Creative resistance - John Marnell
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The document outlines a participatory pedagogical approach to engage queer communities in Southern Africa. The objectives are to create safe spaces for reflection, involve communities in knowledge production, and empower queer leaders. The approach is grounded in intersectionality and inspired by liberatory pedagogies. Activities include building trust, analyzing social expectations, reflecting on experiences, and creating visual advocacy products to share struggles like violence, religion, family and gender expression. Quotes from participants illustrate resistance and strength in facing challenges. Benefits include support networks, but the process requires ongoing support and safety amid resistance and structural barriers.
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Creative resistance - John Marnell
- 1. CREATIVE RESISTANCE Using Participatory Methods to Engage Queer Communities in Southern Africa
- 2. Primary objectives 1. To create safe spaces in which queer communities can critically reflect on their lived experiences 2. To actively involve queer communities in processes of knowledge production 3. To build a network of queer leaders who feel empowered to speak out and respond to injustice
- 3. The pedagogical approach • Grounded in an intersectional framework • Inspired by the theories of Augusto Boal and Paulo Freire (liberatory vs. didactic pedagogy) • Facilitated process that requires high levels of physical, mental and emotional engagement • Focus on building political awareness and critical consciousness • Recognition that all people are worthy creators of knowledge and are experts in their own experiences • A queering of the research process (destabilising Western epistemologies)
- 4. FIRST CONTACT Build trust and confidence Introduce basics of process (symbolism, self-reflection, etc..)
- 5. GINGERBREAD PEOPLE Develop a political framework Analyse social expectations around gender and sexuality
- 6. BODY MAPS Deep reflection on life experiences, as well as how social expectations around gender and sexuality are experienced by the individual
- 7. BODY MAPS Deep reflection on life experiences, as well as how social expectations around gender and sexuality are experienced by the individual
- 8. VISUAL ADVOCACY CONCEPTS Introduce the ‘problem + audience = messaging’ formula
- 9. SILK-SCREENING Create visual advocacy products
- 11. SHARING ACTION
- 12. How do queer youth frame their struggles? • Violence • Religion • Family • School • Culture • Gender expression • Service access • Struggles with identity • Legal challenges
- 13. “As a girl at school, you were not allowed to wear pants … If you did, you would get punished corporally or by being made to wash the classroom windows. I wore pants to school and got punished together with the other girls. That didn’t stop us. Eventually the teachers gave up punishing us. Together we stood up and fought for what was best for us.” – Ntabiseng Resistance
- 14. “My feet are my life: they carry my body, mind and soul … They carried me and the bags I was holding the day that my mother kicked me out of her house – my home. They carried me when I was sick and my mother did not want to give me money to see the doctor. They carried me when I didn’t have money for a taxi. They carried me when I had no-one to depend on. They moved my body when I danced at the pub. They have carried me for twenty years and they are still carrying me today.” – Katlego
- 15. “I am not trapped in a man’s body … My body. Yes, my body. It is attracted to women. Sometime guys will say: how can you be a lesbian? It makes me angry. But hey, it’s a challenge I have to face and deal with. I will stay STRONG.” – Thabang
- 16. THE PROCESS IS NEVER AS SMOOTH AS IT SOUNDS! FEAR TIME & ENERGY ONGOING SUPPORT REQUIRED RESISTANCE TO PROCESS SAFETY & SECURITY STRUCTURAL BARRIERS DISTRESSING STATEMENTS TAKING ACTION BEYOND THE WORKSHOP
- 18. Support and resources • Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA) 011 717 4239 | www.gala.co.za • Online resources: 1. Hear Us Out (www.hearusout.org) Focus on youth and education 2. Asiphephe (www.asiphephe.org) Focus on violence and access to justice
Editor's Notes
- Brief summary of the work that GALA does with young people, the motivation behind this work, the particular approach we’ve been taking and some of the insights we have gained regarding how queer youth (both here in South Africa and across the region) understand their experiences and how they frame the struggles they face. The participatory, creative methodology we use creates a unique space in which queer youth can articulate their experiences in dynamic ways. Building a better understanding of how queer youth themselves understand their lives and the many challenges they face is crucial for anyone potentially involved in supporting queer youth. We’re not going to be able to go into detail about the specific art, drama and writing processes we use, so instead we’re just going to talk briefly about the pedagogical theories underpinning this approach. We’ll then share with you some examples of the work that has been produced, and finally finish with a summary of the key themes that have emerged from these interventions. The method we use can help LGBTI young people work through and process their (often negative) experiences and in this way can be considered to have a healing effect, but our primary motivation was never therapeutic. Neither of us are trained psychologists, nor we do not seek to resolve the emotional trauma experienced by queer youth.
- Our methodology is all about surfacing personal narratives and using these narratives as a springboard for collective analysis We want to know how queer communities navigate oppression, how they negotiate different spaces, how they construct their identities It’s also about queering the research process: finding new ways to create knowledge, to disrupt the standard process of knowledge production, to place communities at the center of the process – they are the ones who drive the whole process This methodology uses a particular process, one that has been carefully constructed to build critical consciousness: research is one of the primary goals, but that is only one dimension – for us, it’s about bringing people together, about collective action, about finding news ways to speak about the injustices done to our bodies, to inspire change, to feel comfortable in our own voices, to fight against the invisibility that cloaks our lives Challenging the common representations of queer people: hate crime victims or frivolous party animals – as victims or villains. About highlighting the complexity of queer identities. About destabilizing dominant narratives around what it means to be queer
- SPATAIL ASPECT: the method creates a safe space in which discussion, healing, etc. can take place Rejected the traditional ‘banking model’ of education. Instead, we have used participatory, learner-centred forms of education. We believe that the young people we are working with are experts on their own experiences and that are themselves capable of creating meaningful change in their communities. Benefits to using a creative methodology: Doesn’t require high levels of formal education Fun and engaging (those taking part are required to be up and active, to be involved in the process physically, mentally and emotionally) The processes involved help to surface personal narratives and inspire critical self-reflection Allows participants to apply a human rights framework and use this to build understandings Participants drive the learning process: their works serve as the springboard for discussions and analyses. The end goal is not to produce award-winning works of art – though the outputs will certainly be amazing! – but rather to promote self-reflection, self-expression and self-awareness, and to then funnel this new knowledge towards action/social change.
- These workshops are about building critical consciousness as much as they are about teaching practical skills. The activities are interspersed with group discussions that are designed to build political awareness. The framework that is introduced and explored during these discussions underpins the creative activities, and together they encourage participants to rethink the world around them and, specifically, their position within this world. Learning process is incremental, in that participants are introduced to increasingly complex creative techniques and political/social theories. This mirrors the participant’s emerging political awareness. First contact Introduces some basic art techniques and helps participants to feel comfortable sharing. The hand outlines reference the different ways in which people greet each other (for instance, waving, shaking hands, etc..) and are used as an entry point for self-reflection. Each person is asked to add a number of symbolic elements to their outlines, representing their hopes and dreams, their achievements and struggles, and their physical and emotional journeys they have been on, and so on
- Gingerbread people Encourages participants to unpack social expectations about sexual orientation and gender identity that are present in their own community. In small groups, participants are asked to visually represent the ‘ideal man’ and ‘ideal woman’ in the communities, and these drawings are then used as a springboard to discuss rather complex political concepts, such as binaries, intersectionality, structural inequality and so on. This activity equips participants with a social justice framework that they can use for analysing injustice in their communities.
- Body maps Similar to the hand exercise, the body maps allow participants to reflect on their personal experiences and life journeys. Building on the knowledge developed in the ‘Gingerbread people’ exercise, participants are asked to map out both their personal understandings of their sexuality and gender identity, and society’s expectations of their sexuality and gender identity. The symbolic mapping that is undertaken is inscribed on two sets of body outlines – one representing the personal and the other representing the social.
- Body maps Similar to the hand exercise, the body maps allow participants to reflect on their personal experiences and life journeys. Building on the knowledge developed in the ‘Gingerbread people’ exercise, participants are asked to map out both their personal understandings of their sexuality and gender identity, and society’s expectations of their sexuality and gender identity. The symbolic mapping that is undertaken is inscribed on two sets of body outlines – one representing the personal and the other representing the social.
- Designing visual advocacy concepts Participants explore the different elements of a successful visual advocacy campaign. At this point, people are encouraged to think more deeply about the concepts of audience, effective messaging, etc.. Participants then have their own opportunity to come up with their own visual messaging concepts based on a problem they have identified (based on the various discussions around sexual and gender diversity).
- Silk-screening and the development of advocacy materials Participants are introduced to the silk-screen printing technique and use this to develop visual advocacy materials based on the messaging they developed in earlier sessions. The Queer Youth Speak Out workshops replicate this process, with the obvious of using writing rather than art to explore the different themes and topics. For instance, an exercise called ‘Body Stories’ uses the same conceptual starting point as the ‘Body Maps’ – that is, the participants explore expectations around sexuality and gender identity, but using different writing techniques.
- The creative processes we’ve outlined offer us – whether as researchers, medical practitioners or community workers – important insights into how young queer people understand their own identities. Such insights can have practical applications (including in the field of psychology), in that they paint for us a clearer picture of how young queer people themselves conceptualise the barriers and challenges they face, as well as different emotional qualities and support structures that queer youth identify with and value (such as resilience, self-expression, community and so on). A number of themes come up again and again in the workshops, whether in the creative products themselves or the subsequent discussions. [Refer to list on screen]
- This participatory, creative approach is not only about identifying the challenges queer youth face. It is also about identifying and celebrating ways that queer youth resist oppression and assert their basic rights. When I speak of resistance, I’m not just talking about physical or activist responses, but also the emotional and mental resilience that queer youth display in their daily lives. Just want to share with you a couple of short quotes from pieces developed in the Queer Youth Speak Out project that highlight how queer youth resist gender and sexual norms, demand space within their communities and celebrate their identities.
- Takes a long time for people to open up about taboo subjects Cultural and pressures remain strong and can fuel animosity Great for surfacing narratives, but doesn’t address structural barriers Requires strength and resilience as a facilitator Sensitisation aspects needs to be paired with hard skills in a meaningful and practical way Need for ongoing training, support and partnerships Increase in coverage does not always equate better coverage!
- Direct skills development in fields of writing, art and drama, and these have been used by participants in professional and activist settings. Independent campaigns emerged from the workshops and were managed/implemented by queer youth themselves. Increase in visibility in communities (which encouraged dialogue to take place in different settings). Development of leadership skills. Participants often find their ‘voice’ and have the confidence to be an advocate for social justice and human rights. Youth exchange: regional network of queer youth leaders formed.
- CHALLENGES: Can take a long time for people to open up Methodology great for surfacing narratives, but doesn’t address structural barriers Deeply emotional process, and participants may be emotionally vulnerable if mentally revisiting incidents of trauma Need for on-going training, support and partnerships Logistics can be difficult to arrange Financial and time restraints How do we use the creative products in an ethical way (questions of ownership) Requires strength and resilience as a facilitator!