Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

door Fleur Pierets | mrt 27, 2016 | Causes

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

Text JF. Pierets Photos Belle Ancell

Early 1940: the U.S. military dishonorably discharged thousands of gay servicemen in San Francisco during World War II because of their sexuality. Many settled in the area now known as The Castro District when the former middle-class owners fled to the suburbs, leaving large amounts of attractive real estate open. The Castro’s first gay bar, the ‘Missouri Mule’, opened in 1963 and the neighborhood grew to become an upscale, fashionable urban center in the 1970s. Activist Harvey Milk opened a camera store and the district turned into a thriving marketplace for all things gay.

In 1980, the area was hit hard by the AIDS crisis and a small group of gay men started to wear nuns’ attires in public situations, hereby attracting attention to social problems in their neighborhood and to heckled the weekly church members who saw it as their duty to come over and preach about the immorality of homosexuality. Herb Caen from The San Francisco Chronicle printed their name when they organized their first fundraiser and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence became a fact. Over the years their appearance has changed: the 14th century Belgian nun’s theme remains the same but they’ve added flamboyant make-up and costumes to underline their roles as gender activists, sexual intolerance and their rebellion against religion. Since the Sisters’ formation in ’79, this non-profit charity organization raises over $40.000 per year for AIDS and LGBT related causes, and is globally represented with over 600 members, going by names such as Sister Florence Nightmare and Sister Angelina Holi. Interested in joining? Sister Alma Bitches, president of the Vancouver Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, tells you how.

How did you get involved with the Sisters?
I once went to one of their bingos during a Bear event in San Francisco. It was probably one of the most fun times I’ve ever had at that point in my life so I needed to know more about them. What really made an impression on me was that these guys had this hairy, bearded masculine look and yet they were wearing all this make-up and colorful veils. For some reason I thought that was pretty awesome. When I looked them up I found out that they were all about charity, which fitted me perfectly because I was searching for a way to do things for my community. It may sound cheesy, but I wanted to make the world a better place. The moment the Sisters originated in Vancouver, I joined them.

It’s quite a process to become a member.
There are four levels to membership over a minimum of one year to become a fully processed member. Everybody is welcome to join up as what we call an Aspirant. You meet with our Mistress of Novices who answers all the questions you might have, and you have to formally introduce yourself at our business meeting. That’s fun because we all applaud for you. As an Aspirant you’re not expected to do anything but to come with us to events and to observe the Sisters in action. On that level you can decide if you are actually seeing yourself doing this. After two months you become a Postulant. We vote you in as a probationary member of our charitable society. We give you a member’s handbook and ask you to start thinking about a name, as you have to come up with a unique name that’s never been used before. You’re required to come to a certain amount of events and help out. You’re still not supposed to come out with our signature white face, until you’ve reached the next level four months later, when we vote you in as a Novice member. As a Novice you can either become a Sister or – if the make-up and dressing up doesn’t appeal to you – you can become what’s known as in Vancouver as a Paladin, meaning warrior of light. In six months time you have to plan a Novice project, an event that you have to execute to the best of your ability. Yet if you’re not passionate about throwing parties or events, you have to come up with a project that helps the Sisters raise their visibility. You are allowed to wear the headpiece but only with a white veil, that’s how you can be distinguished from a full member who wears colors. After one year you set up your resume and we put you up for consideration. Our first reverent mother here in Vancouver was really great because she never wanted to get anyone to that voting meeting without them knowing that they were going to be successful. We kept this a positive and respectful tradition.

Why such a strict policy?
We never call people and ask if they want to become a Sister, it’s something that you are called to do. People want to join in but they have no idea how much work it is and how much time you have to put into it. We have to follow very strict rules from our government because we are a charitable society within this country. We do have quite a few rules about conduct and as a member you have to support the mission at all times and to the best of your ability. The Vancouver Sisters take their duty very seriously. I for example, like most of my fellow members, don’t drink or do drugs but like to do our work with a clear head. Even if you have a Facebook account that’s dedicated to your Sister’s persona, you cannot complain or be negative, since one of our missions is to spread universal joy. We’re always very conscious about things like that.

‘Everybody is welcome to try. As long as we respect where everybody is coming from, then we should be able to do what we do.’

What are your charitable causes?
Our main goal is to support those living with HIV and to stop the spread of the disease, which ties us into the worldwide Sisters mission. But we also try to abolish homelessness, since that’s a great issue in Vancouver. We give money to the MAP Van, a project that for seven nights a week provides outreach services to women working on the street. Their purpose is to increase sex working women’s health and safety, including the use of beauty and health safe products from review sites as Product Expert and others, particularly in those areas where there are few or no services open late at night. We have the HUSTLE program, a health initiative for male and trans sex workers, we have school programs in rural communities where they give talks on homophobia. You can see why we have a lot of money to raise.

Are there enough members for this amount of work?
I’ve been around for 5 years now and there was a time where only 3 of us went out every night, working the doors at nightclubs, organizing events. As you can imagine that was pretty tough. Currently we’re at 12 full members but unfortunately a lot of people move away because Vancouver is a very expensive city to live in. That’s just one of those things. But on the other hand it’s not all bad because we are sending people with these amazing hearts to places where they have maybe never heard of the Sisters or where there’s an abbey trying to get off the ground. We’re sending them a member to the rescue.

You had a female member in Vancouver. Is that something you encourage?
People are always shocked when they find out that not only men can be Sisters. It’s probably 90% gay men, but there are also trans Sisters, female Sisters and non-binary Sisters. Everybody is welcome to try. As long as we respect where everybody is coming from, then we should be able to do what we do. The female Vancouver Sister for example was a Muslim and she probably has no idea just how much she has taught me about what Muslims are like or could be like. All I knew was what was on the news so I never thought they would join a group of gay men, or support something queer. It’s always more productive to welcome people and learn something about them, than to judge them because they are different. The Sisters are all about being different so who are we to criticize?

www.yvrsisters.blogspot.com

This article is featured in Et Alors? Magazine 17.

Read the complete issue here.

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

Early 1940: the U.S. military dishonorably discharged thousands of gay servicemen in San Francisco during World War II because of their sexuality. Many settled in the area now known as The Castro District when the former middle-class owners…..

Lees meer

What I Be Project

The ‘What I Be’ project by photographer Steve Rosenfield almost sounds like the Et Alors? Magazine mission statement. It’s a global movement about honesty and empowerment. People pose with text written all over their face and arms. Starting…..

Lees meer

Makeup 2 Makeup

MakeUp2MakeUp is a non-profit organization based in Antwerp, Belgium, that has been supporting the transgender community in Kathmandu, Nepal, since 2008. MakeUp2MakeUp offers training in hairdressing and make up, as well as English…..

Lees meer

A Series of Questions

A Series of Questions is an ongoing project by photographer L. Weingarten about the questions asked to transgender, transsexual, genderqueer, and gender non-conforming people throughout the world. The subjects hold wooden signs…..

Lees meer

Carim Bouzian

We meet at a terrace on a sunny day in Antwerp. He says he forgot his cigarettes, I say I don’t have any but maybe he can ask one at the table next to ours. Seems that he’s too aware not to step into the “another Moroccan is asking for a cigarette…..

Lees meer

The Guerrilla Girls

The Guerrilla Girls are a group of anonymous estrogen-bomb dropping, creativily complaining feminists. They fight discrimination and corruption in politics, art, film and pop culture with ‘facts, humor and fake fur’. Behind their scary…..

Lees meer

The Pansy Project

‘The Pansy Project’ is an on-going initiative and artwork devised by Paul Harfleet in 2005. He revisits locations where homophobia was experienced and plants self seeding pansies to mark the spot. They act as a living memorial to the abuse…..

Lees meer

Roze in Blauw

There are several networks that focus on specific groups within the Amsterdam police force. One of these networks is ‘Roze in Blauw’ (freely translated as ‘Pink in Blue’). It promotes the interests of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and…..

Lees meer

Et Alors? magazine. A global celebration of diversity.

What I Be Project

door Fleur Pierets | mrt 25, 2014 | Causes

What I Be Project

Text JF. Pierets Photos Steve Rosenfield

The ‘What I Be’ project by photographer Steve Rosenfield almost sounds like the Et Alors? Magazine mission statement. It’s a global movement about honesty and empowerment. People pose with text written all over their face and arms. Starting with ‘I am not my…’ they courageously reveal their deepest non-‘standard’ state of mind, uncertainties and fears. Rosenfield started this project in the hope to open up the lines of communication. To help everyone accept diversity with an open mind and heart. Needless to say we like every image of it.

The What I Be – project rose out of personal experience, or can we call it necessity?
About 12 years ago, I was working as a network administrator at a big computer company in Boston, MA. I was a very opinionated and materialistic person with a huge ego and I thought being successful meant having a 9 to 5 and making a ton of money. I never shared my feelings or insecurities because I was scared of how I would look to others. I never opened up and that created a lack in my relationships where people were scared to open up to me because they saw me as ‘blunt’. I eventually started to realize how unhappy I truly was. I started reading and journaling and further understanding that, in order to be happy, I needed to be more open and honest with people. I needed to be more compassionate which, in turn, made people feel safe around me. I quit my 9 to 5 in 2002 and started traveling and rock climbing until eventually planting my feet in California in February 2006.

You make it sound very easy. Wasn’t it weird to go from a 9 to 5 to a state of absolute freedom?
Oh of course, but it was a breath of fresh air. I mean, I was scared to just drop everything but I’m a firm believer that everything will work itself out the way it needs to.

How did you start photographing?
I got into photography through my dear friend Boz, whom I met while rock climbing in France. He was photographing the crew and I was immediately inspired by everything he was capturing. I bought my first camera in 2006 and started taking photos of everything. Shortly after, I saw Michael Franti and Spearhead live in concert in Canada. I loved the vibe and quickly became friends with the entire band. I asked if I could take photos at some of their shows and so began my photography work around concerts of various bands. Thanks to the opportunity Michael gave me, I have shot countless other bands since.

When did you set up the What I Be – project?
The project physically started in 2010 when I was talking with a friend about an idea on sharing people’s insecurities without literally showing them, on how I could possibly turn it into an empowering photography project. I decided that night that I wanted to photograph my friend with her insecurity written somewhere on her face or hands. As a way to boldly displaying her greatest insecurity on her skin, combined with a fearless stare into the lens. I wrote ‘thunder thighs’ on Amanda’s hand. Alongside the photograph she came up with the statement, ‘I am not my body image’. The What I Be – project was born.

What where the main reasons to fancy such a project?
Being able to photograph people and make a living off it was so amazing that I wanted to do something that had more meaning. Something that would touch peoples souls.

I guess you can’t have any judgment when you start a project like this.
I tried to have no judgments towards the people I was meeting. Tried to see no ‘flaws’ because I had made myself aware of the fact that we all struggle, we all have our insecurities.

You called it a social experiment. Can you elaborate?
The What I Be – project is a social experiment turned into, what is now, a global movement about honesty and empowerment. In today’s society, we are often told to look or act a certain way. If we differ from these ‘standards’, we are often judged, ridiculed, bullied and sometimes even killed over them. I started this project in the hope to open up the lines of communication. To help everyone accept diversity with an open mind and heart.

‘I encourage every viewer to look at each image and put themselves in the individual’s shoes. Allowing yourself to feel what they feel.’

Do you have the feeling there are still many taboos?
There will always be things to find out. There are so many things I don’t even know exist. I learn a lot through the project as well. People teach me so much.

Where does the name ‘What I Be’ came from?
The project was pulled from non other than my friend Michael Franti. I was always inspired by the lyrics of Franti. His depth and meaning behind each song. He is the epitome of a powerful musician, activist and poet. Michael’s song, ‘What I Be’ is basically all about being who you are and being the best you that you can be. I loved the song and decided that the meaning behind it completely fitted the project.

Who is collaborating on such a project?
Participants range from high school students and Ivy League masses to some well-known names in the entertainment industry. Subjects are putting their insecurities out in the open, exposing a side of themselves that nobody has seen before. By stating, ‘I am not my_____,’ they are claiming that they do in fact struggle with these issues, but it does not define who they are as a person. It is used to spread awareness on what people go through due to society’s paved roads. These are serious issues that some of us can live with, but most battle on a day-to-day basis. Each person that takes part in the What I Be – Project is extremely courageous. The What I Be experience is cathartic and universally empowering. Each portrait is immortalized for the entire world to see.

What’s the most intriguing story you have heard during this project?
They’re all intriguing. They all have the same importance to me. I have sat down with each and every person and they trust me with their story. That’s the most intriguing part.

What do you expect your viewers to feel, to see?
I encourage every viewer to look at each image and put themselves in the individual’s shoes. By allowing yourself to feel what they feel, you might realize something you’ve never noticed before. If you don’t understand someone’s message, stay tuned. To eliminate any confusion, each participant will be writing a 500 words or less statement explaining how their insecurity has affected their life. Some of the faces you may recognize, some you may not. Take the time to connect with each one. You may see yourself within one of the photos.

What would you write on your self-portrait?
You’ll have to wait until the book to see that!

www.whatibeproject.com

This article is featured in Et Alors? Magazine 9.

Read the complete issue here.

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

Early 1940: the U.S. military dishonorably discharged thousands of gay servicemen in San Francisco during World War II because of their sexuality. Many settled in the area now known as The Castro District when the former middle-class owners…..

Lees meer

What I Be Project

The ‘What I Be’ project by photographer Steve Rosenfield almost sounds like the Et Alors? Magazine mission statement. It’s a global movement about honesty and empowerment. People pose with text written all over their face and arms. Starting…..

Lees meer

Makeup 2 Makeup

MakeUp2MakeUp is a non-profit organization based in Antwerp, Belgium, that has been supporting the transgender community in Kathmandu, Nepal, since 2008. MakeUp2MakeUp offers training in hairdressing and make up, as well as English…..

Lees meer

A Series of Questions

A Series of Questions is an ongoing project by photographer L. Weingarten about the questions asked to transgender, transsexual, genderqueer, and gender non-conforming people throughout the world. The subjects hold wooden signs…..

Lees meer

Carim Bouzian

We meet at a terrace on a sunny day in Antwerp. He says he forgot his cigarettes, I say I don’t have any but maybe he can ask one at the table next to ours. Seems that he’s too aware not to step into the “another Moroccan is asking for a cigarette…..

Lees meer

The Guerrilla Girls

The Guerrilla Girls are a group of anonymous estrogen-bomb dropping, creativily complaining feminists. They fight discrimination and corruption in politics, art, film and pop culture with ‘facts, humor and fake fur’. Behind their scary…..

Lees meer

The Pansy Project

‘The Pansy Project’ is an on-going initiative and artwork devised by Paul Harfleet in 2005. He revisits locations where homophobia was experienced and plants self seeding pansies to mark the spot. They act as a living memorial to the abuse…..

Lees meer

Roze in Blauw

There are several networks that focus on specific groups within the Amsterdam police force. One of these networks is ‘Roze in Blauw’ (freely translated as ‘Pink in Blue’). It promotes the interests of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and…..

Lees meer

Et Alors? magazine. A global celebration of diversity.

Makeup 2 Makeup

door Fleur Pierets | mrt 25, 2014 | Causes

Makeup 2 Makeup

Text JF. Pierets Photos Peter Platel

MakeUp2MakeUp is a non-profit organization based in Antwerp, Belgium, that has been supporting the transgender community in Kathmandu, Nepal, since 2008. MakeUp2MakeUp offers training in hairdressing and make up, as well as English language courses to members of the local transgender community, providing those who would otherwise disappear at the edge of society with a supportive environment where they can be(come) themselves, regain and build self confidence, as well as gather the necessary skills for a job on the regular labor market. We talk to Peter Platel, owner of the fabulous Wakko hairdresser salons and founder of the MakeUp2MakeUp project.

First things first; why does someone pick Nepal for such a project?
Well, 4 years ago, I went to visit a friend in Kathmandu, Nepal. One night – in a bar, what did you expect – we met some people from the transgender community and we started talking to them about their lives, their dreams, their goals and possibilities. When I told them I was a hairdresser, they asked if there was a possibility to share my knowledge. The idea to organize a seminar in hairstyling and make up swiftly came to mind.

Why did you choose to help?
I wanted to reach out, to contribute, because I felt like it would make a difference. Yet being a hairdresser, I never knew how and where and when. This was a gift that came at the perfect moment and a unique opportunity since there was a one on one interest from the community itself.

How did you start?
The first thing I did when I came back home was starting to collect make up sundries and hairdressers equipment. By the end of October 2008, I went back to Kathmandu with a suitcase filled with 25kg of brushes, combs and make up stuff. I had to buy my clothes over there because there was no space left in the suitcase.

And they were ready for you?
I guess it doesn’t come as a surprise that nothing happened the way I imagined it. I prepared a 2-week itinerary with a detailed plan on how to proceed but that quickly turned out to be a waste of time. There wasn’t even a suitable place to teach. Fortunately, I was able to connect with The Blue Diamond Society who gave me the opportunity to install a classroom on their rooftop terrace.

The Blue Diamond Society?
The Blue Diamond Society works in Kathmandu with both local communities as well as on a national level to improve the sexual health, human rights and well being of sexual and gender minorities in Nepal including third-genders, gay men, bisexuals, lesbians and so on. Their key activities include health promotion, psycho-social counseling, raising awareness about HIV/AIDS, promoting human rights and sexual health, documenting human right violations and legal counselling and litigation services for the victims and families, legal and constitutional campaigns, lobbying for policy change and advocacy. The Blue Diamond Society has done an exceptional job in publicizing these incidents on a local, national and international level, bringing attention to this situation. The government legalized homosexuality in 2007 and officially recognized the Third Gender in May 2011.

Is Nepal the perfect country for people out of the ordinary?
On paper? Yes. They were the second country in the world where you could register as being transgender. They call it third gender or third sex. Reality shows a different image. Most transgenders stay in the closet because the ones who do speak up, get emitted. They don’t have any access to medication and they randomly take hormones hoping to grow breasts. It works for 2 out of 10, but the others get sick, resulting in skin diseases, liver issues, etc. It’s highly problematic. There’s still a lot of work to do because many things go wrong by lack of information.

And how about the Third Gender? How do you define that?
Third Gender doesn’t have a clear definition. For example: Being physically a man but not identifying oneself as such is an option to register yourself as third gender. Whatever your physical appearance may be. It kind of brings everyone together who stands or lives outside the box. It encompasses a wide range of diversity. Here in Europe we speak in terms of transsexual, transvestite, gay, … from a need to make categories. In Nepal everyone falls under Third Gender.

And what’s their place in the caste system?
Unfortunately, they have a low position in the system, which, for us, is very difficult to understand. Many of them have been rejected by their families. For example, the Hydra’s: Sub-caste castrato’s with a religious function in the Hindi society and cultural life. They believe it’s very important to have a Hydra at a wedding so they can give their blessing in order for the newlyweds to be protected for both good and bad fortune. In spite of their importance, the Hydras are outcasts who live on the street and live a very challenging life. Situations like these make things very incomprehensible sometimes.

‘Here in Europe we speak in terms of transsexual, transvestite, gay, … from a need to make categories. In Nepal everyone falls under Third Gender.’

It must have been quite an adjustment to work there?
The encounters were very intense since I was confronted with extreme poverty. Most people live from day to day because some of them don’t even know whether they are going to be able to eat or where to sleep at night. Combine this with the transgender issue and you have to deal with something that couldn’t be any further removed from your comfort zone. As a transgender they don’t get any psychological support or guidance, they don’t or hardly have access to any kind of information on the subject matter and no medical care.

How did you manage being part of this community?
Starting with a small group of 7 people, interest grew daily to almost 30 by the end of the first seminar. Some students really kept on practicing and working hard, and were about to embark on an interesting and changing career. One student won a competition prize, to train as a makeup artist for a big brand, some work for tv shows and events, and the best thing was that lots off them returned to class a year later. The group now has new students and others are doing a follow up seminar. It’s great for their self-esteem and personal development. The noble idea is to teach these people more skills so they can develop a regular job away from the sex work, if they want.

You must be proud.
I am most of all very grateful that I was given the chance to do all of this. The fact that it transformed some people’s lives is a wonderful bonus. Sophie for example is a highly motivated girl I worked with and she took this chance with both hands. She is very talented and sat first row at every lesson. Being very verbal, she evolved into being the spokeswoman of the Nepalese transgender community and became a professional make up artist working for television, Miss Nepal and many other things. And then you have Anjali, who is now attending university and working on a career as a model. As you can see, the local motivation is there, it just needs a good follow up.

How do you do that?
There is a great basis from which we can proceed and start to think bigger. The importance of education and training has been proven very clearly. The students realize that this project gives them a great opportunity to change their life and their life-conditions. A real job can provide them with security; keep them off the streets and away from a life in the sex industry if that’s what they want. I will be going back in October with a friend and co-worker from the salon – Fabio – and we are going to take it a step further by including English and eventually computer classes. The general level of English is not good enough yet and it’s a fact that the more communicative the people are, the more they can create and work on a change for themselves and others.

I guess you still need a lot of support?
I am truly amazed and pleasantly surprised to see the impact of what has been realized so far within a few years so yes, it’s important to keep up the support. We need money, as well as logistical and practical help. We are fully committed to this project and return every year to support the students and the local people. The more support, the better the work we can do. In the name of the people of Kathmandu: Thanks for the support.

www.makeup2makeup.be
www.wakko.be
www.bds.org.np

This article is featured in Et Alors? Magazine 9.

Read the complete issue here.

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

Early 1940: the U.S. military dishonorably discharged thousands of gay servicemen in San Francisco during World War II because of their sexuality. Many settled in the area now known as The Castro District when the former middle-class owners…..

Lees meer

What I Be Project

The ‘What I Be’ project by photographer Steve Rosenfield almost sounds like the Et Alors? Magazine mission statement. It’s a global movement about honesty and empowerment. People pose with text written all over their face and arms. Starting…..

Lees meer

Makeup 2 Makeup

MakeUp2MakeUp is a non-profit organization based in Antwerp, Belgium, that has been supporting the transgender community in Kathmandu, Nepal, since 2008. MakeUp2MakeUp offers training in hairdressing and make up, as well as English…..

Lees meer

A Series of Questions

A Series of Questions is an ongoing project by photographer L. Weingarten about the questions asked to transgender, transsexual, genderqueer, and gender non-conforming people throughout the world. The subjects hold wooden signs…..

Lees meer

Carim Bouzian

We meet at a terrace on a sunny day in Antwerp. He says he forgot his cigarettes, I say I don’t have any but maybe he can ask one at the table next to ours. Seems that he’s too aware not to step into the “another Moroccan is asking for a cigarette…..

Lees meer

The Guerrilla Girls

The Guerrilla Girls are a group of anonymous estrogen-bomb dropping, creativily complaining feminists. They fight discrimination and corruption in politics, art, film and pop culture with ‘facts, humor and fake fur’. Behind their scary…..

Lees meer

The Pansy Project

‘The Pansy Project’ is an on-going initiative and artwork devised by Paul Harfleet in 2005. He revisits locations where homophobia was experienced and plants self seeding pansies to mark the spot. They act as a living memorial to the abuse…..

Lees meer

Roze in Blauw

There are several networks that focus on specific groups within the Amsterdam police force. One of these networks is ‘Roze in Blauw’ (freely translated as ‘Pink in Blue’). It promotes the interests of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and…..

Lees meer

Et Alors? magazine. A global celebration of diversity.

The Guerrilla Girls

door Fleur Pierets | mrt 25, 2013 | Causes

The Guerrilla Girls

Text Wendy Donckers Photos Courtesy of The Guerrilla Girls

The Guerrilla Girls are a group of anonymous estrogen-bomb dropping, creativily complaining feminists. They fight discrimination and corruption in politics, art, film and pop culture with ‘facts, humor and fake fur’. Behind their scary gorilla masks you can find women of all sorts and kinds with pseudonyms of dead female artists. Let’s take a look at the Guerrilla Girls’ deadly weapons.

Facts.
The Guerrilla Girls started off in 1985, after a protest against an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the most influential museum of modern art in the world. The exhibition included only 17 women out of the 165 displayed artists. A bunch of female artists made posters that stated these facts of discrimination and put them up throughout art neighbourhood SoHo. The Guerrilla Girls were born. The group started making statistics of women artists and artists of color in museums, academies and art galeries. They committed themselves to counting, writing letters, and researching museums and galleries. “There’s a popular misconception that the world of High Art is ahead of mass culture. But everything in our research shows that, instead of being avant garde, it’s derriere.”, the Guerrilla Girls stated in an interview on their website. The GG’s even did a ‘weenie count’ in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. They came to the conclusion that less than 5% of the artists in the Modern Art sections were women, while 85% of the nudes were female. A new Guerrilla poster was made and showed the back of a naked gorilla-headed woman that lies down and seems to say: “Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum?” A quarter of a century later the same updated poster demonstrates figures that have hardly changed: female artists at the Metropolitan Museum dropped down to 4% and the female nudes became 76%.

Many other posters came up, as well as stickers, a website and fun fact books. The GG’s hung up female named banners over the generally male artist names on European museum façades, invaded the Venice Biennale with giant banners, launched a anti-film industry billboards in Hollywood right before the Oscar Awards, put up an interactive feminist banner outside the city art gallery at the Art Boom festival at Krakow and many more. With their striking statements and provocative appearances the Guerrilla Girls continuously endeavour to undermine the reigning stereotypes in the art world and other areas. “One poster led to another, and we have done more than hundred examining different aspects of sexism and racism in our culture at large, not just the art world.” In their campaigns the ‘girls’ don’t avoid other sensitive subject that are important to them such as abortion rights, the gulf war, racism, queer issues, homelessness and (sexual) violence. “We are a collaborative group, we don’t work in an orchestrated way. Members bring issues and ideas to the group and we try to shape them into effective posters.” 28 years after the start the Guerrilla Girls have become a habitual -and sometimes notorious- presence in exhibitions, film festivals, newspapers, university aula’s, museum bathrooms and on walls and billboards all over the world. “What started out as a lark has become an ongoing responsibility, a mission. We just can’t abandon our masked duty! It’s been a lot of fun, too!”

Humor.
Another main mission of the Guerrilla Girls is to modernize the word ‘feminism’, their own proclaimed ‘f’ word. Although they call themselves ‘girls’ and sometimes wear short skirts and high heels, the Guerrilla Girls consider themselves pure feminists. “By reclaiming the word ‘girl’, it can’t be used against us. Wearing those clothes with a gorilla mask confounds the stereotype of female sexiness.”, one of the members confirms drily. With their –let’s say- remarkable appearance the GG’s hope to shock and provoke the world. “Our situation as women and artists of color in the art world was so pathetic, all we could do was make fun of it. It felt so good to ridicule and belittle a system that excluded us.”

‘Our situation as women and artists of color in the art world was so pathetic, all we could do was make fun of it.’

To the question of how many the Guerrilla Girls are, their answer is that they secretly suspect that all women are born Guerrilla Girls. “It’s just a question of helping them discover it. For sure, thousands; probably, hundreds of thousands; maybe, millions.” Over the years the Guerrilla Girls have become one fluid and crazy but close family off all ages, As they work anonymously they hardly ever accept new members. They rather stimulate their numerous fans all over the world to take them as a roll model and start up their own actions and strategies. And most of all motivate them to complain, complain and complain, but rather in a funny and creative way. To give an idea, they published their Guerrilla Girls’ Art Museum Activity Book, wich is stuffed with funny games, facts and tips like ‘putting up posters and statements in the museum bathrooms’ and ‘dress up and give a do-it-yourself guided tour in your favorite art gallery about the real story behind the displayed art.’ The Guerrilla Girls’ website has several downloadable posters and stickers, like for example the call to drop a new weapon on Washington: the Estrogen Bomb. ‘If dropped on the super-rich trying to take over the country, they would throw down their big guns, hug each other and start to work on human rights.’

Fake fur.
Shortly after their first actions in 1985 and the following press attention, the group members decided to hide their identities when appearing in public. As most of the members are active in the small art world, they prefer to avoid career problems and to bring the focus to the issues, not to the Guerrilla Girls’ personalities. And it seems to help: the mystery surrounding their identities has attracted attention ever since then.The GG’s give themselves names of dead female artists like Frida Kahlo, Eva Hesse, Kathe Kollwitz, Gertrude Stein and Georgia O’Keeffe, in order to reinforce these women’s position in cultural history.The slightly aggressive gorilla masks with sharp teeth were an accidental idea that emerged after a bad speller wrote ‘Gorilla’ instead of ‘Guerrilla.’ The masks immediately became symbol of the Guerrilla Girls’ strength. The good avengers are not afraid to use their loud voice or roll their muscles. But at the end the day, each Guerrilla Girl hangs up her mask and returns anonymously to her daily life. Untill the next mission comes along. And looking at the world today, these kind of missions will still be required for a while. So if you see some Gorilla heads popping up behind the corner of your street, don’t get scared and run away. Just join and play.

www.guerrillagirls.com

This article is featured in Et Alors? Magazine 5.

Read the complete issue here.

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

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Makeup 2 Makeup

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A Series of Questions

A Series of Questions is an ongoing project by photographer L. Weingarten about the questions asked to transgender, transsexual, genderqueer, and gender non-conforming people throughout the world. The subjects hold wooden signs…..

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Carim Bouzian

We meet at a terrace on a sunny day in Antwerp. He says he forgot his cigarettes, I say I don’t have any but maybe he can ask one at the table next to ours. Seems that he’s too aware not to step into the “another Moroccan is asking for a cigarette…..

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The Guerrilla Girls

The Guerrilla Girls are a group of anonymous estrogen-bomb dropping, creativily complaining feminists. They fight discrimination and corruption in politics, art, film and pop culture with ‘facts, humor and fake fur’. Behind their scary…..

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The Pansy Project

‘The Pansy Project’ is an on-going initiative and artwork devised by Paul Harfleet in 2005. He revisits locations where homophobia was experienced and plants self seeding pansies to mark the spot. They act as a living memorial to the abuse…..

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Roze in Blauw

There are several networks that focus on specific groups within the Amsterdam police force. One of these networks is ‘Roze in Blauw’ (freely translated as ‘Pink in Blue’). It promotes the interests of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and…..

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Et Alors? magazine. A global celebration of diversity.

The Pansy Project

door Fleur Pierets | dec 25, 2012 | Causes

The Pansy Project

Text JF. Pierets

‘The Pansy Project’ is an on-going initiative and artwork devised by Paul Harfleet in 2005. He revisits locations where homophobia was experienced and plants self seeding pansies to mark the spot. They act as a living memorial to the abuse and operate as an antidote to it. After they are individually planted, the pansy’s location is photographed and named after the abuse received.

The Pansy Project has had many incarnations; from small scale unmarked individual plantings to free pansy ‘Hand Outs’ where the artist speaks to passers-by about the project. Additionally, installations of thousands of plants at the site of homophobia and exhibitions of the photographs the artist has made over the last seven years. The Pansy Project has garnered a worldwide following and has featured in various festivals and exhibitions internationally from New York to London.

How it all began.
A string of homophobic abuse on a warm summer’s day was the catalyst for this project. Two builders shouting “It’s about time we went gay bashing again, isn’t it?” is how that day began. It continued with a gang of guys throwing abuse and stones at the artist and his then boyfriend, to end with a bizarre and unsettling confrontation with a man who called them ‘ladies’ under his breath. Over the years Harfleet became accustomed to this kind of behavior, but later realised it was a shocking concept to most of his friends and colleagues. It was in this context that Harfleet began to ponder the nature of these verbal attacks and their influence on his life. Realizing that he felt differently about these experiences depending on his mental state, he decided to explore the way he was made to feel at the location where these incidents occurred. What interested Harfleet was the way that the locations later acted as a prompt for exploration of the memories associated with that place. In order to feel differently about the location and the memories it summoned, the artist wanted to manipulate these associations somehow. Planting unmarked pansies as close as possible to where the verbal homophobic abuse had occurred became his strategy. He would entitle the photograph after the abuse and post an image of the pansy alongside the quoted abuse online.

A positive action versus a negative incident.
Harfleet did not feel it would be appropriate to equate his own personal experience of verbal homophobic abuse with a death or fatal accident; he felt that planting a small unmarked living plant at the site would correspond with the nature of the abuse. A plant continues to grow through experience, as the protagonist does. Sowing a live plant felt like a positive action, it was a comment on the abuse and a potential ‘remedy’. He was interested in the public nature of these incidents and the way one was forced into reacting publicly to a crime that often occurred during the day and in full view of passers-by. He had observed that the tendency to place flowers at the scene of a crime or accident had become an accepted ritual and considered a similar response. Floral tributes subtly augment the reading of a space that encourages a passer-by to ponder past events generally understood as a crime or accident. The artist’s particular intervention could encourage a passer-by to query the reason for his own ritualistic action.

Very quiet yet extremely visible.
Without civic permission to plant one unmarked pansy to mark his own and latterly other’s experiences of homophobia, Harfleet continued as The Pansy Project developed. As growing numbers of pansies were planted with titles such as “Let’s kill the Batty-Man!” and “Fucking Faggot!” a particular view of gay experience which often goes unreported to authorities became apparent. When verbal homophobic abuse is experienced the assailant forces the unwilling participant to assimilate and respond to this public verbal attack; ignore or retaliate? The Pansy Project acts as a formula which prevents the ‘victim’ from internalizing the incident. The strategy becomes a conceptual shield; a behavior that enables the experience to be processed via the public domain, in this case the location where the incident occurred and, latterly, the website which collates and presents the incidents and operates as a virtual location of quiet resistance.

‘Sowing a live plant felt like a positive action, it was a comment on the abuse and a potential ‘remedy’.’

Pansy.
Which plant to use was of course vitally important and the pansy instantly seemed perfect. The name of the flower originates from the French verb Penser (to think), as the bowing head of the flower was seen to visually echo a person in deep thought, hence its Victorian association with effeminate or gay men. The subtle and elegiac quality of the flower was ideal for The Pansy Project’s requirements. The action of planting reinforced these qualities, as kneeling in the street and digging in the often neglected hedgerows felt like a sorrowful act. The bowing heads of the flowers became mournful symbols of indignant acceptance.

How it evolved.
What was originally an autobiographical work has become a project that has been somewhat embraced by the gay community who see the project as a strategy that explores a shared experience. Many statistics reveal that large numbers of the LGBT community have at some time experienced varying levels of homophobic abuse. In association with festivals, Harfleet also regularly hosts events where pansies are often handed out to the general public. At these events the pansies are donated to the public in exchange for hearing about the project. This subtle ‘gift’ presents itself as ‘Free Pansies’ with no catch. However the people receiving the flower take the story of The Pansy Project with them, enabling it to be communicated to a much wider, non-specific, audience.

The various on-line presences of The Pansy Project, such as blog, website, Twitter and Facebook profiles, enable the images of these – mostly ephemeral – acts to be bundled and presented to a wide on-line audience who are then vicariously able to explore and engage with the nature of this artwork and the incidents it documents. The juxtaposition of the images of delicate flowers placed in urban settings with offensive and hurtful abuse creates a complex yet anecdotal anthology of homophobic abuse as experienced by a gay population. The humbly planted pansy becomes a record; a trace of this public occurrence which is deeply personal and concurrently accessible to the public on the street and on-line. After seven years of The Pansy Project Paul Harfleet has planted over ten thousand pansies: Sometimes sowing two thousand at a time as he did for ‘Memorial to the Un-Named’ at the Homotopia Festival in Liverpool, 2008.

Four thousand were planted in the Gold Medal winning ‘Conceptual Garden’ at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, 2010, and he continues to seek out locations and plant individual flowers such as the one he recently placed at the British Embassy in Istanbul. Often unsanctioned – though frequently in association with festivals, organizations and even police forces – Harfleet continues to intuit his way through The Pansy Project. In 2011 he collaborated with London based jewelry making company Tatty Devine; together they created a small wooden pin. A hand painted pansy, adorned with “Fucking Faggot”, is a subtle embodiment of The Pansy Project so far.

In September 2012 The Pansy Project featured at the Steirischer Herbst festival in Graz; ‘Truth is Concrete’ was a 24/7 marathon camp attended by over a hundred international artists where Paul planted pansies of historical significance around Graz and spoke about his work alongside Richard Reynolds of ‘On Guerrilla Gardening’; a publication that charts the evolution of guerrilla gardening and features The Pansy Project. The image exclusively included here is taken by Malc Stone and will be the cover image of The Pansy Project publication Paul Harfleet is currently working on. For more information and background visit:

www.thepansyproject.com