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QWOC+ Boston is a group that promotes diversity by creating and sustaining safe spaces for LGBT people of color in the Greater Boston area.

Call for Submissions for Nearly There: A Queer POC Zine (Deadline Aug 1, 2012)

Posted By QWOC+ Boston on April 19th, 2012

Submit! Nearly There is a zine project meant to address the serious absence and silencing of stories about the experiences of queer people of color.

 

Ain’t I A Woman: Diversity Speaks on Femme Identity and Feminism on October 7th!

Posted By QWOC+ Boston on September 14th, 2010

“Queer Women of Color Speak on Feminism and Femme Identity: Ain’t I A Woman?”

QWOC+ Boston has been invited to co-host Boston NOW’s October Feminism and Dessert discussion (we’ve been partnering with this program every year since it was part of Center for New Words) and we’d love for you to join us!

We’re inviting you to show up and jump into what promises to be a candid /informal conversation femme identity as it relates to women of color. Moreover, we are excited about bringing women of color from different experiences ( i.e. queer, LGBT, straight etc) to the table to share their own reflections on femme identity, femininity as it differs from culture to culture (or discuss whether or not it does!), and cultural gender norms.

Opening up this conversation are three very different feminists:

  • Spectra Speaks (Founder of QWOC+ Boston | Naija Afrofeminist)
  • Rayshauna Gray (Organizer for Young Boston Feminists | New Wave Feminist)
  • Idalia Poetry (Organizer for QWOC+ Boston | Nationalista y Poeta de las Mujeres)

Our discussion will aim to explore the following questions:

  • Who is a femme? What does she look like? What does she sound like? Are there cultural differences with this idea?
  • What attributes of femininity are traditionally perceived as weak or strong, feminist or unfeminist? Are they cultural differences with this idea?
  • Individual experiences with (or without “feminism”) as women of color and allies

Feel free to start leaving comments below and chiming in (particularly if you will be unable to attend but would still like to participate!). A discussion is only as rich and encompassing of multi-perspectives as its participants.

More about Boston NOW’s Feminism and Dessert Program

Feminism and Dessert is a monthly series of engagingly informal talks about subjects that impact our daily lives (with a feminist slant of course). Feel free to bring your dinner, but dessert’s on us!

When: October 7th
Time: 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Where: Cambridge City Hall Annex *
344 Broadway, 2nd Floor Conference Room
Cambridge, MA
Accessible from Central Square T stop (red line) and the 68, 83, 91, and 64 buses.

Feminist and Dessert is FREE and wheelchair accessible.

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    • Posted in Events by City, The NETWORK, The ORGANIZATION
    • http://www.facebook.com/tiaramerchgirl Tiara Merchgirl

      Man I wish I was in boston!

      I've actually been thinking about this quite a bit, as a queer South Asian in Australia who's also working on performance pieces about love, relationships, sexuality, and how they intersect with being in a weird in-between cultural space. I find modern definitions of "butch" and "femme" too tied up with Western ideas of masculinity and femininity, and can't relate to them as they do not reflect my experiences or cultural upbringing.

      I did a blog post on how Butch and Femme would look like if they were based on the culture of my family and heritage (Bangladeshi parents born & raised in Malaysia): http://blog.themerchgirl.net/post/1113676704/if-b…

      According to that list I'm pretty firmly femme, but the idea of "femme" as I encounter it in Australia or elsewhere strongly incorporates attributes that I can't relate to – passivity/submission, being pretty, high heels/makeup, being gentle and soft. More power to those that rock it, but that's not what defines the women and feminine energy in my heritage at all. Even the Asian concept of "feminine" tends to imply softness and grace – yet the WOMEN in my family and culture were often dominant, brash, loud, energetic, prone to feeding you tons, and just this HUGE barrel of energy that made itself known. It's not "feminine"-soft; it's *womanly* – energy that comes from within, is self-controlled, powerful. If only there was a less awkward-sounding word.

    • Lauren

      This will be my first QWOC event in the Boston area and I cannot wait!

    • Pingback: Feminism & Femme Identity Discussion – October 7th | Diffuse 5

    • http://www.facebook.com/Nati0la Nataly Garcia

      I am so excited about this. I am counting down the days.