KEYNOTE BY JOELLE SAMBI NZEBA
BERLIN CONFERENCE ON NOVEMBER 18TH “INTERSECTIONALITY AND LESBIAN* VISIBILITY”
All the stories resounded continuously beyond the city. All the stories of the past were gently pulsing in the air like the music of the wind between the leaves of the trees.Here, dykes had chosen to make this country the opposite of a nation : no flags flying on the buildings, pride beating like a heart in the chest was enough. No national anthem that glorifies the powerful, the victorious and leaves others in the shadows. No, all that matters here is the sum of the stories, the singular stories of these women who were once described as fat, scarred, handicapped, fragile, hysterical, boring, angry, radical, too thin, too shy, too sexed up, masculine, feminine, noisy, hairy… too lesbian !
And because one must remember the stigmas so that they never hurt again, the dykes had built the city with history books.
Thus, the centuries-old lesbian stories were everywhere : hanging on trees, in the rivers, in the heart of an apple, etc.
Everywhere, carefully carved words, engraved in the stone, rainbow neon lights lit up intermittently to remind spirits, young and old, of the victorious struggles of the past. And in harmony, as the words blossomed, ivy and hibiscus had covered all the hate tags.
Once a year, as the oceans turned blood red, the dykes abandoned their activities to gather under the moon. They then make a big fire and for days and nights, gather around it, the bodies become lights, torches, glittering fireflies; they remember with an emotional joy, all the lives lost in battle, the sound of chains, the cries, the scratches, the wounds, the betrayals, the pain, the sadness….
For 3 days and 3 nights, they spoke the names of all those who had fought long and lost much before the Great Lightning. Then, everynight, the oldest hand of the city picks 2 names, 2 lesbians who have the mission to tell in turn without stopping, their story or the story of their family.
First name Sanza, she says:
My name is Sanza which means “Season”. My grandmother named me that way so that I don’t forget that my black skin is not a costume, it doesn’t fall like leaves in autumn, it can’t be confused with the one that burns under the summer sun. I am not black by choice, by envy, by mood…
To be black is not a cape, not a garment that one wears during a demonstration.
It’s not a profile picture, it’s not the new fashion trend, it’s not next spring’s color, it’s not a usurpation, it’s not a penchant, it’s not a complaint nor a nightmare that prevents you from sleeping peacefully. It’s me, just me, Sanza.
Before the Great Lightning, we heard all kinds of things, in addition to the violence in a man’s world and the beatings and injustices, we had to stand up to the winds of prejudice even in our communities.
We were told: “We are all the same. To be a lesbian is not the same…and after all, are we not all lesbian ? One can be a little bit lesbian once in a while”.
I would answer: “I don’t know if we are the same or even if “being a lesbian” is declared, is chosen with a snap of the fingers, what is certain is that if it is a choice, it is always a struggle, a resignation, a renunciation of the quietness of family, friends, work, society as a whole. Everything always has to be redone. To be rebuilt. To be reconstructed. Always and inevitably, even within feminism and even between the lines of good resolutions for equality”.
We were told: “You are cute, so pretty, but being a lesbian, what an idea, what a waste for the world ! »
I would answer, “What world is this? The one where we have to fight for our freedoms? The one where we have to debate for an inch of independence? Working twice, three times more without almost any recognition? Walking the corridors, brightening up meetings, proving, debating almost begging for a few pennies ? »
We were told: “You complain all the time, you underline your differences, it’s normal that you are on the margins, a minority within the minority”.
So I stopped answering and joined the Dyke Force.
Around the fire, the women had greeted Sanza’s story with laughter, applause and youh-youh of all kinds. Then another woman took the floor.
Noura
My name is Noura. Light. I was born at night under a roof glittering with stars. One more dyke in a city between mountains and sea. Before the Great Lightning, I lived in search of the limit, in search of a happiness different from the one served in a kit or a can. With my imperfect body, my head in a storm, and with my desires in complete disorder.
I have cherished each of my cravings, with the proud vanity of the oppressed. To ransack everything, to burn everything and to watch the last letters of the patriarchy burn with a pyromaniac appeasement. This is what my life was like before the Great Lightning.
Before living with you in this city.
Then came the night when I caught desire in the apple of blue, green, brown and black eyes.. A mischievous hip, a lost hand, a murderous smile and the evils that predicted a future made of sweet lips.
One night. Thousands of nights. Her body against mine. Bodies by the thousands, deformed, out of the norm. Bodies that squeeze together with pleasure, a zipper, a hand, fingers that find, a neck, chewed lips. A breast, a fall, a shoulder, blood flowing in. Temples beating to the rhythm of the pleasure that rises from the lower back, the hollow of the kidneys. Time stands still. The creaking of two bodies, a thousand bodies lost in sweat, thousand bodies that don’t give a damn about the world. Spread apart, suspended, skins subtracted from the eyes of men. Our lives that explode in kisses that bless the goddess cyprine.
At the time, every day, we heard some people say: “You are too provocative! Live hidden if you don’t want people to look at you with lustful eyes! »
Every day we would hear: “Your embraces disgust us, they disturb the natural order of things”.
So I joined, we joined the Dyke force and we loved each other more and more.
On the 3rd evening, in the city with no flags, no anthem, on that night of fire, the lesbians got up. They danced as close as possible to one another and sang every word hanging on trees, in the rivers, in the heart of an apple, etc.
Happy to live in a world that has finally changed.
There/ is our radicality, in our lesbian bodies, imperfect body with its darkness, its incapacities, with its wrinkles and stretch marks. With its impulses, its beauty, its radiance and its extraordinary banality.
Our revolutions lie in our loves, our sexualities. In the political and assumed hedonism.
This is our utopia: to enjoy, enjoy and enjoy endlessly and to populate the world with our stories.
To be continued…
Text by Joelle Sambi Nzeba (download here) (Watch the performance here)
Art by Camille Nestor Josie
KEYNOTE BY JOELLE SAMBI NZEBA
BERLIN CONFERENCE ON NOVEMBER 18TH “INTERSECTIONALITY AND LESBIAN* VISIBILITY”
All the stories resounded continuously beyond the city. All the stories of the past were gently pulsing in the air like the music of the wind between the leaves of the trees.Here, dykes had chosen to make this country the opposite of a nation : no flags flying on the buildings, pride beating like a heart in the chest was enough. No national anthem that glorifies the powerful, the victorious and leaves others in the shadows. No, all that matters here is the sum of the stories, the singular stories of these women who were once described as fat, scarred, handicapped, fragile, hysterical, boring, angry, radical, too thin, too shy, too sexed up, masculine, feminine, noisy, hairy… too lesbian !
And because one must remember the stigmas so that they never hurt again, the dykes had built the city with history books.
Thus, the centuries-old lesbian stories were everywhere : hanging on trees, in the rivers, in the heart of an apple, etc.
Everywhere, carefully carved words, engraved in the stone, rainbow neon lights lit up intermittently to remind spirits, young and old, of the victorious struggles of the past. And in harmony, as the words blossomed, ivy and hibiscus had covered all the hate tags.
Once a year, as the oceans turned blood red, the dykes abandoned their activities to gather under the moon. They then make a big fire and for days and nights, gather around it, the bodies become lights, torches, glittering fireflies; they remember with an emotional joy, all the lives lost in battle, the sound of chains, the cries, the scratches, the wounds, the betrayals, the pain, the sadness….
For 3 days and 3 nights, they spoke the names of all those who had fought long and lost much before the Great Lightning. Then, everynight, the oldest hand of the city picks 2 names, 2 lesbians who have the mission to tell in turn without stopping, their story or the story of their family.
First name Sanza, she says:
My name is Sanza which means “Season”. My grandmother named me that way so that I don’t forget that my black skin is not a costume, it doesn’t fall like leaves in autumn, it can’t be confused with the one that burns under the summer sun. I am not black by choice, by envy, by mood…
To be black is not a cape, not a garment that one wears during a demonstration.
It’s not a profile picture, it’s not the new fashion trend, it’s not next spring’s color, it’s not a usurpation, it’s not a penchant, it’s not a complaint nor a nightmare that prevents you from sleeping peacefully. It’s me, just me, Sanza.
Before the Great Lightning, we heard all kinds of things, in addition to the violence in a man’s world and the beatings and injustices, we had to stand up to the winds of prejudice even in our communities.
We were told: “We are all the same. To be a lesbian is not the same…and after all, are we not all lesbian ? One can be a little bit lesbian once in a while”.
I would answer: “I don’t know if we are the same or even if “being a lesbian” is declared, is chosen with a snap of the fingers, what is certain is that if it is a choice, it is always a struggle, a resignation, a renunciation of the quietness of family, friends, work, society as a whole. Everything always has to be redone. To be rebuilt. To be reconstructed. Always and inevitably, even within feminism and even between the lines of good resolutions for equality”.
We were told: “You are cute, so pretty, but being a lesbian, what an idea, what a waste for the world ! »
I would answer, “What world is this? The one where we have to fight for our freedoms? The one where we have to debate for an inch of independence? Working twice, three times more without almost any recognition? Walking the corridors, brightening up meetings, proving, debating almost begging for a few pennies ? »
We were told: “You complain all the time, you underline your differences, it’s normal that you are on the margins, a minority within the minority”.
So I stopped answering and joined the Dyke Force.
Around the fire, the women had greeted Sanza’s story with laughter, applause and youh-youh of all kinds. Then another woman took the floor.
Noura
My name is Noura. Light. I was born at night under a roof glittering with stars. One more dyke in a city between mountains and sea. Before the Great Lightning, I lived in search of the limit, in search of a happiness different from the one served in a kit or a can. With my imperfect body, my head in a storm, and with my desires in complete disorder.
I have cherished each of my cravings, with the proud vanity of the oppressed. To ransack everything, to burn everything and to watch the last letters of the patriarchy burn with a pyromaniac appeasement. This is what my life was like before the Great Lightning.
Before living with you in this city.
Then came the night when I caught desire in the apple of blue, green, brown and black eyes.. A mischievous hip, a lost hand, a murderous smile and the evils that predicted a future made of sweet lips.
One night. Thousands of nights. Her body against mine. Bodies by the thousands, deformed, out of the norm. Bodies that squeeze together with pleasure, a zipper, a hand, fingers that find, a neck, chewed lips. A breast, a fall, a shoulder, blood flowing in. Temples beating to the rhythm of the pleasure that rises from the lower back, the hollow of the kidneys. Time stands still. The creaking of two bodies, a thousand bodies lost in sweat, thousand bodies that don’t give a damn about the world. Spread apart, suspended, skins subtracted from the eyes of men. Our lives that explode in kisses that bless the goddess cyprine.
At the time, every day, we heard some people say: “You are too provocative! Live hidden if you don’t want people to look at you with lustful eyes! »
Every day we would hear: “Your embraces disgust us, they disturb the natural order of things”.
So I joined, we joined the Dyke force and we loved each other more and more.
On the 3rd evening, in the city with no flags, no anthem, on that night of fire, the lesbians got up. They danced as close as possible to one another and sang every word hanging on trees, in the rivers, in the heart of an apple, etc.
Happy to live in a world that has finally changed.
There/ is our radicality, in our lesbian bodies, imperfect body with its darkness, its incapacities, with its wrinkles and stretch marks. With its impulses, its beauty, its radiance and its extraordinary banality.
Our revolutions lie in our loves, our sexualities. In the political and assumed hedonism.
This is our utopia: to enjoy, enjoy and enjoy endlessly and to populate the world with our stories.
To be continued…
Text by Joelle Sambi Nzeba (download here) (Watch the performance here)
Art by Camille Nestor Josie
The EuroCentralAsian Lesbian* Community will present today the first ever research focusing on lesbian lives and realities in Europe, titled: The State of Lesbian Organizing and the Lived Realities of Lesbians in the EU and the Accession Countries.
This research comes at a time in which the awareness around the exclusion and invisibility of lesbians is growing, and as an increasing number of stakeholders express willingness to engage in a more meaningful way on advancing human rights and visibility of lesbians.
Yet, even though societies and movements in the EU, and to some extent the accession countries, have come a long way in advancing the rights of LGBTI persons and women’s rights, lesbians still face strong discrimination, violence and stigma. Lesbians are one of the most marginalized, vulnerable and invisible social groups, affected by patriarchal gender norms, misogyny, sexism and lesbophobia, which is still widespread throughout the EU and the accession countries.
The lack of capacities, strategic and sustained mobilization of the lesbian movement is hindering effective impact on national authorities, policy reform and decision-making, which is further exacerbated by lack of awareness, data, impact assessment and in some contexts, the political will of decision makers, which in turn results in lesbian-specific issues being unrecognized and absent from policy-making.
The work has been conducted from October 2019 to January 2020. Since the start of the research, the Coronavirus pandemic has re-shuffled the global list of priorities and exacerbating the already existing oppressions and violence experienced by minority groups, like people of color, women, people with disabilities, LGBTI and queer persons. The global crisis has affected lesbians as everyone else, but also in so many specific and intersectional ways.
This research is the starting point to fill the gaps. You will find in it an analysis of three main areas: the history of the European lesbian movements, existing data on lesbians, and the state of affairs of lesbian organizing.
The EL*C, would like to use this opportunity to acknowledge the amazing contribution of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, one of the main actors in Europe working to counter lesbian invisibility. The study that we were able to conduct during almost half a year was made possible thanks to its willingness, visionary political objectives and support.
Find the Short Version here after. A Full Version of this report will be available very soon:
[embeddoc url=”https://europeanlesbianconference.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/The-State-of-Lesbian-Organising-1.pdf” download=”all” text=”Lesbian Organising and the Lived Realities”]
The EuroCentralAsian Lesbian* Community will present today the first ever research focusing on lesbian lives and realities in Europe, titled: The State of Lesbian Organizing and the Lived Realities of Lesbians in the EU and the Accession Countries.
This research comes at a time in which the awareness around the exclusion and invisibility of lesbians is growing, and as an increasing number of stakeholders express willingness to engage in a more meaningful way on advancing human rights and visibility of lesbians.
Yet, even though societies and movements in the EU, and to some extent the accession countries, have come a long way in advancing the rights of LGBTI persons and women’s rights, lesbians still face strong discrimination, violence and stigma. Lesbians are one of the most marginalized, vulnerable and invisible social groups, affected by patriarchal gender norms, misogyny, sexism and lesbophobia, which is still widespread throughout the EU and the accession countries.
The lack of capacities, strategic and sustained mobilization of the lesbian movement is hindering effective impact on national authorities, policy reform and decision-making, which is further exacerbated by lack of awareness, data, impact assessment and in some contexts, the political will of decision makers, which in turn results in lesbian-specific issues being unrecognized and absent from policy-making.
The work has been conducted from October 2019 to January 2020. Since the start of the research, the Coronavirus pandemic has re-shuffled the global list of priorities and exacerbating the already existing oppressions and violence experienced by minority groups, like people of color, women, people with disabilities, LGBTI and queer persons. The global crisis has affected lesbians as everyone else, but also in so many specific and intersectional ways.
This research is the starting point to fill the gaps. You will find in it an analysis of three main areas: the history of the European lesbian movements, existing data on lesbians, and the state of affairs of lesbian organizing.
The EL*C, would like to use this opportunity to acknowledge the amazing contribution of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, one of the main actors in Europe working to counter lesbian invisibility. The study that we were able to conduct during almost half a year was made possible thanks to its willingness, visionary political objectives and support.
Find the Short Version here after. A Full Version of this report will be available very soon:
[embeddoc url=”https://europeanlesbianconference.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/The-State-of-Lesbian-Organising-1.pdf” download=”all” text=”Lesbian Organising and the Lived Realities”]
The European Union takes a major step for the rights of lesbians and LGBTIQ people with its first LGBTIQ Strategy
Today is an historical moment for the rights of LGBTIQ persons in Europe, and beyond. For the very first time, the European Union launches an LGBTIQ Strategy for 2020-2025. And, the very good news is: lesbians were not overlooked.
This LGBTIQ Strategy sets out a series of targeted actions across four pillars: Tackling discrimination against LGBTIQ people; Ensuring LGBTIQ people’s safety; Building LGBTIQ inclusive societies; and Leading the call for LGBTIQ equality around the world.
In Europe, 57% of lesbians have been harassed in the past five years (according to the 2019 European Fundamental Rights Agency Survey). For years, EL*C has been asking national and international institutions to act. For the first time, this new LGBTIQ Strategy is calling for specific actions to tackle simultaneously gender-based discrimination and violence, as well as the prejudice and violence experienced by LBTI women on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity. We thus commend the recognition of the intersectionality and the multiple oppressions faced by lesbians, and the need for specific actions towards socio-economic empowerment, access to health services and funding opportunities for lesbians.
In general, in Europe, 43% of LGBT people declared that they felt discriminated against in 2019, compared to 37% in 2012 .
The murder of a 28 year old lesbian in Italy (Elisa Pomarelli killed in 2019), the lesbian couple attacked in Amsterdam (August 2019), the lesbophobic attack at the hearth of Brussels’ European neighbourhood (in September this year ), but also the police violence committed by Polish authorities against LBTI women as well as the massive wave of lesbophobia on the French social media in the past weeks following the publication of a book on lesbians, are as many examples of the level of hate speech and hate crimes targetting lesbians, that need to be adressed far more actively by the institutions. Outside of the EU, the attacks against the EuroCentralAsian Lesbian* Conference held in Ukraine in April 2019 and the recent arrest of a lesbian activist in Belarus (Vika Bran) call for concerted efforts among international institutions working on human rights and the rule of the law, and require a strong and unequivocal political stance to counter these alarming trends.
We welcome the EU LGBTIQ Strategy 2020-2025 as a milestone, opening new avenues of cooperation between civil society and the European institutions, and we will ensure that the promises of the strategy do not remain vain, but are materialized into concrete measures for lesbians.
Contact: info@lesbiangenius.net
www.europeanlesbianconference.org
EL*C, the EuroCentralAsian Lesbian* Community, is the European and Central Asian lesbian NGO Network
Download the full LGBTI 2020-2025 Strategy
The European Union takes a major step for the rights of lesbians and LGBTIQ people with its first LGBTIQ Strategy
Today is an historical moment for the rights of LGBTIQ persons in Europe, and beyond. For the very first time, the European Union launches an LGBTIQ Strategy for 2020-2025. And, the very good news is: lesbians were not overlooked.
This LGBTIQ Strategy sets out a series of targeted actions across four pillars: Tackling discrimination against LGBTIQ people; Ensuring LGBTIQ people’s safety; Building LGBTIQ inclusive societies; and Leading the call for LGBTIQ equality around the world.
In Europe, 57% of lesbians have been harassed in the past five years (according to the 2019 European Fundamental Rights Agency Survey). For years, EL*C has been asking national and international institutions to act. For the first time, this new LGBTIQ Strategy is calling for specific actions to tackle simultaneously gender-based discrimination and violence, as well as the prejudice and violence experienced by LBTI women on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity. We thus commend the recognition of the intersectionality and the multiple oppressions faced by lesbians, and the need for specific actions towards socio-economic empowerment, access to health services and funding opportunities for lesbians.
In general, in Europe, 43% of LGBT people declared that they felt discriminated against in 2019, compared to 37% in 2012 .
The murder of a 28 year old lesbian in Italy (Elisa Pomarelli killed in 2019), the lesbian couple attacked in Amsterdam (August 2019), the lesbophobic attack at the hearth of Brussels’ European neighbourhood (in September this year ), but also the police violence committed by Polish authorities against LBTI women as well as the massive wave of lesbophobia on the French social media in the past weeks following the publication of a book on lesbians, are as many examples of the level of hate speech and hate crimes targetting lesbians, that need to be adressed far more actively by the institutions. Outside of the EU, the attacks against the EuroCentralAsian Lesbian* Conference held in Ukraine in April 2019 and the recent arrest of a lesbian activist in Belarus (Vika Bran) call for concerted efforts among international institutions working on human rights and the rule of the law, and require a strong and unequivocal political stance to counter these alarming trends.
We welcome the EU LGBTIQ Strategy 2020-2025 as a milestone, opening new avenues of cooperation between civil society and the European institutions, and we will ensure that the promises of the strategy do not remain vain, but are materialized into concrete measures for lesbians.
Contact: info@lesbiangenius.net
www.europeanlesbianconference.org
EL*C, the EuroCentralAsian Lesbian* Community, is the European and Central Asian lesbian NGO Network
Download the full LGBTI 2020-2025 Strategy
More then 10 Italian lesbian groups and more then 100 lesbians*, together with numerous allies from the feminism and lgbt movements, have signed a document denouncing the lesbophobic murder of Elisa Pomarelli.
On 24 August 2019 Elisa Pomarelli was killed by Massimo Sebastiani because she was a lesbian and dared to refuse the advances of a man she believed to be her friend. She was punished because she claimed her right to self-determination, to express her identity and to freely choose her relationships. Elisa’s is a feminicide and a lesbicide.
Now, one year after his death, a trial begins in which justice, at best, will only be half done. The murderer has in fact requested and obtained the shortened ritual, and therefore, the discount of sentence which, in cases recognised as feminicides, is not granted. Even the aggravating circumstance of lesbian phobia has not been detected, in the absence, to date, of a specific law. Elisa’s murder cannot be recognised either as feminicide or as lesbicide, a hate crime of a lesophobic matrix, when it is both.
Elisa was not only killed in one way. In the days following her feminicide, the Italian media had speculated about a possible relationship between her and her killer, talking about “good giant”, “dangerous game”, “unrequited love”. Then, when her sexual orientation was made public, it was suddenly said that the victim’s personal life had to be protected, that she should not be presumed or labeled Elisa who was only 28 years old and could perhaps even change her mind. Journalistic ethics requires that sensitive data, including sexual orientation, should not be disclosed unless it is of fundamental importance in order to offer the public information.
These rules are hardly ever respected, just think of headlines such as “Gay Crime” or the constant references to the sex assigned to the birth of transgender people in the news where they have nothing to do with it, but only if it is lesbianism that has to be named. Many newspapers have chosen to erase Elisa’s identity, history and choices, invisibilizing her as a lesbian, and with her, all of us.
Like all subjectivities that subvert the patriarchal order by their very existence, we lesbians must not be named, or we try to take possession of our stories, misrepresenting them so that our identity is an irrelevant detail and the word lesbian is only used as an insult.
In the face of this tragedy it is important to ask ourselves how it could have happened.
Elisa Pomarelli’s lesbicide is also the result of structural lesbianism that permeates the whole of society.
Every day we hear stories of girls and women attacked in the streets because they exchange a kiss. We hear stories of girls, even very young ones, who are either removed from their families or forced to undergo reparative treatment because they are considered ill. We read about corrective rapes inflicted by fathers and relatives on lesbians. We know that migrant lesbians are asked to show their orientation when they apply for asylum. We know about the violence suffered by lesbians with disabilities, whose lives are systematically denied. We no longer count bullying in schools, dismissals, bullying and sexual harassment in professional contexts.
Lesbian-phobic violence afflicts lesbians daily in all areas of life and can lead, as in the case of Elisa Pomarelli, to the worst tragedy, murder.
This violence is no longer tolerable and we strongly denounce it, because silence and invisibility do not protect us, but our oppressors.
We lesbians all feel involved in this painful affair and recognise its sexist and lesbian-phobic matrix. We are aware that crimes such as this one are the most heinous expression of systemic violence, which affects women and lesbians every day, who are not guaranteed adequate protection.
In this context, it is more urgent than ever to pass a law that recognises an aggravating circumstance for cases of violence against lesbians and women, such as the one that is being discussed in Parliament in recent months.
We believe that this law, if passed in its integral form, represents a significant step forward, while remaining aware that legislative action alone is by no means sufficient to combat homolesbobransphobic hate crimes, which must be fought by making a radical change in culture and society.
Each of us could have been Elisa. This is why we lesbians all see each other again in her story: we recognise the misogyny and lesbianism that moved the killer’s hand and that we live on our skin every day.
Elisa’s story could have been any one of us.
So that it never happens again, we demand to live in a country where it is possible for lesbians and women to remain free to decide their own lives, reject unwanted relationships, move beyond geographical, architectural and cultural barriers without running the risk of being attacked or killed for it.
ALFI – Associazione Lesbica Femminista Italiana
EL*C – Eurocentralasian Lesbian* Community
Lesbiche Bologna
Lesbicx
Rete Donne Transfemminista di Arcigay
Alfi Le Maree Napoli
Alfi LesbicheXXBergamo
Alfi Lune – Lesbiche del nord est
Associazione Luki Massa
Campo lesbico di Agape
Collettiva Lesbica Occhipazzi Firenze
Gruppo donne “Marielle Franco” – Arcigay Catania
Albalisa Sampieri
Alberta Raccis
Adele Medaglia
Alice Chiaruttini
Alice Coffin
Alice Redaelli
Alida Fassiola
Andrea Ayala
Angela Cardeti
Angela Gerardi
Angelica Polmonari
Anita Lombardi
Anita Sterna
Anna Cerea
Anna Maria Alberini
Anna Salvemini
Anna Agnelli
Anna Crugnola
Annalisa Messina
Antonella De Luce
Antonella Parrocchetti
Antonia Caruso
Arianna L’avanti
Camilla Calzone
Charlie Baldon
Chiara Sfregola
Corine Giangregorio
Cristina Betti
Cristina Rubegni
Cristina Sereno
Cristina Urgnani
Cristina Sereno
Daniela Malagoli
Daniela Starà
Daniela Tomasino
Dora Colombo
Elisa Coco
Elisa Fraulini
Elisa Manici
Elisa Restivo
Elisa Santarelli
Elisabetta Sollazzi
Emanuela Perini
Emanuela Bogatai
Enrica Biselli
Erica Sereno
Eris Ferrari
Eva Croce
Evien Tjabbes
Fabiana Di Mattia
Fatime Bajraktari
Federica Meloni
Fiamma Becchi
Fiorenza Rasotto
Flavia Ghiberti
Franca Morelli
Francesca Lazzaretti
Gaia Ciccarelli
Gaia Di Salvo
Gaia Ronzoni
Giada Bonu
Giada Coccia
Gina Verna
Giorgia Patrizio
Giovanna Bianchi
Giovanna Vingelli
Giulia Balzano
Giulia Mori
Giuliana De Angelis
Giusy Vanetti
Greta Sartarelli
Gulzada Serzhan
Helena Vukovic
Ilaria Todde
Ilaria Ulgharaita
Ilenia Pennini
Irene Boschetti
Iucideddu
Joelle Sambi Nzeba
Lara Vodani
Laura Bortolotti
Laura Pesce
Laura Polloni
Laura Cepozio
Laura Magni
Lavinia Durantini
Leila Lohman
Lorenza Tizzi
Lucia Leonardi
Lucia Zanella
Lucia Zisa
Luisa Rizzitelli
Luisa Troncia
Marame Kane
Maria Albanese
Maria Castronovo
Maria Cristina Mochi
Maria Laricchia
Maria Sozzi
Mariadele Santarone
Marialuisa Favitta
Marilena Grassadonia
Martina Cappai
Martina Loatelli
Martina Tescari
Maruscka Faralli
Mattea Messere
Michela Calabrò
Michela Pascali
Michela Poser
Moju Manuli
Monica Bossi
Morena Giovanardi
Natascia Maesi
Natia Gvianishvili
Piera Forlenza
Roberta Barbagli
Roberta Barbagli
Roberta Grella
Roberta Malvermi
Roberta Milano
Rosa Perrucci
Rossella Pironio
Sabrina Russo
Sabrina Tripodi
Sara Bertolino
Sara Romano
Sara Vanni
Serena Graneri
Silvana Magni
Silvanna Agnelli
Silvia Casalino
Silvia D’ambrosio
Silvia Pastore
Silvia Sottili
Sofia Logli
Stefania Bufalini
Stefania Tesi
Susanna Vanoni
Sylvia Sestini
Tania Guiducci
Tiffany Andreutti
Tiziana Gatto
Tosca Cellini
Valentina Bianchini
Valentina Camporeale
Valentina Corti
Valentina Darpetti
Valentina Delfino
Valentina Gaggi
Valentina Quattrocchi
Valentina Tripepi Margiotta
Valeria Nicoli
Vanda Visconti
Vera Navarria
Veronica Vasarri
Veronica Vernettilli
Vittoria Nicoli
Vlada Thor
Zhanar Sekerbayeva
Atelier Vantaggio Donna
Casa delle donne per non subire violenza – Bologna
GenPol – Gender & Policy Insights
Libera…mente donna ets
Non una di meno – Piacenza
Rebel Network
Voci Di Donne Biella
A Voce Alta Salerno
Agedo Nazionale
Apple Pie: l’amore merita LGBT+
Arcigay Nazionale
Arcigay Agorà Pesaro e Urbino
Arcigay Arezzo Chimera Arcobaleno
Arcigay Catania
Arcigay Cremona
Arcigay Cuneo GrandaQueer
Arcigay del Trentino
Arcigay EOS Cosenza
Arcigay Ferrara
Arcigay Genova
Arcigay I Due Mari Reggio Calabria
Arcigay Il Cassero Bologna
Arccigay Mantova La Salamandra
Arcigay Modena Matthew Shepard
Arcigay Palermo
Arcigay Pianeta Milk Verona
Arcigay Ravenna
Arcigay Salento
Arcigay Siena
Arcigay Strambopoli QueerTown Taranto
Arcigay Torino “Ottavio Mai”
Associazione Lgbt+ IL GROVIGLIO Biella
Associazione LogoSiena
Associazione Studentesca Universitaria Iris
Associazione Quore
Azione Gay e Lesbica Firenze
Bergamo pride
Centaurus Arcigay Alto Adige Südtirol
Cof
Cooperativa sociale Hara
Coordinamento Taranto Pride 2020
Famiglie Arcobaleno
Hermes Academy
IREOS comunità queer autogestita Firenze
Mixed Lgbti – Bari
Movimento Pansessuale
LeTali
Officineperegrine Teatro
Omphalos Lgbti
Polis Aperta
Alessandro Camposano
Alessandro Rizzi
Claudio Tosi
Dario Castellani
Dario Pavia
Federico Pontillo
Francesco Donini
Francesco Mauro
Francesco Musillo
Francesco Tinivella
Gianmarco Caniglia
Giuseppe Antonioli
Lorenzo De Preto
Luca Vida
Luigi Pignatelli
Pippi Todisco
Silvio Cilento
Tommaso Simaz
Yuuki Gaudiuso
Articles:
More then 10 Italian lesbian groups and more then 100 lesbians*, together with numerous allies from the feminism and lgbt movements, have signed a document denouncing the lesbophobic murder of Elisa Pomarelli.
On 24 August 2019 Elisa Pomarelli was killed by Massimo Sebastiani because she was a lesbian and dared to refuse the advances of a man she believed to be her friend. She was punished because she claimed her right to self-determination, to express her identity and to freely choose her relationships. Elisa’s is a feminicide and a lesbicide.
Now, one year after his death, a trial begins in which justice, at best, will only be half done. The murderer has in fact requested and obtained the shortened ritual, and therefore, the discount of sentence which, in cases recognised as feminicides, is not granted. Even the aggravating circumstance of lesbian phobia has not been detected, in the absence, to date, of a specific law. Elisa’s murder cannot be recognised either as feminicide or as lesbicide, a hate crime of a lesophobic matrix, when it is both.
Elisa was not only killed in one way. In the days following her feminicide, the Italian media had speculated about a possible relationship between her and her killer, talking about “good giant”, “dangerous game”, “unrequited love”. Then, when her sexual orientation was made public, it was suddenly said that the victim’s personal life had to be protected, that she should not be presumed or labeled Elisa who was only 28 years old and could perhaps even change her mind. Journalistic ethics requires that sensitive data, including sexual orientation, should not be disclosed unless it is of fundamental importance in order to offer the public information.
These rules are hardly ever respected, just think of headlines such as “Gay Crime” or the constant references to the sex assigned to the birth of transgender people in the news where they have nothing to do with it, but only if it is lesbianism that has to be named. Many newspapers have chosen to erase Elisa’s identity, history and choices, invisibilizing her as a lesbian, and with her, all of us.
Like all subjectivities that subvert the patriarchal order by their very existence, we lesbians must not be named, or we try to take possession of our stories, misrepresenting them so that our identity is an irrelevant detail and the word lesbian is only used as an insult.
In the face of this tragedy it is important to ask ourselves how it could have happened.
Elisa Pomarelli’s lesbicide is also the result of structural lesbianism that permeates the whole of society.
Every day we hear stories of girls and women attacked in the streets because they exchange a kiss. We hear stories of girls, even very young ones, who are either removed from their families or forced to undergo reparative treatment because they are considered ill. We read about corrective rapes inflicted by fathers and relatives on lesbians. We know that migrant lesbians are asked to show their orientation when they apply for asylum. We know about the violence suffered by lesbians with disabilities, whose lives are systematically denied. We no longer count bullying in schools, dismissals, bullying and sexual harassment in professional contexts.
Lesbian-phobic violence afflicts lesbians daily in all areas of life and can lead, as in the case of Elisa Pomarelli, to the worst tragedy, murder.
This violence is no longer tolerable and we strongly denounce it, because silence and invisibility do not protect us, but our oppressors.
We lesbians all feel involved in this painful affair and recognise its sexist and lesbian-phobic matrix. We are aware that crimes such as this one are the most heinous expression of systemic violence, which affects women and lesbians every day, who are not guaranteed adequate protection.
In this context, it is more urgent than ever to pass a law that recognises an aggravating circumstance for cases of violence against lesbians and women, such as the one that is being discussed in Parliament in recent months.
We believe that this law, if passed in its integral form, represents a significant step forward, while remaining aware that legislative action alone is by no means sufficient to combat homolesbobransphobic hate crimes, which must be fought by making a radical change in culture and society.
Each of us could have been Elisa. This is why we lesbians all see each other again in her story: we recognise the misogyny and lesbianism that moved the killer’s hand and that we live on our skin every day.
Elisa’s story could have been any one of us.
So that it never happens again, we demand to live in a country where it is possible for lesbians and women to remain free to decide their own lives, reject unwanted relationships, move beyond geographical, architectural and cultural barriers without running the risk of being attacked or killed for it.
ALFI – Associazione Lesbica Femminista Italiana
EL*C – Eurocentralasian Lesbian* Community
Lesbiche Bologna
Lesbicx
Rete Donne Transfemminista di Arcigay
Alfi Le Maree Napoli
Alfi LesbicheXXBergamo
Alfi Lune – Lesbiche del nord est
Associazione Luki Massa
Campo lesbico di Agape
Collettiva Lesbica Occhipazzi Firenze
Gruppo donne “Marielle Franco” – Arcigay Catania
Albalisa Sampieri
Alberta Raccis
Adele Medaglia
Alice Chiaruttini
Alice Coffin
Alice Redaelli
Alida Fassiola
Andrea Ayala
Angela Cardeti
Angela Gerardi
Angelica Polmonari
Anita Lombardi
Anita Sterna
Anna Cerea
Anna Maria Alberini
Anna Salvemini
Anna Agnelli
Anna Crugnola
Annalisa Messina
Antonella De Luce
Antonella Parrocchetti
Antonia Caruso
Arianna L’avanti
Camilla Calzone
Charlie Baldon
Chiara Sfregola
Corine Giangregorio
Cristina Betti
Cristina Rubegni
Cristina Sereno
Cristina Urgnani
Cristina Sereno
Daniela Malagoli
Daniela Starà
Daniela Tomasino
Dora Colombo
Elisa Coco
Elisa Fraulini
Elisa Manici
Elisa Restivo
Elisa Santarelli
Elisabetta Sollazzi
Emanuela Perini
Emanuela Bogatai
Enrica Biselli
Erica Sereno
Eris Ferrari
Eva Croce
Evien Tjabbes
Fabiana Di Mattia
Fatime Bajraktari
Federica Meloni
Fiamma Becchi
Fiorenza Rasotto
Flavia Ghiberti
Franca Morelli
Francesca Lazzaretti
Gaia Ciccarelli
Gaia Di Salvo
Gaia Ronzoni
Giada Bonu
Giada Coccia
Gina Verna
Giorgia Patrizio
Giovanna Bianchi
Giovanna Vingelli
Giulia Balzano
Giulia Mori
Giuliana De Angelis
Giusy Vanetti
Greta Sartarelli
Gulzada Serzhan
Helena Vukovic
Ilaria Todde
Ilaria Ulgharaita
Ilenia Pennini
Irene Boschetti
Iucideddu
Joelle Sambi Nzeba
Lara Vodani
Laura Bortolotti
Laura Pesce
Laura Polloni
Laura Cepozio
Laura Magni
Lavinia Durantini
Leila Lohman
Lorenza Tizzi
Lucia Leonardi
Lucia Zanella
Lucia Zisa
Luisa Rizzitelli
Luisa Troncia
Marame Kane
Maria Albanese
Maria Castronovo
Maria Cristina Mochi
Maria Laricchia
Maria Sozzi
Mariadele Santarone
Marialuisa Favitta
Marilena Grassadonia
Martina Cappai
Martina Loatelli
Martina Tescari
Maruscka Faralli
Mattea Messere
Michela Calabrò
Michela Pascali
Michela Poser
Moju Manuli
Monica Bossi
Morena Giovanardi
Natascia Maesi
Natia Gvianishvili
Piera Forlenza
Roberta Barbagli
Roberta Barbagli
Roberta Grella
Roberta Malvermi
Roberta Milano
Rosa Perrucci
Rossella Pironio
Sabrina Russo
Sabrina Tripodi
Sara Bertolino
Sara Romano
Sara Vanni
Serena Graneri
Silvana Magni
Silvanna Agnelli
Silvia Casalino
Silvia D’ambrosio
Silvia Pastore
Silvia Sottili
Sofia Logli
Stefania Bufalini
Stefania Tesi
Susanna Vanoni
Sylvia Sestini
Tania Guiducci
Tiffany Andreutti
Tiziana Gatto
Tosca Cellini
Valentina Bianchini
Valentina Camporeale
Valentina Corti
Valentina Darpetti
Valentina Delfino
Valentina Gaggi
Valentina Quattrocchi
Valentina Tripepi Margiotta
Valeria Nicoli
Vanda Visconti
Vera Navarria
Veronica Vasarri
Veronica Vernettilli
Vittoria Nicoli
Vlada Thor
Zhanar Sekerbayeva
Atelier Vantaggio Donna
Casa delle donne per non subire violenza – Bologna
GenPol – Gender & Policy Insights
Libera…mente donna ets
Non una di meno – Piacenza
Rebel Network
Voci Di Donne Biella
A Voce Alta Salerno
Agedo Nazionale
Apple Pie: l’amore merita LGBT+
Arcigay Nazionale
Arcigay Agorà Pesaro e Urbino
Arcigay Arezzo Chimera Arcobaleno
Arcigay Catania
Arcigay Cremona
Arcigay Cuneo GrandaQueer
Arcigay del Trentino
Arcigay EOS Cosenza
Arcigay Ferrara
Arcigay Genova
Arcigay I Due Mari Reggio Calabria
Arcigay Il Cassero Bologna
Arccigay Mantova La Salamandra
Arcigay Modena Matthew Shepard
Arcigay Palermo
Arcigay Pianeta Milk Verona
Arcigay Ravenna
Arcigay Salento
Arcigay Siena
Arcigay Strambopoli QueerTown Taranto
Arcigay Torino “Ottavio Mai”
Associazione Lgbt+ IL GROVIGLIO Biella
Associazione LogoSiena
Associazione Studentesca Universitaria Iris
Associazione Quore
Azione Gay e Lesbica Firenze
Bergamo pride
Centaurus Arcigay Alto Adige Südtirol
Cof
Cooperativa sociale Hara
Coordinamento Taranto Pride 2020
Famiglie Arcobaleno
Hermes Academy
IREOS comunità queer autogestita Firenze
Mixed Lgbti – Bari
Movimento Pansessuale
LeTali
Officineperegrine Teatro
Omphalos Lgbti
Polis Aperta
Alessandro Camposano
Alessandro Rizzi
Claudio Tosi
Dario Castellani
Dario Pavia
Federico Pontillo
Francesco Donini
Francesco Mauro
Francesco Musillo
Francesco Tinivella
Gianmarco Caniglia
Giuseppe Antonioli
Lorenzo De Preto
Luca Vida
Luigi Pignatelli
Pippi Todisco
Silvio Cilento
Tommaso Simaz
Yuuki Gaudiuso
Articles:
During three months, from March to July 2020, 12 online meetings for Russian speaking Lesbians* dedicated to mental health issues were held with the support of FundAction and EL*C. Over 100 participants attended.
The context
Mental health issues (depression, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, etc.) are always a particularly sensitive topic. Especially if we are talking about minorities, in this case about Lesbians*. We do not have enough safe spaces to get the help, we have less resources and experience more stress and pressure due to our lesbianism.
In most Russian-speaking countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia there are no or very little projects and places only for Lesbians*. Receiving support in mental health issues being Lesbian is almost imposible. During self-isolation time and COVID-19 crisis the situation of Russian speaking Lesbians* was getting even worse. All community centers were closed, no LGBTQ off-line events were held, in some countries (Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan) the regime of self-isolation was controlled by the police. Lesbians were cut off from their communities and they didn’t have opportunities to get help and support.
Who we are
We are Russian Lesbian activists who have decided to offer the L*community to join dedicated meetings about mental health issues with presence by a psychologist. The idea of the project came as a continuation and part of the LLL project (Locked-down Lesbians Listening) by EL*C. Unfortunately, the situation with access to resources for Lesbian projects is very scarce, yet we were successful this time in getting financial support via EL*C and FundAction. It is very important that now we have organisations that we can rely on, especially with EL*C being specifically dedicated to lesbians.
Project workflow
From the very beginning of the project it was very clear that this kind of support is much needed. Many organisations and lesbian bloggers announced the meetings, and immediately, more than 50 lesbians registered to participate.
During the first meeting people expressed their emotions about the needs of such meetings — only for Lesbians* and about mental health issues.
Throughout the sessions, we discussed our problems with medicines, how we cope with anxiety and sleep disturbances, and panic attacks, how important support of the community is, personal and relationship crises, how to deal with the pressure of lesbophobia in society and many other topics.
The majority of participants were from Russia and Ukraine. Especially in these countries it is very hard to find any space for Lesbians even despite good representation of LGBTQ groups.
We found out that we have so many things in common such as increased anxiety due to a homophobic environment and society during COVID-19 time when we feel lonely and locked up, sleep disturbance, less energy and capacity to suffer impact of homofobic news etc.
Together with psychological support, we’ve discovered inside and outside resources and received support and help.
Conclusion and the future
We managed to create a comfortable and safe space which allowed us to share with each other our stories of surviving self-isolation and COVID-19 crisis with all our mental health issues.
At the end of the project our meetings became a small lesbian community, which we belong to and within which we can be ourselves without any fear. This is a big achievement that we didn’t expect.
We are now even more convinced that such spaces are very important and needed so we are going to continue the meetings and creation of L*community. Some of the testimonies below from participants show us the great need to continue this work.
Testimonies from the participants:
“It helped me because I could talk without fear about lesbian experience and just about life and at the same time not think about how a person would react to me due to my orientation…The meetings also helped me to see living people and remove the vacuum of my own existence. Hear someone else’s experience, support someone with listening…Thank you for that work done and the time spent. I see all these meetings as improving my own world map of lesbian experience. This is valuable to me.”
*********
“The meetings gave me great support during a difficult life period.”
*********
“The meetings provided powerful emotional support, I want to talk about each participant and moderator with warmth)) The meetings helped me not to go crazy with anxiety during severe restrictions, otherwise, in 4 walls, when reading the same tg-chats, it seemed like “all around there is homophobia.”
During the group meetings, I learned about the lives of other lesbians (with an asterisk, of course) and how they cope with mental disorders and other difficulties.
The main benefit of the group for me is that it happened at the right time. Thanks to EL * C, Vlada and Ekaterina for organizing.”
*********
“Many thanks to Ekaterina. The presence of an understanding psychologist in the group made me very happy. Perhaps this is a stereotype of thinking, but in my head, if there is a psychologist, then they will definitely understand me. Although I admit that this is not a fact, I will think about the pleasant side…I liked the atmosphere. All people have a different background and it’s such good luck to listen to other people, if possible, even learn…The presence of reality made me happy. Once again, thank you so much for this opportunity.”
*********
“You are doing a cool and useful thing, please keep going !! This is especially important for LGBT people from the regions.”
During three months, from March to July 2020, 12 online meetings for Russian speaking Lesbians* dedicated to mental health issues were held with the support of FundAction and EL*C. Over 100 participants attended.
The context
Mental health issues (depression, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, etc.) are always a particularly sensitive topic. Especially if we are talking about minorities, in this case about Lesbians*. We do not have enough safe spaces to get the help, we have less resources and experience more stress and pressure due to our lesbianism.
In most Russian-speaking countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia there are no or very little projects and places only for Lesbians*. Receiving support in mental health issues being Lesbian is almost imposible. During self-isolation time and COVID-19 crisis the situation of Russian speaking Lesbians* was getting even worse. All community centers were closed, no LGBTQ off-line events were held, in some countries (Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan) the regime of self-isolation was controlled by the police. Lesbians were cut off from their communities and they didn’t have opportunities to get help and support.
Who we are
We are Russian Lesbian activists who have decided to offer the L*community to join dedicated meetings about mental health issues with presence by a psychologist. The idea of the project came as a continuation and part of the LLL project (Locked-down Lesbians Listening) by EL*C. Unfortunately, the situation with access to resources for Lesbian projects is very scarce, yet we were successful this time in getting financial support via EL*C and FundAction. It is very important that now we have organisations that we can rely on, especially with EL*C being specifically dedicated to lesbians.
Project workflow
From the very beginning of the project it was very clear that this kind of support is much needed. Many organisations and lesbian bloggers announced the meetings, and immediately, more than 50 lesbians registered to participate.
During the first meeting people expressed their emotions about the needs of such meetings — only for Lesbians* and about mental health issues.
Throughout the sessions, we discussed our problems with medicines, how we cope with anxiety and sleep disturbances, and panic attacks, how important support of the community is, personal and relationship crises, how to deal with the pressure of lesbophobia in society and many other topics.
The majority of participants were from Russia and Ukraine. Especially in these countries it is very hard to find any space for Lesbians even despite good representation of LGBTQ groups.
We found out that we have so many things in common such as increased anxiety due to a homophobic environment and society during COVID-19 time when we feel lonely and locked up, sleep disturbance, less energy and capacity to suffer impact of homofobic news etc.
Together with psychological support, we’ve discovered inside and outside resources and received support and help.
Conclusion and the future
We managed to create a comfortable and safe space which allowed us to share with each other our stories of surviving self-isolation and COVID-19 crisis with all our mental health issues.
At the end of the project our meetings became a small lesbian community, which we belong to and within which we can be ourselves without any fear. This is a big achievement that we didn’t expect.
We are now even more convinced that such spaces are very important and needed so we are going to continue the meetings and creation of L*community. Some of the testimonies below from participants show us the great need to continue this work.
Testimonies from the participants:
“It helped me because I could talk without fear about lesbian experience and just about life and at the same time not think about how a person would react to me due to my orientation…The meetings also helped me to see living people and remove the vacuum of my own existence. Hear someone else’s experience, support someone with listening…Thank you for that work done and the time spent. I see all these meetings as improving my own world map of lesbian experience. This is valuable to me.”
*********
“The meetings gave me great support during a difficult life period.”
*********
“The meetings provided powerful emotional support, I want to talk about each participant and moderator with warmth)) The meetings helped me not to go crazy with anxiety during severe restrictions, otherwise, in 4 walls, when reading the same tg-chats, it seemed like “all around there is homophobia.”
During the group meetings, I learned about the lives of other lesbians (with an asterisk, of course) and how they cope with mental disorders and other difficulties.
The main benefit of the group for me is that it happened at the right time. Thanks to EL * C, Vlada and Ekaterina for organizing.”
*********
“Many thanks to Ekaterina. The presence of an understanding psychologist in the group made me very happy. Perhaps this is a stereotype of thinking, but in my head, if there is a psychologist, then they will definitely understand me. Although I admit that this is not a fact, I will think about the pleasant side…I liked the atmosphere. All people have a different background and it’s such good luck to listen to other people, if possible, even learn…The presence of reality made me happy. Once again, thank you so much for this opportunity.”
*********
“You are doing a cool and useful thing, please keep going !! This is especially important for LGBT people from the regions.”