08.18.08
Posted in Minority at 5:04 pm by pleinelune
I wish I could write this in the nature of some undercover spy report, or even a fascinating account of some rare new species by a researcher. While it feels like I am doing something of the sort, the subjects of my article are far from treason-committing criminals or an animal species. They are a bunch of queer women of Indian origin, a group of girls in an educational institution unnamed, brought together through to a weird gravitational force yet unaccounted for by the laws of physics.
How did I get to know these girls? Quite honestly, mainly through an ex-partner. For one and a half years, I have been hearing reports of these women and their exploits from more than one source, and met a couple of members on occasion. But last week was the first time I met them en masse, a mass of black-and-brown skinned girls (to be quite politically correct, boys too, but we shall get to that later), representing maybe half this unique sub-culture.
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- technorati: queer, lesbian, indian, singapore
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04.10.08
Posted in Coming out, General, Minority, Queer literature, Religion at 10:40 pm by sayoni
To commemorate our 2nd Anniversary, we go back to our roots and have a heart-to-heart with the author of the book that inspired us - Giti Thadani, author of Sakhiyani.
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03.01.07
Posted in Minority, Relationships at 1:14 am by pleinelune
This is the third part of the series on Interracial Dating. Read the first two parts here and here.
Holding Hands
After you navigate the maze of the rules of attraction, there is the actual dating. This is when the fun begins, as the carnival of culture clash comes to your town.
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- About: Pleinelune thinks the world would be a better place if people were colour-blind.
- Forum discussion: Minority
- technorati: queer, lesbian, bisexual, gay, interracial, dating, relationships, discrimination, racism, religion
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02.25.07
Posted in Minority, Relationships at 6:36 pm by pleinelune
In the second part of this series, the author explores the flip side of Rules of Attraction. Read the first part here.
Exotification
Exotification is the rough opposite of sexual racism, but still has its roots in the totem pole. It is generally exhibited by, for the lack of a better term, “superior” races, in whichever pairing it is. Caucasians with an Asian or Black fetish, or in a local context, maybe Chinese who have a thing for Malay/Indian/mixed people, tend to those who exotify others. Exotification, which often goes hand-in-hand with the colonial mentality, such an extent that it becomes a sub-culture, as with the potato-queen-rice-queen phenomenon in Asian countries. Or with the SPG culture.
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- About: Pleinelune does not look for trophy partners: her ego is so big she considers herself a trophy for anyone.
- Forum discussion: Minority
- technorati: queer, lesbian, bisexual, gay, interracial, relationship, dating, attraction, racism
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02.22.07
Posted in Minority, Relationships at 3:17 pm by pleinelune
This begins a tri-part column on the racial politics of dating. The author, a bisexual Indian female, speaks from her own experience and all her viewpoints are representative of herself, not the organisation. This article addresses audience of both genders.
Images from fotosearch.com
Rules of Attraction
I am by no means a Casanova, nor a dating guru. Quite the reverse, in fact. But that does not mean I’ve not had enough experience in the matters of inter-racial attraction [both ways], because almost my entire history is taken up by this phenomenon.
I would also like to say that I am speaking of general trends, and what I say may not apply to everyone. Read the rest of this entry »
- About: Pleinelune loves women of all races, even aliens.
- Forum discussion: Minority
- technorati: queer, lesbian, bisexual, interracial, relationships, attraction, sexual racism
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12.25.06
Posted in Entertainment, Minority at 12:25 am by pleinelune
Warning: Movie spoilers ahead
Last night, I went to watch Water1 with my family. Water, for those who do not know it, is the latest edition of Deepa Mehta’s elemental trilogy, which opened with a bang 9-10 years ago, in the form of the explosive film known as Fire.
Ah yes, Fire. Rings a bell, does it not? The controversial lesbian film which caused a fair bit of damage to theatres in India when it first opened. The story is about two sisters-in-law in a typical Indian household who fall in love, and the consequent problems. It was consequently banned in India [and might I add, Singapore too], while it went on to garner awards in international film festivals.
After Fire made its own, pardon the pun, firestorm in India, it was 9 years before someone broached the topic again, the hideous creation known as Girlfriend not withstanding. This time, it touched me a lot closer to the heart: a wonderful woman known as Ligi Pulapally made a lesbian film in my language[Malayalam]: The Journey, or Sancharam, released in 2005. The story is about two rural girls who grow up together as best friends, and wouldn’t you know it, fall in love.
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- About: The normally iron-cast Pleinelune is a weepy little sensitive girl when it comes to films
- Forum discussion: Entertainment
- technorati: queer, gay, lesbian, asian, brokeback, fire, indian, movies, journey
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08.23.06
Posted in General, Identity, Minority at 9:07 am by sheilarajamanikam
I have an issue with minority.
I have an issue with token of appreciation.
I am sure that I am appreciated sometimes - if only because I am a token.
In a man’s world, I am the token woman.
In a straight woman’s space, I am the token lesbian.
Now, I am sure all of the above are not unfamiliar to most of you, but wait - there is more.
In a room of lesbians, I am the token leather dyke.
Politically, more often than not, I am the token Indian lesbian carrying the minority of minority placard - alone.
Signs that you are a token:
1. When you are in the group yet not connecting with anyone, made worse by intentional alienation. Imagine everyone else speaking in a different language, one I do not understand even though all of us are fluent in English.
2. When the same people you fight alongside with decide to turn their backs on your issues. Case in point: Lesbian feminists pressed for the right to birth control and abortions in the 60s and 70s, yet received no support for gay and lesbian rights in return.
3. When you are primarily perceived by the characteristics of your race. Because I am Indian, people assume that I must be submissive, meek, sexy, cook well and so on. Other aspects of my personality are either ignored or seen as an anomaly.
What is worse is when some of your own kind choose to assimilate into the majority and live in a fantasy world blind to the struggles you have had to go through.
In a recent forum, the issue of diversity surfaced in a forum when people wondered why no women of colour are being represented. When I asked the other minority women in the room to ask the question, they actually told me that “Oh, but I’d get slapped for it.” and that “I’d be isolated.”, as if expecting some kind of punishment for speaking out of a minority space, even when the majority women claim that we all live in a diverse community and that every woman has a voice. I find this statement problematic because the majority women speak with power of giving the space instead of everyone sharing an equal space.
Does this article make you feel uncomfortable? It should.
It pokes in the minds of minority women, who have chosen to make themselves invisible in order to fit in because it speaks of the silent, gnawing isolation they go through.
It also forces the majority women to reflect upon how they might have been isolating when they speak of diversity, even though they might have an understanding of isolation in other forms eg. homophobia.
One reaction I expect from publishing this is an outcry and a request to educate. I think education is not as important as awareness. It takes the awareness of each other’s minority to bring a greater unity to an already fragmented community.
- About: Sheila
- Forum discussion: Minority
- technorati: glbtq, lesbian, gay, queer, minority, indian, leather,
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04.26.06
Posted in Bisexuality, Identity, Minority at 10:25 am by pleinelune
Last week, Pleinelune examined the problems bisexuals face. In the last part of this series, she explores the nemesis of lesbians everywhere: the bicurious woman.
It is a Saturday night, and you head off to the club for a night out with the girls. After knocking back a few drinks, you notice a hot girl standing off to the corner of the bar, nervously looking around. You head over to her, ask her for a dance. During one of the slow dances, you get close… you kiss. You take her home, and give her the best sex she has ever had in her life, though it seems that she has little idea what to do.
You wake up with her the next morning, and she’s talking to her boyfriend on the phone.
Damn. The bicurious woman strikes again.
If lesbians hate bisexual women, they hate bicurious women even more, though in many quarters, bicuriousity is equated with bisexuality. *cough*Fridae*cough* To reiterate the existing stereotypes: they break lesbian hearts by the dozen, and leave them for a man with a big dick and a bigger wallet. Or worse, they grope girls in the club in order to attract attention from men.
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- About: Pleinelune detests exclusive, binary-minded people.
- Forum discussion: Minority
- technorati: queer, lesbian, gay, bisexual, bicurious
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04.16.06
Posted in Bisexuality, Identity, Minority at 5:50 pm by pleinelune
Last week, Pleinelune discussed the scientific position on bisexuality. Today, she shall exposit on the troubles bisexuals face.
So, one fine day, Pleinelune logged on to her computer, and immoralfear alerted her to a Fridae article, named The Bisexual Boogie Man. After one read through it, Pleinelune had to take a walk around the house to calm myself down. It is one thing to be reading homophobic trash at some anti-gay website, but entirely another to be reading a biphobic article on Asia’s largest gay portal.
Then Pleinelune came back to face my second heart attack: the comments on the article. Surely, Pleinelune thought, people would be bashing the author for such idiotic trash. Instead, Pleinelune found her Sapphic sisters bashing bisexuals. Among the expletives and insults thrown were “bisexuals cannot be trusted”, “get out”, “greedy” and “liars”.
[Slightly out of point, but tangentially relevant: this author’s personal favourite comment is “pure passive lesbians r different, they're born 2 detest men & they r e 1s who really stays...” Everytime she looks at this, she doesn’t know whether to laugh, cry or pound her head against the wall]
Alright, stepping back from that article for a moment, let’s review what bisexuals have been charged with, in the court of Homopolis.
Bisexuals…
1. …are just “pretending” to be gay or straight for reasons unknown, or in denial
2. …cannot make up their minds between men and women
3. …will leave their lesbian lovers for a man eventually
4. …are just in transition to being gay
5. …are promiscuous
6. …[insert your favourite misconception about bisexuals]
I cannot speak for gay men, but lesbians do not like bisexuals. That is very much clear, from the general attitude. They are perpetually afraid of their partners leaving them for The Man, “the enemy”.
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- About: Pleinelune thinks that discrimination of any kind is stupid - especially those which work on our insecurities
- Forum discussion: Minority
- technorati: queer, bisexual, lesbian, discrimination, women, biphobia, Kinsey
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02.02.06
Posted in General, Identity, Minority at 6:26 pm by sheilarajamanikam
A monthly column by Sheila on being a minority of a minority and thoughts on being politically incorrect.
Many don’t like that I talk about this
Its there, can’t be ignored.
I am a sari wearing, spice eating brown woman. what’s wrong with that!!!!
I have been told I am too angry.
My lover’s mother told her, “Don’t care if you a queer just have a chinese gf!”
Doused in perfume by another whose mother say Indians smell bad.
Another tells me that I have to be a submissive little Indian wife.
Everywhere I hang out, I hang my indianess at the door.
Have you seen a sari-clad chick making out at a bar?
In the faceless internet. I am asked. What race are you?
WELL. I am just racy, in my sari clad chest-busting blouse kind of way.
I am tired of reaching out, tired of looking.
Is there not one woman that can feed me thosai?
- About: Sheila is a quirky intersex Hindu Indian lesbian who happens to love women more than (er) chocolate.
- Forum discussion: Minority
- technorati: lesbian, coming out, queer, minorities, racism, indian
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