“Rose Boy” (玫瑰少年) refers to Yeh Yung-chih, a 15-year-old junior high school student in Taiwan who died on April 20, 2000, after years of bullying due to his non-conforming gender expression. Though the official cause of death was ruled accidental—he allegedly slipped in a school bathroom—the circumstances surrounding his death, including prior complaints from his mother about repeated verbal and physical harassment, drew widespread public attention.
The American rapper’s performance of 'Stand Up for Something' with singer Andra Day has gone down as one of the highlights of this year’s Academy Awards.
Common used his Oscars performance to condemn Donald Trump’s “hate” and the National Rifle Association.
The American rapper’s performance of “Stand Up for Something” with singer Andra Day has been held up by many as one of the highlights of this year’s Academy Awards.
In the 20th century India's Mahatma Gandhi famously used the hunger strike as political protest. In America today we demonstrate by eating fast food.
Call it an “eat-in,” call it a “buycott”: By whatever name, it’s a tactic that’s growing in popularity. As Wednesday's Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day indicates, it’s a form of protest Americans find increasingly easy to swallow.
In 2016, photojournalist Gulnara Samoilova was running a successful wedding photography business. Her diverse portfolio of work spans two decades — with images in the permanent collections of The New York Public Library, 9/11 Memorial Museum and Houston Museum of Fine Arts — but weddings had become her staple business. By the year's end, she'd decided to pack it in.
At the end of June of this year, as France sweated through record high temperatures, a group of men took a moment to escape the heatwave and compete in the inaugural Mr Triton France competition.
Organised by Merman Ludo, the event – which organisers believe might be the first of its kind in the world – saw ten competitors from all over the country face off in a battle to be the best merman France has ever seen.
Realizing the lack of a safe community within the Northern Utah Area, Sammy, a highschooler from NUAMES in Davis County, started his project “I Matter” with a series of interviews in which he found this sentiment echoed. That’s why Sammy created “I Matter”, I Matter is an organization just for Northern Utah Teens.
Last June, Harris Reed became a member of the “Class of 2020” -- the crop of young fashion talent who graduated into an industry on rocky ground due to the pandemic. Over the eight months that have passed since earning his cap and gown at Central Saint Martins, Harris seems to have done a good job of finding his feet.
The Youth Activist Art Archive (YAAA) is a dedicated platform that highlights and celebrates the creative efforts of young individuals (26 years old and younger) actively participating in diverse social movements and causes. YAAA acknowledges the vital role and innovative vision of young activists who employ their artistic talents to envision and advocate for a brighter future.
"Divided we are weak. Together we are strong."
Those were the words tweeted by openly gay football star Michael Sam, thanking his University of Missouri family for their support. He posted the message after arriving at the school and seeing a group of Mizzou students surrounding the perimeter in order to block out a Westboro Baptist Church protest.
As the crowd surged indoors shortly before 6.30pm, Luke Wassell and Lewis Jones found themselves in the vegetable aisle, wedged between the sweet potatoes and the bags of spinach. Though both are gay, they are friends rather than partners, and so “I guess I’ll have to kiss a vegetable,” said Wassell, glancing around him for a suitable candidate. “We’re definitely supposed to kiss something.”
On December 1, 1994 also known as World AIDS day, participating members from LSD (Lesbianas Sin Duda), La Radical Gai, and other allies sought out to protest against the push back of rejection that many of them were receiving from the medical and social perspective.
ODBK is an activist organization that aims to create a more equal, diverse, inclusive, transparent and democratic art world. ODBK seeks to do this by diversify and increase the number of people who understand and engage with contemporary art.
The famous pop singer Jolin Tsai (蔡依林 Cài Yīlín) wrote and released a song named “Rose Boy” (official English title “Womxnly”) in 2018, inspired by the story of Yeh Yung-chih (叶永志 Yè Yǒngzhì), also known as “Rose Boy” (méiguī shǎonián 玫瑰少年), whose death has made him an iconic figure in Chinese-speaking LGBTQ communities around the world.
The protracted queue. That was the first thing I noticed when I arrived. It was winding, unending and impossible to see exactly where it began. I asked one of the security guards if he had any indication as to the waiting time. His response was a “your guess is as good as mine” shrug. As the mammoth line snaked around the building, my heart sank further – it is a myth that Brits love to queue; we feel compelled to, we don’t love it.
An intervention created by the April 25 2015 Queer Crisis Collective organized by the Helix Queer Performance Network (HQPN), and part of an ongoing queer resistance project mentored by Avram Finkelstein. Over a period of 2 weekends, 8 artists met at the Hemispheric Institute of Performance & Politics to design a creative intervention during Pride month in NYC.
Founded 19 years ago, the Beijing Queer Film Festival (aka Love Queer Cinema Week) is one of the grassroots film festivals in China focusing on independent queer film screenings and cultural exchange activities. We aim to expand public discussions on sexuality / gender identity / gender expression, we aim to give a platform to sexual and other minorities in China and the World, and we celebrate diversity.
Lady Gaga said something interesting about her song “Born This Way” during a March 2011 interview at Google headquarters. “What's so funny [is] when I put that song out, everybody was like, ‘Oh, the lyrics are so literal,’ and I'm like, ‘Yeah,’” she shared, almost with a fuck-you cadence. She wasn't angry—but you could tell how important the track was to her, and how she didn't want its message muddled.
The TRANSummer Camp on the Croatian coast inspired members of the Croation trans community to become creative activists, and led to a public media campaign, video series and event advertising the “opening” of a (fake) clinic for trans health. The project included an ambitious survey on the healthcare experiences and needs of trans and gender variant people in the Balkans in multiple languages.
Pussy Riot are spreading their protests and activism beyond Russia. Away from Vladimir Putin’s censorship, they’re bringing their voices to Canada – a place where their message of resistance is resonating. On Nov. 1, as a chilling cold filled the streets of Montreal, Pussy Riot kicked off the North American leg of their Riot Days tour with a sold out show at the Rialto Theatre. The tension in the room was palpable.
CAIRO — Seven Egyptians were arrested on charges of promoting homosexuality after concertgoers waved rainbow-colored flags at a rock concert in Cairo last week, Egyptian officials said.
The arrests were the latest assault on social freedoms in Egypt under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, whose government has imposed harsh restrictions on free speech and led an aggressive campaign against gays.
The current cultural and political context in Macedonia marginalizes lesbians and women in general, and the dominant political party forces the traditional role of the woman, where she is a mother, a housewife, and of course, heterosexual. Furthermore, the major TV stations are flooded with Turkish soap operas, where traditional values are the leitmotif of the show.
“Cabaret Con-Sensual is an effort comprised of actors, dancers, comedians, producers, writers, and other artists who strive to champion consent and discuss rape-culture through the subversive, yet expressive medium of the performing arts.”
The show was created by Bitsy La Bourbon, founder of the anti rape campaign and non profit organization More Than No.