by creating work incorporating more people and pushing the boundaries by showing a spectrum of different types of body hair.

We have also created a Kickstarter to get our friends and supporters to help us fund our next exhibition. We hope to take STARE on tour, so stay tuned for more locations to be announced!

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judgement by freya hughes Is it a boy or a girl? Hmm, she likes football doesn’t she. Why won’t you wear your hair down? It’s much prettier when it’s down.

Can’t you wear a dress just this once?

Fashion. Beach bodies. Handshakes. Movies.

Handwriting. Judgement is everywhere. It comes out positively and negatively throughout everything in life. On the happier side of things lives the ritualistic activity of sussing out the best queens or kings in a show, the best venues in town, or even something as trivial as judging the outfits worn at this year’s Met Gala.

We judge everything whether we mean to or not - it can even be a bonding experience.

But on the negative - by that I mean when this act is done in a mean or harmful way - it’s something queer people have to deal with so much more than non-LGBTQ+ people.

Day in, day out. Even in a place as progressive as Brighton.

Way back when, little straight-acting me at secondary school was consistently afraid of judgment. Specifically, judgement about me being gay - a lesbian. When I think about it now, there was an underlying, secret shame I was experiencing. I hadn’t really come to terms with the fact, or perhaps even realised, I wasn’t straight back then. But I knew the accusation of it was too much to handle.

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Words like ‘dyke’, ‘fag’ and ‘queer’ would be shouted with venom, cutting through the white noise of the corridors. As some kind of defence mechanism, I’d try and protect myself by being the first one to judge others. Only about stupid kid stuff, like when a friend got a questionable hair cut or something pungent smelling for lunch. I guess it was the classic strike before you’re struck kind of mentality.

But, of course, with time comes perspective.

It’s made me think a lot about what it’s like for the Ts and NBs of our community, going about their everyday lives. And what is it that makes people so angry about people using a bathroom? They say women’s loos are safe spaces, but when people are chased out and have abuse hurled at them, surely that can’t be classified as safe. Can it?

The reason this level of judgement is dangerous is that we can’t always change. Nor should we feel the need to. We can’t help we need glasses. Or that we perhaps can’t afford the latest phones and laptops. We can’t help who we love or fancy. And we certainly can’t help what body we’re born in.

I’m not worried about being judged nearly as much now. And I actively resist the temptation to judge books on their covers. I don’t think I’d have started presenting queer if I was.

The thing that got to me recently was being misgendered in some pub loos.

So what can we do? I guess things like getting our voices heard and standing together against negativity is, or at least should be, step one. It’s down to us to change the discourse for future generations. It’s like what people creating events like Trans Pride and the now commericialised Brighton Pride are doing. If anyone ever wondered why Stemme was born in the first place, maybe this will give you some idea.

It stung a little because for me being misgendered isn’t a problem - people are simply wrong. But what really frightens me is when it happens to our trans and non-binary siblings. It hits hard when an angry cis white man so aggressively moans about someone’s presence in the queue to simply relieve ourselves. It’s been happening more and more in town, especially when there’s a big event like the marathon or something.

It’s the act of trying to shame someone for something that’s not shameful. It gets under your skin.

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TOKENISM WITHIN THE QUEER COMMUNITY by méfi diallo How often do you hear “Brighton is really diverse”? As if diversity was something easy to achieve. People often forget that being diverse doesn’t necessarily mean being visible; it’s about inclusion. If you are an organisation, creating events or simply in position of power you have to question yourself. What do you actually do to make diversity happen, what does it really mean?

You must question yourself otherwise you may fall into the opposite of diversity which is called tokenism. The same as being an ally and overstepping boundaries, the line between both is really thin, and quite often blurry.

Tokenism is “the practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to do a particular thing, especially by recruiting a small number of people from under-represented groups in order to give the appearance of sexual or racial equality within a workforce.” As a black queer women, I have more often been offered to be photographed for campaigns than invited to join the core team of a movement. People think that requesting such is being diverse, it does tackle the lack of representation, it is a good start but what’s next? As Candice Williams said “it’s trying to cure the symptoms rather than fixing the issue itself”.

Let’s take an example to illustrate the concept. I am running a monthly event with a committee that is mainly composed of people who are queer but all white, body able, from middle class and academic backgrounds. My event

is successful, thus I have recently been contacted by the press to give an interview that will integrate people’s experience from whom have attended one of my events. To do so and not in a malicious way, I will chose mostly underrepresented folks to be featured.

Even though doing such is tackling the lack of representation in the media, it is not done for good reasons. In that situation, the person(s) featured are only being used as a tool to demonstrate diversity. To be diverse, the core team should be composed by people from underrepresented groups. They should be part of the event decisions and not only featured in an article to show how diverse this event is. Thinking about the audience, were the people attending those events mainly composed of people from under-represented groups?

to more visibility for women in media or power roles? No it is more complicated than that, it’s fighting for equal pay, fighting against gender roles and stereotypes, it’s joining the for pro-choice movement and so on.

As much as we think we are safe within the queer community we aren’t. As a matter of fact a community is a microcosm therefore it mirrors what is happening on the outside, in the wider society. Which means that we are replicating the same patterns, issues related to unbalanced power and white supremacy. As sad as this sounds it’s the reality, a sad truth far away from the queer utopia we’ve always been dreaming of.

What can we do ?

First: We must work on ourselves. To avoid falling into tokenism we must ask ourselves what are our main motivations when doing something. When questioning ourselves if we cannot come up with more than a surface level answer then there is something wrong.

Working on ourselves also means getting knowledge, through reading, talks, via people’s experiences etc. It is important to be able to understand, to unbuild years of oppression perpreted but also internalised.

Unbuild societal constructs based on history that has been whitewashed, often giving the view of the colonialist, the winner, showing beauty standards that aren’t reflecting the “diversity” of this world, inviting us to consume over and over again...

Some of you may think that it’s impossible to do good then. I would not say it’s impossible but just that it is not as easy as it seems. Being diverse means fighting against the system in place more than using people to prove a thing which is most of the time for our own sake.

Doing such is not challenging ableism, racism, sexism, body shaming etc. I believe that if both visibility and activism are combined then diversity can exist.

Diversity shouldn’t be a one off, it should not be reduced to a person in position of power using under-represented folk as a token to demonstrate how diverse they are. Otherwise this means that everyone is interchangeable, and that all POC for example have the same narratives. When this is not true, as a POC with a darker skin I do not experience racism the same way than a POC with a lighter skin does. Same as someone who has an invisible disability will have a different narrative than someone who has a visible disability. If you take sexism for example, does equality between men and women get reduced simply

Secondly: We must be active. Get involved with your local charities, “be part of the change you want to see in the world” it sounds cheesy but so real. Be part of the fight and stop pretending that because you are not affected by an issue you should not join the movement. As Angela Davis said “In a racist society, it’s not enough to be non-racist— you have to be anti-racist”.

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