NEWS FLASH! Aimee is a lesbian.
http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20110626/1779891.html
http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20110626/1779891.html
On a more serious note, we spent the weekend supporting the LGBT community in Chennai. On Friday, we attended a panel discussion on sexual minorities hosted at the U.S. Consulate. The people in attendance were members of the LGBT community and enthusiastically voiced their concerns about the way the government of Tamil Nadu is addressing their needs.
Something that we have noticed is that the lesbian and female-to-male transgender members of the LGBT community are for the most part invisible. One attendee brought this point to light. Kalki Subramaniam, the keynote, attributed this neglect to "body politics" in a country where even if you identify as a man, your physically female body puts you at an even greater disadvantage.
In preparation for Sunday's Pride parade we spent the night with two other interns in Anna Nagar West on Saturday. Our first Indian sleepover!
The Pride parade was held at Marina Beach- the world's longest seashore- at 10a.m. We were given a handmade sign that read "Celebrate Diversity," which earned us a lot of attention from photographers. It is not clear whether it was the message or the fact that we are white foreigners. Nevertheless, one of these photos landed on the front page of the Times of India. Eleven days into our trip and we are already celebrities!
It is worth mentioning that Aimee was interviewed by a camera crew and quoted by a few websites. (See link above.) For the record she did state that she was not a lesbian, but rather a straight ally in attendance to support LGBT rights. She embraces her newly discovered sexual orientation. Though Michael's upcoming visit in July might trigger an identity crisis.
Good to see that you're both getting out and about. (Pun intended, Aimee, if you've spotted it.) Participating with and supporting folks there, to be more precise. It was interesting that you were labelled a lesbian, despite your attempts to clarify your status as a straight ally. Do you think this is a media strategy (or at least one reporter/editor/newspaper's) to marginalize affirming voices?
ReplyDelete<3 Dad