In anarchistisch kwartaalblad Buiten de Orde #4 van 2019 staat een artikel van Hanna en Evie van onze blog, over het vroeger en nu van transfobie in de feministische beweging.
Het gaat zowel over het ontstaan van transfobie in de tweede feministische golf, als over recentere ontwikkelingen. Een analyse van de transfobe handelingen van filmfestival Elles Tournent komt ook aan bod.
Het artikel staat ook online:
Great poster about face masks, free to download.
Because today is the 2nd anniversary of the start of the covid-19 lockdown in Belgium, I wanted to create and share a poster to raise awareness about the (ongoing) importance of wearing face masks during the (ongoing) pandemic.
You can download it here in pdf: Why I love masks
Why masks and other measures are still important:
While governments in european/western countries pretend that the pandemic is over, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the covid stats yourself and act accordingly. If you live in Belgium, you can find the official stats here. At this moment the number of infections in Belgiumis rising again and the number of daily hospitalisations is so high we’d almost be back in code red (I’m curious how long the government will manage to ignore that).
For me it makes sense to always keep the “Swiss cheese approach” in mind…
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Haunting songs for scary times about Medusa, ghosts, witches, and lots of wolves as well as tunes that work for every season. Enjoy listening & stay safe:
Doorgaan met het lezen van “Playlist: witchy songs to celebrate halloween”
Be on time.
Come alone.
The letter was worded vaguely threatening, as if upon arriving I’d find myself in a small alley, hearing the words “Mr Boss is very unhappy” before losing consciousness.
But I had faith. Belgium had hired extra! people! to take care of tracing and tracking. A friend tested positive, so we all went into quarantine and arranged a testing date.
I had visions of arriving to a place, bright and disinfected, with broad corridors and open spaces. I’d be on time, go in, get tested, get out. Of course the exit would be a different way out, because it’s safer.
The reality looked more like a communist bread line in a capitalist fanboi’s wank dream. There we were, downtrodden of the earth, packed together in a really – and I mean really – small space. For the greater good. Someone coughed. Oh god, this is it, isn’t it?
Doorgaan met het lezen van “Big Day Out: I visited a Covid 19 test center so you don’t have to”
What to do when you’re a band during a pandemic? Live concerts are hard to organise, sometimes even rehearsing with your band mates can be impossible. So which options does that leave musicians these days? I’ve heard that some bands focus on writing new songs and even head into a studio (for example Passionless Pointless and Witch Fever), start a crowdfunding for their upcoming album (support Baby Fire), or release a new album (such as Bengal and Lavender Witch) or song (ERIIS and Big Joanie). Others perform livestreamed concerts from their home (like Down the Lees) or at a proper venue (like Bengal and Lavender Witch), or do a residence at an otherwise empty rock venue (Baby Fire and Tuvalu). And then there is the craft of video clips. While everyone is even more glued to their screens than in non-pandemic times, why not spend this screen time watching cool videos and listening to awesome music? And why not create a video to promote your songs that may not be enjoyed by a regular live audience for a while?
So for this occasion I’ve selected a few brandnew music videos of local bands that I’ve really enjoyed watching and would like to share with you. Sure, some of them feature friends of mine and one of them is my own band (you can guess which one) but that doesn’t mean I should make any publicity for them, right? I’m just excited to show these to you! 🙂
Doorgaan met het lezen van “New must-see videos by queer and female musicians”
Today, June 19th (from 9 am till 9 pm CET), Bandcamp will donate 100% of its profits to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, an American organization that has a long history of effectively enacting racial justice and change through litigation, advocacy, and public education. More information here.
So this is an excellent moment to buy music from independent bands and artists on Bandcamp!
**
Lavender Witch too will donate 100% of the profits of the pre-order of our album “Awakening” today, to Belgian Network For Black Lives. You can pre-order and support on our Bandcamp page.
If you want to donate directly to Belgian Network For Black Lives, go to their GoFundMe page or PayPal.
At this moment Belgian Network For Black Lives is raising funds “to help out all the people who were brutalized and/or arrested by Brussels police after the Brussels manifestation…
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Lavender Witch’s album and zine is available to pre-order ❤
Good morning ✨ The witches are awakening and adding some magic to your life… ✨
Our first album ‘Awakening’ is ready to be pre-ordered! The official release is the 3rd of July but you can already pre-order it on Bandcamp and discover right away some of our new songs, including ‘Not My Sister’! Order the CD pack with the zine or the digital version. You can also contact us directly to make the transaction (via email or pm). The CD + zine costs 10 euros and the digital version only is 7 euros.
Today, as on the previous first Fridays of the month, Bandcamp supports bands by waving their share of the sales. So it’s a good moment to support bands and artists!
Thank you and see you soon on a stage near you!
🎵https://lavenderwitch.bandcamp.com/album/awakening
Notre premier album ‘Awakening’ est prêt pour la pré-commande ! Il sortira officiellement…
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We moeten terug aan het werk blijkbaar. De teller van het officiële aantal doden is in België net de 7000 gepasseerd en er sterven elke dag nog honderden mensen. Het virus is momenteel een ware slachting aan het aanrichten in verzorgingstehuizen, want de regering heeft ervoor gekozen om daar niet op te focussen en pas zeer recent voor testen en maskers te zorgen. Moord op oudere mensen en personeel.
Doorgaan met het lezen van “Terug gaan werken verplichten is moord”
Enkele ontspannende boeken voor verwarrende tijden:
door Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs.
Bonus: dit boek is gratis beschikbaar, je kan het o.a downloaden om op je laptop of ereader te lezen via Project Gutenberg.
I ❤ strips! (Mocht het nog niet duidelijk zijn)
Op deze blog vond je al eerder recensies van strips die we als redactie aanraden. Je kan deze hier nog steeds lezen. Maar het werd weer eens tijd voor nieuwe recensies: een greep uit de strips en graphic novels die ik het voorbije jaar las. Deze gaan over het overwinnen van burn-out, introversie, liefde voor boeken, de geschiedenis van queertheorie en coming out als butch lesbienne.
Veel leesplezier in 2020!
Doorgaan met het lezen van “Recensies: strips over queer, burn-out en introversie”
Dit jaar heb ik een handvol boeken over muziek gelezen. Daar zat onder andere een handige gids bij over hoe zelf muziek opnemen: Je Eigen Muziek Op Internet, enkele songboeken met partituren van de band Alice in Chains en Babes in Toyland: The Making and Selling of a Rock’n Roll Band, een soort bandbiografie over de periode waarin Babes in Toyland hun eerste mainstream album uitbrachten. (Dat laatste boek kreeg ik ooit cadeau van een Nederlandse vriendin die het dubbel had, inclusief L7 sticker binnenin!). Maar ik las in 2019 vooral memoires geschreven door muzikantes die in de bands Hole, Babes in Toyland, en The Slits speelden. Die boeken zal ik hier bespreken:
Doorgaan met het lezen van “Recensies: boeken over muziek en muzikantes”
Een van mijn nieuwjaarsresoluties (ik maak enkel leuke nieuwjaarsresoluties zoals veel creatieve dingen doen, want duh) was om minstens 20 boeken te lezen. Twintig lijkt misschien niet veel, zeker voor iemand als ik die veel boeken koopt, maar ik ben een trage/luie lezer en lees vooral zines. In het begin van het jaar wou ik focussen op boeken waaraan ik al eens begonnen was, soms lang geleden, en die maar half uitgelezen in mijn boekenkasten stonden. Later kwamen er ook weer verse boeken bij (kan-ik-echt-niks-aan-doen).
Dit zijn enkele van de boeken die ik dit jaar las, over activisme, protest en het belang van “community” voor een politieke beweging. Meer recensies over andere boeken die ik las in 2019 volgen nog…
Doorgaan met het lezen van “Recensies: boeken over activisme, protest en het belang van community”
In a time when the M of MTV no longer refers to Mediocre Music but simply to Mediocre, music videos are clearly not dead. We just watch them online instead. Internet did not kill the video star, far from, and it contributed to making it easier and more affordable for DIY and indie bands to make and share their own videos, without the financial help or promotion of a major record label.
Of course there are still a lot of crappy and objectifying videos out there, just as boring commercial songs are still being made. But in this playlist I’d like to turn the spotlight on some recent video clips of female-fronted DIY/indie bands that attracted my eyes ear as well as my ears.
Doorgaan met het lezen van “Playlist: new videos of female-fronted bands and artists”
It’s been quite the year for cinema group Elles Tournent. In January, they showed a film by transphobe Nina Paley, which ignited protests by trans people, feminists and allies. Elles Tournent refused to cancel the film, and one of their volunteers walked away, refusing to aid the festival again. The web designer, a trans woman herself, protested against showing the film, and was fired without any prior communication two months ago.
Now a third person quits Elles Tournent in frustration, to seek better employment elsewhere. As this was the only person remaining in the team who actually tried to push for more trans inclusive changes, the future of the cinema group looks grim.
Doorgaan met het lezen van “Third person quits Elles Tournent amid transphobia row”
par Axel Farkas, photo de François Dvorak(15).
Ce samedi 12 octobre 2019, c’est suite à l’appel d’Exctinction Rebellion Belgium que des milliers de manifestant.e.s étaient présent.e.s près du Palais Royal pour une action de désobéissance civile(1).
Cette action avait été annoncée plusieurs jours avant et tout le monde connaissait ses objectifs. S’installer dans les jardins du Roi pour y tenir des assemblées et groupes de discussions pendant 24h. Les organisat.eur.rice.s insistaient énormément sur le caractère pacifique de l’action :
Doorgaan met het lezen van “Qui peut encore croire que la police est là pour nous protéger ?”
What happened before: Elles Tournent doubles down on transphobia.
Strike actions at Elles Tournent continue. The strike started last week, as a culmination of failed discussions at the cinema group – accused of transphobia – led to the firing of their web designer.
Chronology
Internal discussions started in January 2019, before the film festival, when it was discovered the festival planned a screening of a movie made by notorious transphobe Nina Paley.
The team refused to cancel the movie, whereupon the matter was made public and trans activists, allies, and feminists started an email campaign. Elles Tournent still refused to cancel, instead offering dubious apologies and showing the movie for free. At that point both the web designer, and a volunteer for the festival, refused to cooperate because of the continuing transphobia. Flyers about Nina Paley and transphobia were handed out during the festival by the Collectif de Lutte Trans.
Doorgaan met het lezen van “Elles Tournent – web designer on strike, bosses uncooperative”
We’ve published a number of articles this year exposing the transphobia of the Sisters Cisters of Cinema group. However, it’s in the clash of opinions that we’ll find the truth – and to further this synthesis we have interviewed someone from the other side. Today we talk to Germaine of the Sisters Cisters of Cinema collective.
Editor: Germaine, welcome.
Germaine: Thanks! It’s great to be here.
So you are a core member of the collective, you told us. Are there many people working for you?
Well, it’s true we’ve had some budget problems. And several people walked out or flat out refused to help us anymore since we collaborated with a transphobe, and we fired the web designer, so to tell you the truth it’s been a bit quiet in the office. We’re trying to convince some more people to work for us for free, that should solve the problems.
Why don’t you tell us a bit about what’s been happening, the big controversy.
Well, we were hacked! The web designer – a young forty-year-old woman – changed our facebook page and our website, calling out to ‘pay webdesigners’ and ‘apologize for transphobia’ – and we just can’t have these hopeful, inspiring messages of change. That’s why we wanted to set the record straight.
Doorgaan met het lezen van “Cisters of Cinema sets the record straight”
Elles Tournent, a “feminist” film festival in Brussels, displayed a complete lack of awareness earlier this year when they showed a movie by a trans hater, despite a protest campaign by trans people and allies.
They still haven’t publicly apologized for this, and now they have doubled down on the transphobia by firing the only trans member of their team – the web designer, who will be replaced by a volunteer who works for free. There’s a lesson about feminism and neoliberalism in there somewhere.
The web designer herself protested against the decision to show a movie made by a notorious trans hater, and the decision to fire her does seem to be a targeted strategy to get rid of people who don’t toe the company line. Too big a coincidence, as one could say.
More news as we get it.
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See also:
Overvallen op de kruispunten – de weekendcolumn van Evie Embrechts op De Tweede Sekse blog.
De laatste tijd zie ik meer en meer mensen hele foute samenzweringstheorieën verkondigen, vooral over vaccinaties. Het is niet enkel in mijn omgeving, het is een wereldwijd fenomeen, met gevaarlijke gevolgen. Er worden terug meer mensen ziek – of sterven – van ziektes die eigenlijk in veel werelddelen al waren uitgeroeid. Nu keren die terug. Het begon o.a. in de bible belts in de VS en Nederland maar het komt ook elders voor en verspreidt zich verder.
Er is een berucht neponderzoek dat zogenaamd een link aantoonde tussen vaccinaties en autisme. Daar is niets van waar, het was een enge kwezel die dat bedacht maar het kwaad is geschied, nu geloven miljoenen mensen dat er een link is. Maar waarom geloven zoveel mensen hierin? Het is maar één uit de duim gezogen neponderzoek, daarna weerlegd door honderden wel wetenschappelijke studies die aantoonden dat er geen link was.
“I promised myself I would not be one of those who stands by as neighbors are torn from their homes and imprisoned for somehow being perceived as lesser.”
Op 13 juli 2019 rond 4u ’s nachts werd Willem Van Spronsen doodgeschoten door politie.
Van Spronsen probeerde die nacht voertuigen van ICE – de bewakers van de concentratiekampen – te saboteren bij een concentratiekamp in Tacoma, Washington (vlakbij Seattle). Vier agenten openden het vuur op hem, en hielden medisch personeel op afstand. Hij stierf ter plekke.
De 69-jarige groeide op in het na-oorlogse Nederland en Frankrijk en verzette zich sinds lange tijd tegen het oprukkend fascisme en de concentratiekampen in de VS.
Doorgaan met het lezen van “Rest in power, Willem Van Spronsen”
De Tweede Sekse Voorbij 