On being young and gay in Europe: “It’s not yet ok as long as you don’t dare to be who you want to be”

by Catarina Vila Nova During the Summer months, Esther and Carmen will be riding their motorcycles across 15 European countries in search of what it means to be young and gay in Europe. They will be connecting with partners in film festivals and organizations that advocate for LGBTI+ rights to create a movie platform targeted to professors to get the conversation going in the classroom.

Qtopia Art Festival brengt ‘queer’ naar breed publiek

“We’re queer, we’re here, get used to it” is de slogan van de 50-jarige homobeweging die de eerste versie van het Qtopia Queer Arts Festival op bijna 20 locaties voortzet door middel van onder andere exposities, performances en film. Het Nijmeegse festival brengt twee diffuse termen bijeen – queer en kunst – met als doel meer awareness en acceptatie te generen over dat wat anders is, zo vertelde Yette Rohde afgelopen zondag in haar kunstatelier. 

Uitgesproken – film bestrijdt homofobie op school

In de korte film Uitgesproken zien we hoe de vriendschap tussen David en Niels onder spanning komt te staan als David ontdekt dat Niels op jongens valt. Niels is homo en durft niet uit de kast te komen binnen de vriendengroep. David begint vermoedens te krijgen, maar durft Niels er niet mee te confronteren uit angst voor zijn reactie. Zo houden ze elkaar op afstand, met alle gevolgen van dien.

SPN – Polyamory foundation in the Netherlands

SPN (Stichting Polyamorie Nederland) is a foundation that provides resources and support for people in the practice of, or desire for, intimate relationships with more than one partner, with the knowledge of all partners. The work aims simultaneously to create more social acceptance in society for polyamory and to fight for better laws that don’t discriminate relationships that are different than the monogamous standard. People who identify as polyamorous reject the view that sexual and relational exclusivity are necessary for deep, committed, long-term loving relationships.

Shifting perspectives among Muslims: LGBTQ rights and Islamic faith

On March 20th 2018, students and other interested people came together in an overcrowded room at Leiden University’s Law Faculty. Here, Dino Suhonic, Director of Maruf (platform for Dutch Queer Muslims), gave a lecture about the relation between Muslims and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community, both in Muslim majority countries as in Muslim minority countries. The lecture “How to reconcile LGBTQ rights with Islamic faith” was organized by Leiden University Pride (LUP) and Amnesty International Nederland Student Group Leiden.