Panel Name
LGBTQ Activism Here, There, and Everywhere
Presentation Type
Paper
Location
Humanities 133
Start Date
4-3-2017 11:00 AM
End Date
4-3-2017 12:30 PM
Description
In this work, I look at the construction of queer space and identity in a LGBTQAI organization in Peru. This activist collective – which I call Voces Libres – is based out of the capital city of Lima and, over time, has become an important representation for LGBTQAI communities across the country. Since Peru is an incredibly diverse nation that lacks both laws to protect LGBTQ communities and education in understanding these issues at the governmental level, activists are playing a fundamental role to create spaces of knowledge and resistance to state violence. Voces Libres illustrates the intersections of this paradigm in many ways, along with the nuances of identity formation related to latinidad and queerness. Thus, my research explores the contradictions and possibilities of space, identity, and politics in three ways. First, I look at the ways activists from Voces Libres think about queer identity, and how this construction relates to their use of arts and testimonies in their activism. Second, I observe how knowledge is being transmitted within LGBTQ communities and beyond them, particularly as it relates to migration, identity frameworks, and definitions of both people and space. Here, I pay attention to how Voces Libres articulates what they call a “transfeminist lens” of politics and identity. Third, I look at how the activists of Voces Libres create safe spaces inside a city that does not have any ‘gayborhood’ or any places designated as ‘safe’ or ‘friendly’ towards LGBTQ people.
Constructing Spaces of Queer Latinidad in Peru through Artivism and Testimonio
Humanities 133
In this work, I look at the construction of queer space and identity in a LGBTQAI organization in Peru. This activist collective – which I call Voces Libres – is based out of the capital city of Lima and, over time, has become an important representation for LGBTQAI communities across the country. Since Peru is an incredibly diverse nation that lacks both laws to protect LGBTQ communities and education in understanding these issues at the governmental level, activists are playing a fundamental role to create spaces of knowledge and resistance to state violence. Voces Libres illustrates the intersections of this paradigm in many ways, along with the nuances of identity formation related to latinidad and queerness. Thus, my research explores the contradictions and possibilities of space, identity, and politics in three ways. First, I look at the ways activists from Voces Libres think about queer identity, and how this construction relates to their use of arts and testimonies in their activism. Second, I observe how knowledge is being transmitted within LGBTQ communities and beyond them, particularly as it relates to migration, identity frameworks, and definitions of both people and space. Here, I pay attention to how Voces Libres articulates what they call a “transfeminist lens” of politics and identity. Third, I look at how the activists of Voces Libres create safe spaces inside a city that does not have any ‘gayborhood’ or any places designated as ‘safe’ or ‘friendly’ towards LGBTQ people.