“We will not hesitate to bring this debate into the judicial realm in order to defend transgender and transsexual people, and to oppose the new rules which require that airline companies refuse to transport a passenger who fails to appear as the same sex as that which is indicated on their ID card,” the Conseil québécois des gais et lesbiens (CQGL) communications director Julie-Maude Beauchesne told Être magazine via telephone.

Much depends therefore on the conclusions of the legal opinion. “If our lawyers recommend that we contest this in the courts, we will definitely bring this issue to the courts in order for a judge to rule on the legality of these rules as soon as possible,” Beauchesne confirmed.

Conservative Transport Minister Denis Lebel adopted the new rules last July 29, in the logic of increased identity control “security,” without taking into account the trans people who will now how to travel with a medical statement in order to avoid a hassle at the airport gate. “It’s totally unacceptable. Transgender and transsexual people should not be treated differently from other citizens,” Ms. Beauchesne.

The the trans activist and CQGL rep says she’s not at all impressed by how the public debate has gone since the news broke last month: “it’s deplorable to see politicians make a partisan game of this issue.” On Jan 29, the CQGL made its objections known to Transport Minister Denis Lebel, in an open letter distributed to the media and reps from other parties. “Not only did the Ministernot respond but they didn’t even provide a confirmation that our letter had been received.” Beauchesne referred to this as evidence of a “contemptuous and disrespectful attitude” on the Ministry’s part.

No reported problems

Another letter was sent last week demanding a meeting with the Minister in person. “We want to openly express to him out loud the concerns that trans people have voiced. The Conservatives have shown no sign whatsoever of having any sensitivity or awareness of this issue,” Ms. Beauchesne added.

There are approximately 6,000 transgender and transsexual people in Québec and about 25,000 in Canada as a whole. For now, at least, there have been no reported incidents of trans people being refused boarding or incovenienced by the newly adopted rules, according to both the CQGL and data reported by the federal Transport Ministry.

It is the responsibility of the boarding staff of each airline company to enforce the rules, or else possibly be subject to a hefty fine: a $5,000 fine for allowing a passenger to embark without having properly verified their ID, and $25,000 for the airline company who allows the non ID-conforming person to board one of their planes.

Tom de Pékin is very well-known in the LGBT scene in France and in Europe for his iconoclastic approach to sex and its place in gay culture. His interest in sexual minorities (BDSM, leather, latex etc.) and gender issues have also earned him a reputation in the European alternative scene. Though he has shown his work all over Europe, this will be his first trip to Québec and North America.

In a telephone interview, Tom de Pékin expressed a lot of enthusiasm at discovering Montréal: “The people who came from Montréal to participate in the Universités d’Été Euroméditerranéennes des Homosexualités [an annual international LGBTQI conference hosted in Marseille] in 2011 made such a seductive presentation of Montréal and of the Radical Queer Semaine that I decided to come.”

Radical Queer Semaine, the festival where “queers are happy”

Tom de Pékin will be participating in the Radical Queer Semaine art exhibit at the Fresh Paint Gallery on rue Sainte-Catherine in late February/early March. “Since the space is designed for street art, I decided to adapt one of my recent works at the Centre D’art de Bourges.” He loved the concept of the show, where artists are asked to each be present for one full day in the gallery, so that the public can discover both the art and the artist. “For me, it is essential to work on this participative aspect because it allows art to reach activists. It is a situation that lends itself well to creation and to politics. It’s very invigorating.”

In a book devoted to Tom de Pékin’s work, art editor Vincent Simon wrote: “The frenetic sexualization of images in his work has the effect of bringing out the desirable in representations, and desire in the gaze.” Tom de Pékin’s work is characterized by playing on erotic drawing, always in a very campy way. This perspective, which is also reminiscent of absurdist theatre, comments on social codes and rules, and attempts to deconstruct them.

Tom de Pékin is looking forward to finally discovering the city of Diane Dufresne: “Sometimes, when I need a pick me up, I put on Oxygène, and then I feel great for the rest of the day.” He is also looking forward to Radical Queer Semaine, which he lovingly calls the festival where “queers are happy”.

Tom de Pékin on exhibit @ X POSE Art exhibit for Radical Queer Semaine 2012- 

Galerie Fresh Paint- 180, Sainte-Catherine East (métro Berri-UQÀM) until March 17

www.radicalqueersemaine.com

Image: PD  by Tom de Pékin, http://tomdepekin.tumblr.com/

Starting in 2009, the humble collective of Radical Queer Semaine started with meetings at Centre-Sud coop Café Touski. Funded almost entirely by benefit parties the groups hosts and throws itself (along with a little help from POMPe), RQS has distinguished itself by being one of more resolutely activist (and bilingual) underground festivals of its genre, and most of all, by the late-wintery time of year when they pitch their tent. Its name’s deliberately bad grammar – “Radical Queer Semaine” in lieu of “Semaine des queers radicaux”- was chosen when the collective started meeting in 2008 as a way of avoiding taking sides, even though the group’s priority language remains le français. 

This year’s events will be hosted mainly out of a loft the group has rented in the Centre-Sud, which they affectionately refer to as the Sissy Space X (or SSPX) at 2229 Ste Catherine Est, with a multitude of other events taking place at the Centre communautaire gai et lesbien, the Café Touski, and, most excitingly, the Fresh Paint Gallery (180 Ste Catherine Est), where the collective art show X POSE will show a curated exhibit of queer poster art, scuplture, installation, and painting including French animator and agent provocateur Tom de Pékin, along with a queer who’s-who of visual knock-outs: Johnny Forever, JonnyBonnyRock, JJ Levine, Jamie Ross, and posters from the AIDS ACTION NOW! ”Poster/Virus” series.

One of many recurring annual events is the acoustic music night HOMOSOuNdS, taking place on Wednesday, Feb 29, at Coop Katacombes (1635 boul. St-Laurent). This year’s luscious line-up will feature cosmopolitan folk-rocker Sami Basbous, Echo Beach (the live music act with Salon Identité‘s Julie Matson), the always glamorous Joseph Gabereau, and father-son duo Frank + Sid. Not 2B missed!

Events like HOMOSOuNdS and the Friday Feb 24 fundraiser dance party GLOREEBOX with DJs Plastik Patrik, Frigid, Maxime Armstrong, JonnyBonnyRock and Life the Wolfand  are what make Radical Queer Semaine stick out in the public eye: half of the proceeds from the event at Drugstore will go to the Lettre en couleur solidarity project in conjunction with Algerian LGBT collective Abu Nawas that sends queer-themed books (in French, English, or Arabic) to allies Algeria via the French consulate.

But aside from parties and shows, what RQS participants commit to “is not just parties and concerts,” insists collective member Seb Sevan’Ito Whorhag. There are over 30 workshops in this year’s beefed-up programme, from how to make your own spout to piss standing up (when you don’t have a penis), dealing with polyamory, or our favorite title “From Missionary Intervention to the Missionary Position: decolonizing gender and sexuality” with Ethnoculture‘s Ed Lee, and two McGill queer researchers, Kama Maureemootoo and Taushif Kara. 

Radical Queer Semaine’s opening panel and discussion will address a variety of topics including HIV criminalization with Riyas Fadel from the COCQ-sida; the refusal of the mayor of Montréal to allow Cactus to create a Safe Injection Site with Keby from the AQPSUD; Trasnsport Canada’s discriminatory regulations affecting transgender and racialized people with Nora B. from ASSTeQ; the criminalization of homosexuality in certain African countries and the homophobia and racism that LGBT new arrivals often face – with Arc-en-ciel d’Afrique’s Steve François; and “the repression of queer peoples’ freedoms in general.”

Queer In/Justice: Opening panel on criminalizations affecting queer people, 6:30pm-9:30pm at 2229 Ste Catherine Est

For all the events at RQS 2012, check out: 

www.radicalqueersemaine.com 

Banner image by Sound + Fury aka www.johnstonnewfield.com 

With its new anti-bullying bill to be presented to the legislature, an anti-bullying action plan extended until 2015, and a new anti-bullying website, the Liberal Government pulled out the heavy artillery in the fight against bullying in schools. Some saw the gesture as electioneering. Jean Charest did make a point of coming to the press conference for a photo op with Education Minister Line Beauchamp.

Many associations welcomed the initiative. The Québec and Montréal School Principals’ Associations (AQPDE and AMDES) called the plan a “step towards the solution for eradicating violence in schools,” in Le Devoir.

Inefficient funding

Jasmin Roy, who launched a foundation to mobilize public opinion on the problem, was pleased with the announcements, though he did share some criticisms. The TV host and author of Osti de fif! (story of his adolescence where he was subjected to homophobic violence at school), says that his foundation received no response to the requests made by the government, starting with “the need to appoint someone in the school to be responsible for bullying prevention, a problem that has become more and more visible in schools, and above all, that this person be given one day a week that they can specifically devote to the task.”

Chantal Longpré, vice-president of the Jasmin Roy Foundation and president of the (FQPDE), criticised the financial aspect of the plan: “It’s a copy and paste of the 2008-2011 plan with the same amount of funding, plus an extra little million for a publicity campaign,” she told Le Devoir.

In a previous interview with 2B staff, Jasmin Roy pointed out that the first instalment of government funding was badly managed. In the end, each school received too little funding to be able to tackle the problem effectively. 

2B. What has happened to your website since the Minister’s comments?

Fadi. Since the launch of our website last March, we never caught the attention of anyone other than the LGBT population. Since last week, some Tunisians have discovered the existence of gay media and have reacted negatively to the idea. Between the comments made on the website and the private messages on Facebook, we are receiving all sorts of insults and sometimes even verses from the Koran to remind us that we are sinners and that we deserve to die. We have also received threats to pirate the site and even death threats. To tell you the truth, we always expected negative reactions, but not in this way. It’s frightening.

2B. What did you think the minister’s attack on Gayday was about?

F. The minister is from an Islamic party. He wants to promote his image as a religious person in service of God. He has even made films for the media of himself praying with his team in his office. Even though we expected him to have this sort of reaction, seeing as he is also the government spokesperson, we were very disappointed to hear his attacks against our freedom of speech. He said that we should seek medical help. The worst part was that he expressed his personal view while he is the Minister of Human Rights. It is as if he can choose which rights to uphold or that the rights of LGBT people are not human rights.

2B. Do you take the threats made against your website and your life seriously?

F. Yes I do, but so does the rest of the team. If the threats aren’t coming from agents of the government, then there are coming from religious people. We try to remain discrete.

2B. Has the political climate become more homophobic since the Islamists came to power?

F. Homophobia has always been part of Tunisian society. Though people are aware of the existence of different sexual orientations, even observing gays in the street, in a café, or on television, they choose to ignore it or they tell themselves that it is other peoples’ problem and that they don’t have associate with any gay people. However, since the Islamists have come to power, a religious fervour has taken over the country. These days, everyone thinks more about morality and sin.

2B. Is it worse now than during the Ben Ali regime?

F. It is difficult to say, but I will say no. Under the old regime, there was censorship, political police and a lack of respect of basic human rights. In this phase of democratic transition, though it is controlled in a large part by Islamists, there is more liberty and more dialogue.

2B. Are there any political parties that support you?

F. For the moment, not really. The left-wing and progressive parties have already been criticized for their support of the rights of LGBT people and other minorities even though they have never explicitly voiced this support. However, we must underline that we receive many messages of support and encouragement. Others offer more technical help to continue the battle for our rights. For example, the ADLI (the Tunisian Association for the Defense of Individual Liberties, composed mostly of lawyers and judges) sent a communiqué against the Minister’s announcement. They also explained that homosexuality is neither a sexual perversion, nor a mental illness. The communiqué was signed by a neurologist.

2B. Do LBGT activists still manage to mobilize in spite of the threats?

F. Activism takes place mainly on the internet. There is also a new gay radio station in Tunisia. We hope to demonstrate in the street, but it’s a bit risky for the moment. We need to recruit influential people but this happens behind closed doors.

2B. In retrospect, how do you see the Jasmine Revolution?

F. First off, as activists, we never approved the name “Jasmine Revolution”, a purely tourist name that hides the dark face of what happened: the violence, the blood, the torture. We prefer to call it the Tunisian Revolution. For the rest, I would say that the trust that the public has put in a religious political party can be explained by the absence of election culture and a “healthy” political life. The religious discourse was accepted by the majority of people who never realized that it could impede our liberties in the name of religion. But this is only one facet of the current situation. The opposition movements and civil society are on high alert. They watch every move made by the provisional government. We are prudently optimistic about the evolution of post-revolution Tunisia.  

gaydaymagazine.wordpress.com 

Special thanks to Dan Littauer from GayMiddleEast for helping Être and 2B arrange this interview.

]]> http://www.2bmag.com/2012/02/embattled-gayday-editor-on-tunisias-resurgent-homophobia-and-threats-to-free-speech-7100/feed 0 http://www.2bmag.com/2012/02/moscow-on-montcalm-artist-michael-solovyev-in-conversation-7081 http://www.2bmag.com/2012/02/moscow-on-montcalm-artist-michael-solovyev-in-conversation-7081#comments Sat, 18 Feb 2012 17:41:57 +0000 RG - 2B staff http://www.2bmag.com/?p=7081

2B: In Moscow, you had a lot going on. Why did you decide to leave Russia?

MS: My two sons, Alexander and Ilya. In Russia, boys are required to serve a minimum of two years in military training program. I did not agree and thought they would be exposed to terrible conditions. Also, I wanted something else for my art, for all of my family. The diversity of population is also something we sought after, and I wanted my kids to experiment this blend of culture and colors. The adventure and the new life is also a big part of the reason we left.

2B: You are a family man, married with kids, do you think that your art is a direct reflexion of your manière d’être?

MS: To me, family and art live side by side, literally. Our home is in the studio, surrounded by paintings and my art, exposed where my family and I live. It really gives the experience a whole other aspect. It is not so much a reflexion of my family but they surely play a big part of what defines my work. Specially my late father.

2B: About your Father…

MS: My father was a stage director in Moscow. He was the one who introduced me to this world, gave me the support and passion I needed to succeed. My father was a great teacher, an even greater friend. He gave me love; love of poetry, literature, music and, of course, painting! He is the main reason why I do what I do today.

2B: Your style is very graphic and commercial, but with a fresco-like texture. Can you tell me about your creative process?

MS: In terms of style I was taught by my teachers to reproduce the likes of Da Vinci, Modigliani and Michelangelo. Technique-wise, in Russia there is an immense focus on details and an urge to study the great painters of this world. My style is continually evolving, but there is an obvious signature to my work. When it’s done, it gives the piece some interesting yet subtle texture.

2B: What is your view of the LGBT community? Is there any specific reason why you settled here, in the village?

MS: To be quite honest, I had absolutely no idea I was in the village! The first few days I walked around, met people and after seeing more of my new neighbourhood, I got a clue. Same went for my wife and sons. In Russia, it is a very different situation for LGBT people. They live in hiding, unless they are fortunate enough to be in the right circles. There is no sense of community whatsoever, nor any publications on the matter. I love that people here are so open minded. When my [teenaged] son Ilya noticed two men on the street holding hands the first day we arrived, I told him it was normal. I teach my children respect; respect yourself and the next person, regardless of his/her sexual orientation.

Studio Michael Solovyev “Black Angel” exhibit 24 Feb -10 Mar, 2012

2009 Montcalm street,

Montreal QC Canada H2L3H8

www.michaelsolovyev.com

Image: Ikaros by Michael Solovyev: Oil, canvas 48 x 40 in. (2009)

With the impressive line up of stylish individuals to accompany the even more impressive line up of designers, it was the not-to-miss event to see and be seen. One thing I’ll get out of the way about the Fall looks for men at Montréal Fashion Week this February: we would have enjoyed a little more testosterone on the runway. Men in Montréal are without any doubt a profitable market for the designers, but how can we spend if they don’t create? Is this enough of a reason to parade naked on Sherbrooke Street with a sign reading “Dress us”? You tell us!

Dinh Ba

Dinh Ba’s men collection appeals to the urban, trendy male, looking for edge and sobriety. With a smart mix of different textures and prints, Dinh Ba draws the portrait of the new-age fashion warrior armed with combat boots. From printed t-shirts that recall Gotham City by night, paired with low-crotch pants for the casualty part of the spectrum; to polka dotted trench coats or black and white snake suits for the edgy part, every fashionisto in town will find his match.

 LYN 

Organic-post-apocalyptic-fashion, that’s a way to put in words what unveiled in front of our eyes during the show. Black, knitted sweaters and pants will find room in the adventurous fashion lover’s closet while more conservative dressers might shy away.

CIN Tailleurs

Modern is good but classic is better, that’s what Cinthya Chalifoux, designer at CIN Tailleurs, a made-to-measure company based in Montreal, wanted us to pick up from her collection. A fresh combination of double-breasted trench coats with leather accents and back-to-basics vests, the kind of pieces that make you feel good about waking up on Monday for work.

UNTTLD

José-Manuel St-Jacques and Simon Bélanger came out with another Helmut-Lang-inspired knitwear fantasy that challenged the wearability factor but delighted the eye. The ethereal men and spectacular construction was off-set by a certain nordic colour restraint. The materials and ideas were strong, but the conceptualism may have been a bit too Milan for anyone other than Pierre Lapointe, but we loved it! 

All photos by Danik Yopp (Montreal Street Fashion), special to 2Bmag.

They read “I party. I bareback. I’m positive. I’m responsible” and “Fuck positive women.” In a ripple effect, the picture posted to ACCM’s Facebook page generated 84 comments. In its wake, ACCM issued the following public statement on February 9: “while 100% condom use, 100% of the time is one effective method of prevention – and is one we continue to advocate – it is important to reach out to those engaging in risky behaviours.”

The unfortunate splintering within the community led ACCM to organize a community meeting. The invitation was disseminated on the organization’s Facebook page. Executive Director Mark Hapanowicz expressed to 2Bmag that the meeting’s objectives were to foster an environment conducive to positive dialogue and constructive discussion about stigmatization of people living with HIV-AIDS.

Discussions took place in a respectful, generous atmosphere, moderated by former Head & Hands director and non-profit consultant Marlo Turner Ritchie. The community members adopted an agenda focusing on the viability of political art, and its accessibility of complex messages such as “I party bareback, I’m positive, I’m responsible.”

Feb 7 demo with Radical Queer Semaine member (left) and ACCM employee (right) holding "Poster Virus" images by Mikiki and Allyson Mitchell

ACCM and friends clarified the purpose of Mitchell and Mikiki’s political signing: to reaffirm seropositive personal empowerment with regards to their bodies, their health and their sex life and debunk stereotypes of irresponsibility perpetuated by current criminal legislation. The group, indeed, seemed to agree that the posters had fostered discussion and encouraged reflection: attendee Mark Raper declared, “When I saw the poster, it stimulated a lot in me. I decided that I did not want to be a book burner.” Social worker and activist Robert Hillier dubbed the signs effective because they were “flagrantly shit-disturbing.” Community member Ken found Mikiki’s poster, which has been brandished by a member of activist collective Radical Queer Semaine (and not by an ACCM employee, as initially suggested) “personally confronting.” For Ken, it had met its intended purpose by stirring controversy and bringing sero-stigmatization, personal and public responsibility to the attention of Montréalers concerned with HIV, AIDS and its social implications.

Other topics broached included the meaning of responsibility in the context of AIDS activism, the appropriateness of Facebook as a medium for such discussions, and a concluding reflection on the battles of the past and those of 2012. Asked to look on future perspectives, Hapanowicz rejoiced that community discussions were taking place, and told 2B: “We will continue our reflections and look at roads that we can take for those positive dialogs to occur. That will be our role in the short term. The message that there is a desire to pursue these conversations seems unanimous.” 

When I interviewed C!RCA‘s Yaron Lifschitz in advance of his company’s eponymous show’s ten-night run at Montréal’s TOHU, inspired by the phrase by the light of the stars that are no longer, I knew this was something I had to see. “As long as we have the capacity to be moved in some way, we really have a chance,” the cirque director propounded via Skype.

When I was done oohing, ahhing, and gasping at the show’s brave mixture of dance, mime, acrobatics, and trapeze, I was reminded of the Andy Warhol adage Lifschitz had quoted to me – “sex and parties are the two things you still need to be there for” – and C!RCA’s style of performance is definitely the third.

The very sparse 7-character show starts with a minimalist choreography, including Montréal’s own Valérie Doucet and the captivating Emma McGovern – beautifully bald in red lip-stick – falling and tumbling in what appears to be a painful abandonment to gravity, along with a jumble of their fellow male cast-members (Scott Grove, ooh la-la). The opening sequence of abrupt body-flops prepares you for the flights of muscular movement, uncanny stillness, fluid bodies, and sparkling humour with which C!RCA is infused throughout.

But there is a lot of pathos too. Adelaide’s Jarred Dewey, who joined the C!RCA team last year and learned the routine in 4 days for a show in Barcelona, was breathtaking in his opening trapeze act (pictured). Dewey has an almost supernatural control of his every bone and muscle, but goes further than even the other formidable players in the ensemble by using the more subtle muscles of his exquisite face to underscore a sense of vulnerability, serenity, fear, and even angelic grief, at various points in the show.

The other show-stealers of this enthralling spectacle were the mime-inspired story-telling by soulful acrobat Darcy Grant, who held the audience in his fingertips (almost literally), and again McGovern, whose red sequined shoes are seen walking all over the nubile Lewis West in a scene that hurts so good.

There is so much more to say about this pared-down, unmagical, (there are no facile “tricks”), totally hard-core 1.5-hour piece, but the most important thing, if you need a pick-me-up right now, is to go and see it. The pas-de-deux are all gender-bendy and queer-friendly, the costumes are half-naked, the music is Jacques Brel and Leonard Cohen brilliance, and the best part is, you leave feeling invigorated and enlightened for having been there. Go. See. This.

C!RCA 

Extended to Saturday, Feb 25! @ the TOHU

2345, rue Jarry Est (corner d’Iberville)

www.tohu.ca

(Photo by Luce Tramblay-Gaudette)

2Bmag was able to catch up with Anita Schoepp last week and learn about the journey that led up to this exhibition. Way back in the early oughties, Schoepp had decided to become celibate. It’s a choice we’ve all made the morning after one too many drinks and one too many (cough) bad decisions. Of course most of us never follow through. Anita did, and she replaced having sex with thinking about sex.  A lot.

“Because I was not actually having sex I still felt very, very sexual,” Schoepp remembers. “So I was like: how do I express that sexuality? And then I started to kind of pose other questions: How does it interact with my mundane activities? Is it present when I am doing dishes? What about when I am taking the metro? How does it affect my interactions with other people, you know, even in my work place?”

Anita looked for answers through art. In 2005 she asked several artist friends in the queer/punk scene to personify their sexuality as she snapped their portrait. She exhibited the works at the VAV Gallery as Foreign Bodies. “It was super interesting, but being a photographer we had a specific relationship…. everybody kind of chose to have a dialogue with me while I was taking the photos. And then, being the photographer I decided what moments determined their sexuality by clicking the camera, and then also choosing the final photos.”

Anita decided to try again. In 2007 she put a call out asking the same question: ‘How would you personify your sexuality?’ but this time in a situation that allowed the participants more freedom.  Anita selected 20 of the people who responded.  “I would set them up in this room without anything else in it, with a video camera, and I was like: go for it. You have 10 minutes. Do whatever you want.” One person sat in front of the camera and ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Someone else talked about their experience of sexuality in relation to the colostomy bag they had to wear. “It was very abstract,” Anita remembers, “and it was beyond anything I could have ever imagined, everything was sooo subjective.” The collated results became a 4 channel installation called Threads,  that she presented at Galerie Espace.

Still, the predetermined space of the room and the fact that video was the only medium made the show feel limited to Anita. She embarked on a 3^rd installation of project, this time as a curator. She targeted a wide range of artists from Jakarta to New York, and invited them to answer her question in whatever medium they choose. The result is It started with a simple question.

Work from Threads and Foreign Bodies will be shown in the entrance corridor. Unfortunately, the show will only run for three days, so be sure to check it out before it closes on Sunday, February 19^th . 

It started with a simple question group show with work by John Badalu, Laurence Brunelle-Côté, Katie Earle, Nidal El-khairy, Kandis Friesen, Markus Lake, JJ Levine, Jess Mac, Imelda Mandala, Loren March, Robyn Maynard, Net Net Nwel, Francois Pedneault, Jonaz Slovanski, Hnin Su mon, Chloe Suprenant and Schoepp herself. 

 Eastern Bloc

7240 Clark, 2^nd floor
Montreal, QC
H2R 2Y3
Tél: 514.284.2106

Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 12-5pm

 easternbloc.ca

Anita Schoepp:  www.fortheloveoflightandshadow.org