Category Archives: LGBT: Ireland
The Bear Truth: A short film by Anna Rodgers celebarates this year’s GAZE Film Festival’s opening film Animals
GAZE; Dublin’s international LGBT film festival begins this evening Thursday 1st August at the Lighthouse Cinema here in Smithfield. There is a great variety of LGBT themed films including features, short films and documentaries as well as discussions and other associated events. There is lots of information on this year’s festival here.
The festival’s opening film is the Spanish film Animals and is a coming of age story which centres on the character of Pol and his relationships with his family and friends as well as Deerhoof who is an imaginary walking, talking teddy bear whom he turns to for support and friendship.
To highlight and celebrate the launch of the festival’s opening night film the Irish film-maker Anna Rodgers has made a short film called The Bear Truth in which several people talk about the stories and importance of their own relationships with their teddy bears.
LGBT Noise: March for Marriage: Dublin – Sunday August 18th 2013.
In August 2012 one of the most empowering public events that took place in the city centre here in Dublin was the March for Marriage which was a public awareness event that highlighted the importance of full marriage equality for all LGBT people. There was a fantastic unified atmosphere. One of the aspects of that day that stood out for me that day was the huge positive support from the people who watched the thousands of people of every sexual identity marching from Dublin’s City Hall to Ireland’s government buildings.
Since last summer a constitutional convention held in Dublin in April of this year voted 79% in favour for the right to full marriage equality. This meant that a public referendum on the issue could and should take place. There was great celebration when the 79% percentage vote was announced but as of yet no date for a referendum has been announced or set in motion by the Irish government. This simply has to happen.
When I heard that the referendum would now go to the public to decide the first thought I had is that I will campaign for that right. In ways we as out LGBT people have already begun that because of the fact that we have like minded families, friends, work colleagues and acquaintances who also believe in equal rights. I have friends who question marriage itself as an institution and I respect their views but I know that it is not my right or anyone else’s to withhold that basic human right for any other person. That is why the wording of the document that the people will sign is so important. In saying that there is only one question; do you support human rights; yes or no?
This time last year LGBT Noise were a group that I was aware of but only knew about when an event such as the March for Marriage was happening. Since then I have met some of the people involved in LGBT Noise and my respect for their work has increased. The one thing that I have learned over the years is that organisations such as LGBT Noise are often small in terms of their core organisers. We see thousands of people at the march but there are only a handful of mostly part time workers behind the scenes. That is why every single person regardless of sexual or gender identity who marches on the day is important. There is truly strength, power and unity in numbers.
Below is a photo of LGBT Noise and Marriage Equality marching together at Dublin Pride earlier this year.
This year’s March for Marriage as organised by LGBT Noise in conjugation with other LGBT equality groups takes place at City Hall in Dublin and marches to the Department of Justice building. The March begins at 3pm on Sunday 18th August. Between then and now LGBT Noise need help in funding the organisation of the day. These funding costs include advertising and Marketing, printing leaflets such as the one above at he beginning of this article and also the hiring of sound equipment and a truck where the speeches will be made at the march. Any amount can be donated at the link here.
LGBT Noise facebook page is here and they are on Twitter @LGBTNoise both of which are being regularly updated with news and information in advance of this year’s march.
LGBT Noise are also looking for stewards to help assist during the March for marriage on August 18th and they are holding training evenings at 715pm on Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th August in Outhouse, 105 Capel Street, Dublin.
Further information on the history to date of the recognition of same sex unions in the Republic of Ireland is here.
Acting Out drama group production of ‘gay : dad’ at Outhouse Theatre, Dublin 24th – 26th July.
Outhouse is Dublin’s LGBT community centre which is located in 105 Capel Street in the city centre. Over the years Outhouse has been a venue where many social groups from all sectors of the LGBT community of Dublin have been established and developed.
This week the drama group Acting Out presents their production of gay: dad which is a collection of interviews with both gay and straight men that explores the relationships between fathers and sons. The three performances began last night and continue tonight Thursday 25th and tomorrow evening the 26th for a 730pm starting time.
Here is a short promo video made for the production of gay: dad.
Tickets which are priced at €10 and €6 concessions can be purchased at Outhouse. Friday night is almost sold out and if you book on line tickets for Thursday night show they are half price at €5 and €3. Those tickets can be booked on line here.
It is wonderful to see Outhouse being utilised for a space for drama and I look forward to more productions by the Acting Out group.
More information on Acting Out group’s productions are on their Facebook page here and they are also on Twitter @ActingOutGroup
Culture Shots Radio Show highlights the 4th European transgender council and trans rights in Ireland
I recently became aware of the Dublin radio station Near FM and their shows that highlight issues within the various communities in Dublin and throughout Ireland. Their Culture Shots show is a part of the Inter-cultural Dialogue through Community Media project, which is co-financed by the European Commission under the European Integration Fund and is supported by the Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration in the Department of justice and equality and Pobal.
A recent Culture Shots radio show centred on the 4th Transgender Council Conference which was held in Dublin City University in September. The show which is presented by Gillian McInerney features extracts from the key note speeches by Minister Joan Burton and by Senator Katherine Zappone. The speech extracts are only a few minutes long but each contain a snapshot of where the current Irish government stands in relation to Trans rights in Ireland and Senator Zappone’s speech speaks about law but also of the importance of Trans men and women’s individual rights in relation to law.
The radio show also includes Gillian’s interview with Sinead Dolan who was one of the volunteers at the conference. Sinead wrote this blog post about the conference and within it she writes about the importance and the need of the entire LGBTQ community supporting Trans* rights, which is also something I very much agree with.
The final part of the Culture Shots show features TENI’s Vanessa Lacey bringing the delegates together through song in a moment of spontaneity. Vanessa is such an inspiring speaker, someone whose personality always shines through and that moment sums up what makes her a great ambassador for trans rights in Ireland and beyond.
The extracts are only a tiny part of the speeches, workshops, discussions and meetings that took place at the TGEU conference and since that weekend in September TENI and other Irish Trans rights groups such as the TEA Collective have been involved in other awareness and education campaigns and a public rally at Dail Eireann have taken place in Dublin. What is important in the work of TGEU, TENI and other Trans Rights groups is that they are forward moving and proactive. The Culture Shots radio programme on Near FM shows clearly how Irish media can help in the positive public awareness of Trans rights.
Near FM’s website is here which features links to all their shows and various podcasts. Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) website is here.
The Culture Shots show is below. Clip on the individual links to hear the specific parts referred to above.
Rally for Recognition: Identity not Disorder
Yesterday I wrote a blog post about the work that TENI do and about being a volunteer at the TGEU council conference which was held in Dublin last month. At that conference various Irish groups were present and one of them was Trans* Education & Advocacy (TEA collective). One of the people involved in the group was Cat McIlroy who also spoke at the evening rally for Trans Rights on the DCU campus.
I have great admiration for how groups such as TEA start with just an idea and then grow and involve people from all over the country. It is of course one thing having an idea and another being proactive and like TENI the Trans* Education & Advocacy group has been doing a lot of work on a national level in a very short space of time. This positive thinking I know can only inspire other people and groups to be proactive themselves.
On Saturday 20th October 2012 TEA will hold a rally outside of Dail Eireann in the city centre of Dublin. The 20th of October is the International Day of Action for Trans Depathologization. Cat wrote a guest blog post about the Trans* Education & Advocacy, the work they are doing and what the significance of the rally on Saturday is about on Suzie Byrne’s Maman Poulet website recently which can be read here.
I think these are important times for LGBT groups and very much so for Trans* groups such as the TEA collective and TENI. The message that is made by all LGBT groups is that campaigning for rights is a collective project. It is something we can all do, if you have the chance to walk in a rally, contact a local TD or government minister or simply stand up to someone’s bigoted or ignorant viewpoint then it all is important. I think this is the first year of my life that I have considered what exactly LGBT issues mean as a whole and I know I will only be more proud because of it.
There is more information on the work that Trans* Education & Advocacy do on their website which is Transgender.ie You can also follow them on Twitter @TransIreland
TENI and the importance of always learning
Over the past year I have discovered many great Twitter accounts of both LGBT individuals and groups. Just after Christmas last year a friend of mine told me that an organisation called Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) were also on Twitter and I started following their tweets. Over the past few months of this year I became very interested in what great work they were doing in relation to education and Trans rights awareness.
At this year’s Dublin Pride there was a great gathering of people in Merrion Square here in the city centre at the end of the parade. That afternoon one of the speakers was Vanessa Lacey who represented TENI. In just a few minutes Vanessa said so much; recognising how far Irish Transgender groups and support groups had come in just a few years and also where Transgender men and women are at in relation to legal recognition and the law. The video of Vanessa’s speech at Dublin Pride is here. Thanks to Paula Geraghty who filmed the speech that day.
A few weeks later in early August I went to the GAZE LGBT film festival here in Dublin as well. I saw several films that weekend and many of them were well structured and often inspiring documentaries. I love the genre of documentary because the best ones are as good as a fiction narrative. they are a story you learn from. One of the films I saw with my friend Brian was Trans a documentary which profiled the lives of both Trans men and women.
After GAZE I realised that I didn’t want to be just in the audience any more, next year I hope to volunteer at the film festival. In the meantime I wanted to do something else in relation to volunteering. Last month TENI hosted the 4th Transgender Europe council conference in DCU in Dublin. I was one of the volunteers and I am so glad I was there. The amazing thing about being a volunteer is that you see how an organisation works and the fact that many organisations are run by just a few people. The core staff of TENI worked with TGEU and various Transgender rights groups from many countries around Europe. Over the course of four days there were various workshops, discussions, a council and a Trans rights rally. The atmosphere was very positive but there was always the fact of all the work that has to be done in relation to Transgender rights in countries around Europe especially Ireland. The conference was also a space where delegates met and shared their both their represented organisation and their own stories. I met several delegates who I know are proud ambassadors of their own groups and countries but equally important of themselves. I know every volunteer had someone who stood out for them that weekend.
After all these years as an out gay man I realised the difference between gender identity and sexual identity. The two are what make us, they are different but they inter lap all the time. I became aware of the importance of pronouns, how we identity ourselves. The importance of respect runs as deep as pride. I realised the difference between Homophobia and Transphobia. I had experienced homophobia many times in my life but at the conference I heard the reality of transphobia from people that weekend. There is nothing so powerful than hearing a story first hand to make you begin to understand.
After the weekend I felt a sense of pride. I was proud of the staff of TENI and the various volunteers who were so full of energy and who all simply cared. Many of the volunteers are in the early years of college and many were involved in LGBT groups too. One of the volunteers wrote this amazing article about the conference on her blog. I realised that there is no such thing as a part time activist; what you believe in has to be with you all the time.
This week here in Ireland TENI has being making people aware of a mobile phone ad which can be read as transphobic and explaining why it is. The advertisement can be viewed here and TENI’s press release on the ad is here. It has been shown on television, at cinemas and on various websites here in Ireland. This week there has been much debate about it on Twitter, Facebook, blogs and websites. Many people believe that it is not transphobic but is just ‘a bit of fun’ and that the people in the later part of the ad are all drag performers and not trans women. The main person who features in the ad’s screenshot has also being wrongly identified as an Irish drag performer and I think that is something that anyone writing about the ad need to be aware of. Of all of the many comments that I’ve read one of the ones that stood out was by Louise Hannon who noted on Twitter that not everyone knows the difference between a drag queen and someone who lives in the op(posite) gender full time.
There was also one comment that goes back to the Dublin Pride day this summer and it was by the MC that day; the well known drag performer Bunny who; when the group from TENI were leaving the stage noted that on stage she is herself but also as Trans men and women ‘live their truth’ everyday. I thought that was powerful. What was also powerful was how vocal and proud Trans men and women have been on line over the past few days. As a community we all use the term LGBT all the time but how often do we think of each part of that group; how do we respect and listen. Nothing may change with the meteor ad, it’s been on television and on line for weeks now so it’s sure to be replaced with another ad soon but what the reaction has done has made people aware of Trans rights and how images are used and read. We have to think about how someone directly involved feels.
We are always learning.
TENI is just one of the groups that highlight Trans rights in Ireland and I want to feature more on this blog too.
For more information on TENI and the work they do their website is here and their Twitter page is @Teni_Tweets
Ourselves Together 