Transgender as a Beautiful Weapon of Social Revolt

PUBLIC INTERVIEW

Contrary to ordinary belief, the word “transgender” does NOT stand for a “politically correct” version of “transsexual” but has a nature and significance of its own. It's not even necessarily a passage, a “transition” from male to female or vice-versa. Transgender on the contrary is the philosophy of creating our own identity using all materials and influences available, as a painter that has a palette of 16 million colours, the whole rainbow, not accidentally the LGBT worldwide symbol. Helena Velena was born in a male body, but didn't refuse his genitalia nor his/her attraction toward females. What she refused was the identity and behaviour that was requested by society.
In western society and in monotheist religions the strongest form of social control is through sexuality - hence also gender identity is heavily sanctioned. As a result men and women must follow unwritten but apparently unbreakable rules regarding behaviour, interests, and especially hairdos and dress codes. The existence of differently buttoned blouses or jeans for males and females is an absurdity justified only by the need to have social control respected.
Helena decided to refuse all this. She wears suspenders and miniskirts but loves tanks and fighter planes, and so on with what could appear as contradictions, but are not. Because they are instead a “beautiful weapon for social revolt”, since starting by breaking the rules of social conformity, then everything can be questioned.
Public interview will be conducted by Anja Koletnik (Transfeminist Initiative TransAkcija). Anja Koletnik is a transfeminist queer activist and freelance academic holding an MA in Gender Studies. She is the founder of the Transfeminist Initiative TransAkcija, the first trans specific NGO in the field of transgender identities in Slovenia where her activity is focused on the support, informing, empowering and alliance of transgender people in Slovenia. Anja is a transfeminist whose activism is based on the principle that what is personal is political. As an academic, she is particularly interested in the fields of transgender studies, queer theory, embodiments and feminist new materialisms.

Step Aside, Lady Gaga!! The Future of Our Bodies and the Japanese Paradigm

LECTURE PERFORMANCE

After the “free love” era of the 70s, we've gotten more and more accustomed to the concept of the virtualization of our bodies, with the result of detaching ourselves from the most important sensory experiences. Nowadays we don't have lovers, but friends on Facebook – Whatsapp, and we don't make love or sex, we chat. Also the academic circles have inadvertently managed to transform the topical concept of “cyborg,” stripping away the “naturality” of technological real life body modification,  in a “science fiction only” futuribile abstract iconisation.
At the same time (and in western culture), as far as social and cultural identities are concerned,  we've been sieged by the “Spectacle Society, ” part of which is the exposure to role models such as pop stars, billionaires with an out of touch life, that are instead becoming not only trendsetters, but also our “maitres a penser”.  What we really need instead is to go back to explore & sense our own bodies and recreate our own identities according to our needs as free & diverse individuals.
The maps and the trip guide to this oneself rediscovery can be (VA), the philosophy of managing both extremes at the same time (in this case both male and female roles and bodies), and the Japanese Paradox, where in the most metrosexual country in the world, even street dress style has become a form of reappropriation of individuality against the conformism of work and social control ethics.

"Move aside, Lady Gaga. Everyone can be its own star!!"

Supported by: The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and Municipality of Ljubljana.




CONTACT
Aksioma | Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana