He was a cactus. His skin was too thin for the real world; he had begun to grow spikes. He could feel the needles forming—first subconsciously, then on the outer lining of his forearms, up his spine, and on the nape of his neck. They had expanded down his legs, these new additions making him
Taggender
Let Your Hands Tell Your Story: A Workshop in Ballroom
“I want the idea of the ballroom to be communicated as a radical place of freedom where nothing is too much,” says JC (they/she), one of the heads of BCB’s LGBTQ club. During our conversation right now, JC is sitting on my bedroom floor kindly answering my questions, but on September 25th they were dynamically
Exploring Queer Experience: Shame, Pride, and Liberation
“Why do you have to make your whole life about being gay? Like, WE GET IT. Not everything in life is about who you want to date. Maybe people would accept it if you didn’t make it your new personality.” That’s the Instagram message I received from a cis gay man after I had confronted
Sin Miedo, Without Fear
(translated from Spanish) From far away I hear their songs and their screams The ground rumbles Charged by restless spirits Tired of making themselves small To fit into lines drawn to cage us We all hear it from birth and learn it as children The life lessons all women must know calladita te ves más
Exploring Queer Experience: Who Am I? Queer Labels and Their Absence
Like many queer children, I felt out of place growing up. Although I was not uncomfortable with femininity, I experimented with masculinity by cutting my hair short and wearing more “masculine” clothes. My family and acquaintances often displayed their discomfort with my gender expression. Even if their comments were not always negative, I remember being
Feminism is for Everybody
The term ‘feminism’ has been highly misinterpreted in modern-day society and wrongly associated with stereotypes that do not reflect its nature and purpose as a political movement. To label oneself or be labeled as a feminist is often regarded as a negative thing due to the way feminists are portrayed in the media. Feminism is
Post Women’s Day Thoughts: On Formation of Structural Sexism in Macedonia and Elsewhere
A few days before this year’s International Day for Women’s Rights, I came to the realization that I could not attend the annual Berlin Women’s Day demonstration as I had to give a presentation for my course on the 8th of March, Marx Yesterday and Today. Instead of marching for Women Workers’ Rights, I could
Bodies That Matter
One of the first things that the two women, a burlesque dancer and a party organizer, mentioned to me was how hard it is to be a woman in their businesses here in Brazil. I was interviewing them for an anthropological project on sadomasochism. In the room below us, a man was lying face up