"Queer Feminism" - July 2021

The Young Feminist Network Newsletter

July 01, 2021

The Young Feminist Network was established in July 2020 by Everystory Sri Lanka to bring together people interested in learning more about feminism, particularly from a Sri Lankan and South Asian perspective.

This month, our newsletter is curated on the theme "Queer Feminism"

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Dear Reader,

We are excited to bring you this month's Newsletter, curated around the theme "Queer Feminism," looking at queer theory, activism, movements, and advocacy through a feminist lens. The intersection between the queer and feminist movement and work has been discussed for a long time and is examined in several feminist writings, activism, and musings. With Pride Month being celebrated in June, we thought this to be the perfect time to help you unpack some of these critical layers.

My favorite section in this month's Newsletter is the Reading List, curated by the inspirational Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala. It allowed me to unlearn assumptions I've previously had about queer feminism while simultaneously allowing me to explore the intersection between feminism and queer theory critically. It helped me arrive at a new understanding of the world around me, and I hope you learn as much as I did. Most importantly, I hope you feel that you, too, are a part of the journey we are all on, learning and growing together.

As always, we love to hear your thoughts and feedback. We value the complimentary and the critical equally, so please share! You can get in touch via email at [email protected]

In Solidarity,

Hansathi Pallewatte,

YFN Newsletter Editor - July

Congratulations!

Our Social Media Manager, Tehani, became the only winner from Asia amongst 9 young women from the US, Canada, Italy, and Australia, and is the recipient of the YWPA Scholarship granted by Zonta International.

Tehani lives in Sri Lanka and graduates in July from Asian International School after which she will pursue her college education at the prestigious Seven Sisters university, Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, USA. She plans to study International Relations with a minor in Gender and Sexuality Studies and plans to start her own NGO with the focus on educating the girl child.

Congratualtions Teh! We, at Everystory Sri Lanka could not be more proud of you!!

Learning about feminism isn't always easy. The more you know about it, the more you are compelled to unlearn and question almost everything you have been taught so far at home, at school, and by society in general. The same goes for queer feminism.

Queer theory cannot be considered in isolation from feminism, and an intersectional perspective is vital to understand the lives of people that are systematically marginalized for their identity. The COVID-19  pandemic has brought along its share of difficulties for those identifying as queer, forcing many LGBTIQ youth to stay at home – possibly in transphobic/homophobic environments, with family members who might be struggling to come to terms with a child/sibling/relative identifies as queer.

The July Reading List is a compilation of a broad range of resources on Queer Feminism - from the varied diversity of gender and sexual identities that we can find in the Global South to the laws that criminalize homosexual behavior - and provide a great starting point to increase your understanding of the intersection between queer theory and feminism.

Click here for our July Reading List!

You can connect with the curator of the July Reading List, Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala, on LinkedIn.

The Interview Segment

Each month, we reach out to people who will reflect on the theme and share their insights as to how it relates to their lives and work.

For this month's Interview Segment, we questioned Cayathri on the intersection between the feminist movement and Queer Theory. We also asked her for advice on being a better ally to the LGBTIQ Community. To read her interview, follow this link!

Also Explore...

There are various groups here in Sri Lanka that focus on specific gender identities and the broader LGBTQ+ spectrum. Whether you are well-versed with the community or are keen on simply breaking the ice, here are some organizations you can reach out to and get involved with.

Actor, director and playwright Arun Welandawe-Prematilleke, has just won the highest English literary award in the country—the Gratiaen Prize—for his original, creative and groundbreaking play, 'The One Who Loves You So.' The play dealt with the deeply personal topic of homosexuality, but also the intersection and interaction of race and class in postcolonial, 21st-century society.

Poetry

Performance Poet Vasi Uduruwane calls her country out on its continuously increasing violence against trans women, and their exclusion from conversations on the empowerment of women. Pouring out her anger and frustration, she unlocks the agony of being forced to conform within a cis/het society and stands in solidarity with her fellow sisters.

#transphobiakills

“Blue Hanuman,” is by the acclaimed American poet and playwright Joan Larkin (b. 1939), who “was active in the small press lesbian feminist publishing explosion in the 1970s, co-founding the independent publishing company Out & Out Books.

She writes that seeing this watercolor portrait of Hanuman, the monkey god, tearing open his chest to reveal Rama and Sita in his heart at a Brooklyn Museum show, provided her with the strength to question her identity through her poetry; "[my] poem showed me that my response to [this] painting was inseparable from a long habit of self-questioning and self-censure.”

As a poet who focuses on documenting the stories of queer and trans people of color, abuse survivors, mixed-race people, and diasporic South Asians and Sri Lankans, Piepzna-Samarasinha captures in paper the sisterhood of radical Sri Lankan women that are present in everyday homes and the comfort and feeling of belonging that accompanies this solidarity.

Paid Work Opportunities

The SLACD is hiring! This is a full-time position that assists with interacting with local organizations to build capacity and resources of various partners to provide support to children and youth in the community.

Reuters is looking for a versatile and energetic reporter to cover political, economic, and general news from Sri Lanka, delivering fast, original and insightful stories with a multimedia flair.

We’re looking for a Research Lead to join our team. Research is a critical part of The Engine Room’s work, as we engage in strategic and impactful research for our partners, as well as build evidence for programmatic work throughout the organization.

The team is looking for a dynamic individual to join us as a Communications Consultant. If you think you are the right fit, please email [email protected].

Link in bio for more details.

Internships

Yellow Dot non-profit organization founded on the principles of empowerment inclusivity, justice, reconciliation, and peaceful coexistence.

This is a voluntary position. They are an equal opportunity partner so any and all please do send your CV to [email protected]

Education

The fellowship is a feminist leadership program centered on developing knowledge on social justice, skills to action change, and capacity for personal leadership, and will run virtually from 20th August 2021 to 31st March 2022. It is open only to women, trans, gender non-conforming, and non-binary South Asian folks between 18 to 30 years of age.

You can apply for the fellowship, here.

An all-digital exhibition, N.O.W 2021 explores different facets of the taboo, fear, intimacy and reclaims them as sources of power and inspiration.

The festival celebrates alliances and solidarity between women through engagement, collaboration, and dialogue, and this year considers what is intimacy beyond the physical, in the digital world.

A truly delightful digital experience!

Every month, we feature the work and story of a member of the Young Feminist Network with the hope of inspiring and learning from each other.

Follow this link to read our Member Spotlight for July!

Every month, Kopi Collective, in collaboration with Everystory Sri Lanka calls for submissions by its members to be featured in the YFN Newsletter.

Find this month's submission, on the theme Queer Feminism, below!

You can access our previous member contributions here.

Learning Circle Sessions

This month, in our Learning Circle Sessions, we will focus on learning about Queer communities and their intersection with the Feminist Movement, the values around Queer feminism, Queer representation in different fields, and more.

The sessions will be conducted in Sinhala and Tamil via the Zoom platform.

If you want to suggest any particular topic for our Featured Speaker sessions and learning opportunities, please fill in this Google Form and let us know!

Presenting to you our very first collection of feminist stickers specially curated based on stories of girl’s resistance in the South Asian region. Would love to have one of your own or buy it as a special gift for your family or friends? Please head to Everystory Sri Lanka official Instagram page to choose yours

For more on the Support Team, read here.

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Who can Join? 

Anyone can sign up for the newsletter! Fill in the Google Form (link below) to be added to the database:

Women, girls, and transgender/non-binary individuals who are of Sri Lankan heritage are also invited to join our Facebook group “Young Feminist Network by ESSL”

Sharing Information with the Network?

ESSL is conscious of the ethical handling of the data we hold of our members and their privacy. In order to respect the feminist values through which we try to shape our day-to-day work and the vetting we carry out of all information and opportunities we send out, we ask that members please refrain from directly emailing the YFN mailing list or using the reply all feature.

If you do have any information which might be of interest to the Network, please send it across to the ESSL team so we share it via appropriate channels.

Tag us in your work, questions, thoughts, and ideas! Share what you are doing and tell us more about what you would like to see!

Instagram: @everystory.sl 

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