This gallery contains 11 photos.
QP7 presenter and queer Caribbean activist Maurice Tomlinson partially successful in challenging anti-gay laws in Trinidad and Tobago
Maurice, who shared his struggles in Jamaica in the the award winning documentary ‘The abominable crime’ at a QP7 pre-conference screening Friday evening, achieved a partial victory in his judicial challenge against Trinidad and Tobago’s anti-gay travel laws.
Yesterday the Caribbean Court of Justice denied my application for a declaration that the laws of Belize and Trinidad & Tobago, which ban the entry of homosexuals, violate my right to free movement in CARICOM. HOWEVER, the court made it clear that as a homosexual I must be allowed the right of entry into both countries AND that the states should act to repeal the laws which create confusion for CARICOM travel. This provide some clarity for Caribbean LGBTI people. As a result of the novel nature of the case the court denied Belize’s application for me to pay their legal costs. So, all in all I am ok with the verdict. There is no possibility of appealing the judgement so it is now time for the states to act.
The executive summery of the judgement can be downloaded here
Posted in News, QP7
Tagged Belize, Caribbean, CARICOM, court of justice, free movement, Jamaica, LGBT, Maurice Tomlinson, right of entry, ruling, Tobago, Trinidad
Leave a comment
QUEERING PARADIGMS 7: Programme
QUEERING PARADIGMS 7, 11-12 June 2016, 9am – 5:30pm
The Auditorium of the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce
Unit 4-107, Governors Square, 23 Lime Tree Bay Avenue,
West Bay, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Programme [PDF]
Pre-Conference Activities – Friday, 10 June
5:30pm – 7:00: The Abominable Crime: Film Showing and Discussion
The Abominable Crime is a documentary that explores the culture of homophobia in Jamaica through the eyes of gay Jamaicans who are forced to choose between their homeland and their lives after their sexual orientations are exposed.
Maurice Tomlinson, the first speaker at the conference on Saturday morning, will lead a post-showing discussion.
7:15pm – Onwards: Drinks: Veranda, Marriott Beach Resort, 389 West Bay Road, Seven Mile Beach
We encourage conference parRcipants, attendees and interested members of the public to get together for an evening at Veranda, Marriott Beach Resort.
Conference Programme Day 1
Saturday, 11 June
8:30am: Refreshments (for conference speakers only)
9am: OPENING
9:30am -11 am Panel: Queer Caribbean I: Jamaica
Maurice Tomlinson (Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network), Constitutional challenges to homophobia in Jamaica
Kyle Jackson (University of Nevada, Reno), Queer as Religion: Spirituality as a Source of both LGBTIQ+ Oppression and Resistance in Jamaica
Amar Wahab (York University, Canada), ‘Jamaicanizing’ ‘Homophobia’: Queer Governmentalities in the Stop Murder Music (Canada) Campaign
11am-11:30am Coffee Break
11:30am -1:30pm Panel: Queer Caribbean II: Caymanian Voices
Billie Bryan (Independent; Eco-Conscious Creative Professional), LGBT activism in the Caymans
Carolina M. Ferreira (Cayman Islands Red Cross), Homophobia, Child Sexual Abuse and the HIV Epidemic in the Caribbean Region
David P Matheson (Independent), Same sex couples and the adoption of children in the Caribbean
Olivia Connolly (Truman Bodden Law School), TBA
1:30pm – 2:30pm LUNCH break
2:30pm – 3:30pm Panel: Global-Local Queer I
Kathleen O’Mara (SUNY Oneonta), Spiritual Practices, Building Queer Community and Everyday Resistance to Homophobia in Ghana
Masha Neufeld (Dresden University of Technology/CAMH, Toronto), Biopolitics, Discipline, Sexual Minorities (aka the Russian wet dream of being the stronghold of traditional culture)
3:30pm – 4:00pm Coffee Break
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Panel: Global-Local Queers II
Michela Balocchi (American University), The bio-medicalisation of intersex variations in Italy and the international context
Steve Wharton (University of Bath, UK), Discourses of damnation, or not quite liberté égalité fraternité – debates over civil partnership and gay marriage in Britain and France
Discussant: Betty Wambui (SUNY Oneonta)
5:00pm Day 1 of Conference Ends
6:30pm – onwards: Pre-Drinks and Dinner (7:30pm onwards) at Icoa, Seven Mile Shops
Conference Programme Day 2
Sunday, 12 June
9:30am: Refreshments (for conference speakers only)
10 am – 11:30 am Panel: Queer Kinship, Law and Philosophy
Song Lin (Chinese University of Hong Kong), Queering Kinship: Aspiration, Negotiation and New Meanings
Giuseppe Zago (Leiden University), Neglected minorities? An analysis of the right to respect of human dignity, equality and private and family life of detainees of different sexual orientations and gender identities under international human rights law
Richard Iveson (University of Queensland, Australia), From the Queering of Ontology to a Politics of Indistinction
11:30am -12noon Coffee Break
12noon – 1:00pm Panel: Queer US (His)Stories and Discourses
Thomas A. Foster (DePaul University), Enslaved Men and Same-Gender Intimacy and Exploitation
Katherina Wiedlack (University of Vienna, Austria), Points of Discussion: contemporary US-American queer-feminist discourses, and the Right Wing gone International
1:00pm-2:00 pm LUNCH break
2:00 pm – 3:30pm KEYNOTE PANEL I Queer Human Rights
Introductory Talk
Leonardo Raznovich (INCISE, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK) , Queer Aggression? The ‘unorthodoxy’ of Human Rights claims in the Caymans Islands
Keynote
Eugenio Raúl Zaffaroni (Justice of the Inter American Court of Human Rights), Criminal prosecution of ‘sexual orientation’ and its effect on the mental health of the society
3:30pm – 4:00pm Coffee Break
4:00 pm – 5:30pm KEYNOTE PANEL II Queer Religion
Introductory Talk
Bee Scherer (INCISE, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK), Queerthinking Religion: New Terms for an Intersectional Dialogue
Keynote
The Rt Rvd Alan Wilson (Bishop of Buckingham), Same-sex marriage and the queering project of Jesus
5:30pm Conference Ends
Abstract: Keynote panel I Queer Human Rights
Introductory Talk
Leonardo Raznovich (INCISE, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK), Queer Aggression? The ‘unorthodoxy’ of Human Rights claims in the Caymans Islands
In this talk I share the trials and tribulations of my own Human Rights challenges in the Cayman Islands and discuss the question of whether the queer struggle for legal and cultural change can ever be called ‘unorthodox’ and/or ‘aggressive’.
Keynote
Eugenio Raúl Zaffaroni (Justice of the Inter American Court of Human Rights), Criminal prosecution of ‘sexual orientation’ and its effect on the mental health of the society
- Sexuality has a fundamental importance in the development of someone’s personality. 2. Repression of sexual orientation of a person leads to personality disorders. 3. Personality disorder translates into neurosis and, consequently, in errors of conduct in the society. 4. These neurotic behaviors affect people who suffer those consequences that are conditioned by prejudice and repression of their sexuality. 5. But those people interact in society, thus the consequences are reflected in their interactions. 6. Therefore, the repression of the sexuality of a percentage of the population affects society itself, whose essence is human interaction. 7. In synthesis, the prejudices that conditioned repression on a portion of the society become the cause of deterioration of mental health in the general population. (From there it is possible to derive sexism, domestic violence, homophobia, etc.).
Regardless, we must point out other issues at different levels: the distinction between sin and crime, Enlightenment in criminal law, freedom of conscience, and all we know.
Abstract: Keynote panel II Queer Religion
Introductory Talk
Bee Scherer (INCISE, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK), Queerthinking Religion: New Terms for an Intersectional Dialogue
Both ‘Queer’ and ‘religion’ can be used as categories for the projection of identitarian yearning and belonging, and are often constructed as mutually exclusive. Both are problematic; both are contested. In this talk I investigate queer (and) religion using different discursive threads such as Human Rights; ethics; bodily integrity; spirituality; and resistance. ‘Religion’ is shown to be value-neutral and morally protean. A way forward for a mature, constructive and jouissant relationship of ‘queer’ and ‘religion’ emerges in the form of queerthought religion as embodied compassion-in-action.
Keynote
The Rt Rvd Alan Wilson (Bishop of Buckingham), Same-sex marriage and the queering project of Jesus
In this presentation, Bishop Alan will share the UK experience with the introduction of same-sex marriage and describe the impact of changes in the UK marriage practice on both church and state. In the second part of the keynote, Bishop Alan will link this experience to the emerging notion that Queering is an activity mandated by various subversive elements in the teaching of Jesus.
Further Information
CONTACT: Prof. Bee Scherer, b.scherer[AT]canterbury.ac.uk
Relevant press links and coverage
http://www.caymanreporter.com/2016/03/31/cayman-host-lgbtiq-conference/
https://www.caymancompass.com/2016/03/31/cayman-to-host-lgbt-conference/
https://caymannewsservice.com/2016/04/bishop-to-speak-on-religion-and-homosexuality/
http://cayman27.ky/2016/04/upcoming-lgbt-conference-draws-supportive-crowd/
http://cayman27.ky/2016/04/upcoming-lgbt-conference-draws-ire-of-bodden-town-mla/
On Dr Raznovich’s legal fight:
https://caymannewsservice.com/2016/04/uk-minister-misled-commons-about-cayman-islands/
Maurice Tomlinson’s latest blog: https://76crimes.com/2016/04/29/my-lonely-day-as-an-outcast-in-a-crowded-jamaican-court/
INCISE http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/INCISE; http://intersectionalsocialjustice.wordpress.com
Twitter: @INCISE_cccu; FaceBook: facebook.com/INCISE.cccu
Queering Paradigms https://queeringparadigms.com/ Twitter: @queeringp Facebook: facebook.com/Q.Paradigms/
http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/arts-and-humanities/incise/queering-paradigms/queering-paradigms.aspx
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queering_Paradigms
QP Book series (Peter Lang): www.peterlang.com/?QP
On the history of QP: http://www.e-ir.info/2015/02/23/queering-paradigms-from-individual-resistance-to-global-local-impact/
Posted in QP7
Tagged Academic, Activism, Adoption, Canterbury Christ Church University, Caribbean, Caymans, CCCU, Confererence, Feminism, France, Ghana, Homophobia, Human Rights, Intersectionality, Italy, Jamaica, Jesus, Kinship, LGBT, LGBTIQ, Preliminary, programme, QP7, Queer Studies, Queer Theory, Queering Paradigms, Red Cross, Religion, Russia, Same-sex Marriage, Slavery, Social Justice, UK
1 Comment
QP6 book forthcoming!
Queering Paradigms VI: Interventions, Ethics, and Glocalities (Oxford: Peter Lang) is now submitted and in production (expected publication end of September/ early October 2016).
Following the successful QP6 conference (CCCU, July 2015) the volume edited by QP founder Bee Scherer offers queer interventions, explores value-production in socio-corporeal normative frameworks, and shows pathways of global-local queer resistance; virtuosity; and failure in Philosophy, Pedagogy, Psychology, Art, Criminology, Health, Social Media, History, Religion and Politics.
The volume features a particular South Asia focus and a balanced mix of early career researchers and established scholars, which reflects Queering Paradigm’s ethos to foster a genial academic community of practice and to proffer intergenerational support and voice.
Content preview:
Introduction: Bee Scherer, Queer Interventions, Ethics, and Glocalities; Part 1: Queer Interventions – Emile Bojesen, The Queer Optimism of a Remuant Pedagogy; Bojan Koltaj, Queer(ing) Žižek; Julia Scholz, Queering Identities in Psychology: Blind Alleys and Avenues; Alba Pons Rabasa, Daniel Brittany Chávez and Carolina Novella, Transiting Decolonization, Gender and Disease through/in/with Performance as Research. Part 2: Troubling (Glocal) Ethics -Matthew Ball, The Ethics of Queer/ing Criminology: The Case of the ‘Prison of Love’; Doris Leibetseder, Reproductive Ethics: an Example of an Allied Dis/Ability-Queer-Feminist Justice; Christina Welch, Representing Queer Women: Nakedness and Sexuality in the Visual Presentation of the Colonised Body of the Female Other; Masha Neufeld and Katharina Wiedlack, Lynchpin for Value Negotiation: Lesbians, Gays and Transgender between Russia and “the West”. Part 3: Queer Glocalities in South Asia – Rohit Dasgupta, Queering Virtual Intimacies in Contemporary India; Lhamu Tshering Dukpa, Unsettling the ‘Hijra’ Identity: a Study of the Hijras of Siliguri; Carol S. Anderson, Changing Sex in Pāli Buddhist Monastic Literature; Bee Scherer, Variant Dharma: Buddhist Queers, Queering Buddhisms. Afterword – Chris Mounsey, Learning from Queer/Variable Embodiment. Notes on Contributors. Index.
Posted in News, QP6
Tagged Academic, art, Book, Buddhism, Canterbury Christ Church University, Criminology, decolonialism, edited volume, health studies, hijra, history, LGBT, LGBTIQ, News, Pali, pedagogy, peter lang, philosophy, politics, psychology, QP, QP6, Queer, Queer Studies, Queer Theory, Queering Paradigms, Queering Paradigms 6, Religion, reproductive ethics, Russia, Social Justice, Social Media, south asia, Variabilities, Zizek
Leave a comment
QP7 – Caymans travel information
Thank you for joining us in the Cayman Islands for our QP7! We are just less than 3 weeks away from the weekend of the conference and we cannot wait to welcoming you in the Cayman Islands the weekend of the 11 and 12 June.
Please remember that the venue of the conference has changed, it is no longer the Marriott but the Auditorium of the Cayman Island Chamber of Commerce which is located in:
Unit 4-107, Governors Square
23 Lime Tree Bay Avenue,
West Bay, Grand Cayman,
West Bay, Grand Cayman,
Cayman Islands
The Auditorium is located at the Governor’s Square commercial centre where you will find places to eat, shop, etc. It is an idyllic position as it is across seven mile beach, off West Bay Road and opposite to the Governor’s house. Seven Mile Beach is served by two buses (line 1/yellow and 2/light green) that depart from George Town bus station – next to the Public Library opposite to the Courts of Law – and pass by Governor’s Square. Their fee is – CI$2. They often have loads of change (be mindful they are not a bank cashier so change may be available to you out of a low denomination note) and they do take payment in U$S. Buses do have specific stops, but if you flag them or look like a tourist they will peep their horn and invite you to jump in anywhere on their route.
From the airport, I would suggest that you take a taxi to your hotel. As you clear customs and exit the terminal you’ll see immediately outside the terminal that there is a desk where you can book a taxi to anywhere on the island. They will tell you the fare at the desk. If you require cash, there is an ATM inside the terminal building where the check-in desks are located (to the left of the arrival exit you will use to leave the customs’ area).
If you want to call a taxi from your hotel, I suggest that you ask your host/hostess or hotel for assistance. There is also a list of taxis in the following link <http://www.grandcaymanislandtaxi.com>
Please note that all prices (shops, taxis, buses, restaurants, etc) are in CI$ (Cayman Islands dollar). The exchange rate is peg to the U$S (CI$ 0.8 = U$S 1) Anywhere on island you can use either U$S or CI$, but please note that if you pay in U$S your change will be given to you in CI$. This is the law, there is no room for negotiation so please do not insist.
Hotels are expensive and there aren’t cheap accommodation (price wise) in the Cayman Islands. The closer hotel which has a relatively low daily fee is Sunshine Suites <http://sunshinesuites.com>. However, please note that May to July are the best time to find good offers in hotel accommodation as the high season is over and yet the weather is perfect with hardly any serious risk of hurricane hitting the Islands (more about hurricanes below).
Credit cards are accepted almost in any shop/restaurant/hotel. Please note that most restaurants’ bill will include tips! Be aware that if you pay with credit/debit card your slip to sign will have a place to add more tips. This is not necessary as your bill would have included.
Make sure that you have a travel insurance in place that will cover air transportation to US in case of serious emergency. The hospital in the Cayman Islands is good but may not be the right place for you in case of a major issue. Please also note that the Hurricane season officially starts on 1 June. I am not aware of any hurricane hitting the Cayman Islands during June ever; the earliest hurricane on records, of which I am aware, hit the Islands at the end July, In the unlike eventuality of hurricane during June, please note that there are refuges throughout the island. You may also want to check whether your travel insurance would cover in such a situation. For more information I strongly recommend that you peruse the following official link so that you become familiar of what to do in case of a hurricane <http://www.caymanprepared.ky/portal/page/portal/hmchome/resources/brochures/HM_BROCH_RESIDENT%20KIT_2014_FINAL_WEB.pdf>
You will find very helpful as a visitor/tourist to peruse the pages in the following link <http://www.cita.ky> They contain essential information for visitors/tourist. If you still have any question, please let me know by email and I shall be happy to assist.
We shall be publishing the final programme for you to print closer to the weekend of the conference in which you will also be advised of other activities related to the conference that will take place pre and during the conference.
Canterbury Christ Church University academics push for human rights change in the Caymans
[CCCU/INCISE press release 16 May 2016]
Canterbury Christ Church University will next month sponsor the Seventh Queering Paradigms conference on Grand Cayman.
The conference, co-organised by Christ Church academics and local Human Rights activists, addresses the social injustices faced by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer/Questioning (LGBTIQ) people in the Caribbean on the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands and the wider region.
Queering Paradigms (QP) founder and Director of the University’s INCISE research centre Professor Bee Scherer said: Local activists approached us last year at the QP6 conference in Canterbury with the view to bringing QP to the Caribbean region. We have invited the Rt Rvd Dr Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham, as a keynoter speaker and he will share the UK experience with legislative change around same-sex marriage and make some theological reflections about the queering project of Jesus.
Visiting Senior Research Fellow at INCISE Barrister Dr Leonardo Raznovich, who is in a same-sex marriage to a Caymanian resident, is co-ordinating the conference on Grand Caymans.
“I am currently challenging the Caymanian government in court about their refusal to grant me residency based on my same-sex marital status. I have the full support of the Governor; unfortunately the Foreign office has been less supportive. The conference highlights the societal and legal plights of LGBTIQ citizens in the Caribbean. We hope to aid the end of discrimination and bring the legal situation on the Caymans in line with EU and UK law.”
Other conference highlights include a keynote by Professor Emeritus Eugenio Raúl Zaffaroni, Justice of the Inter American Court of Human Rights, and a presentation by Jamaican Human Rights activist Maurice Tomlinson.
Posted in News, QP7
Tagged Academic, Activism, Canterbury Christ Church University, Caymans, Confererence, LGBT, LGBTIQ, marriage equality, News, press release, QP7, Queer, Queer Studies, Queer Theory, Queering Paradigms, Social Justice
1 Comment
QP7 appoaching
Only one month left before QP7 on Grand Caymans!
We are sorting out the programme and finalising the venue – here a preview of some of the highlights:
The Rt Hon Dr Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham will share the UK experience with legislative change around same-sex marriage and make some theological reflections about the queering project of Jesus.
Professor Emeritus Eugenio Raúl Zaffaroni, Justice of the Inter American Court of Human Rights, will share his experience with LGBTIQ Human Rights.
Carribean activist Maurice Tomlinson will share his experience with fighting for queer rights in Jamaica. See his recent blog here.
Enjoy!
Posted in News, QP7, Uncategorized
Tagged Academic, Activism, Caymans, Confererence, LGBT, LGBTIQ, News, Queer, Queer Studies, Queer Theory, Queering Paradigms
Leave a comment
QUEERING PARADIGMS 7 – CfP
Queering Paradigms 7
CALL FOR PAPERS (updated)
PDF Call for Papers
We are delighted to announce that the 7th Queering Paradigms Conference will be held on
11-12 June 2016 on Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Venue: Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort, 389 West Bay Road Box 30371, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
(NB For those on a tight budget we will try to organise private accommodation with local members of the LGBT community)
The 7th instalment of the established Applied Queer Studies conference is organized by a group of Cayman Islands residents and LGBTIQ+ activists, under the sponsorship of Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU), UK.
After highly successful incarnations of QP in South America (2012, Rio de Janeiro; 2014 Quito) Queering Paradigms return to the Americas, for the first time taking place in the Caribbean Region.
The particular aim of QP7 is to challenge Queer/LGBTIQ+ discrimination and to provide intellectual tools for empowerment of both academics and activists on the Cayman Islands and the wider Caribbean region.
We welcome both papers with local and regional relevance and more general applied queer studies contribution under the themes
1) religion and faith
2) law, human rights and equality
3) HIV, health, mental health
4) sex work, abuse and trafficking
5) family and kinships
6) race, ethnicity and Caribbean Identities
7) activism, political participation and leadership
8) art and culture
Please send abstracts and panel proposals by 4 April to both Olivia Connolly, President of the Student Society of the Truman Bodden Law School of the Cayman Islands, (olivia.connolly[[AT]]me.com) and Professor Bee Scherer, CCCU (b.scherer[[AT]]canterbury.ac.uk).
Paper abstracts should be around 300 words long and include an indication whether the paper is intended to be an original (unpublished and not under review) contribution to the peer-reviewed QP7 book, to be published 2017 with Peter Lang, Oxford (containing 16-20 chapters).
Posted in Call for Papers, News, QP7
Tagged Academic, Activism, Canterbury Christ Church University, Caribbean, Caymans, CCCU, Confererence, LGBT, LGBTIQ, News, QP7, Queer, Queer Studies, Queer Theory, Queering Paradigms
1 Comment
Re-Radicalising Queers? LGBT History Month at Canterbury Christ Church University
Yesterday Peter Tatchell gave a keynote lecture at Canterbury Christ Church University, organised by the CCCU LGBTQi Staff Network.
Panel members included Paul Twocock, Rt. Reverend Dr Alan Wilson, Professor Bee Scherer and Professor Emerita Sue Sanders.
-
- Student Union LGBT Elzy-Mae Burton
-
- Vice-Chancellor Professor Rama Thirunamachandran
-
- Peter Tatchell
-
- Peter Tatchell
-
- Professor Bee Scherer
-
- Paul Twocock
-
- Professor emerita Sue Sanders
-
- Rt. Reverend Dr Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham
-
- The Panel Discussion
-
- John Gilmore – CCCq, organiser
Due to a very public cancellation and accusations of transphobia towards Peter Tatchell, the event had a lot of media coverage.
The Guardian – http://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/feb/15/lgbt-event-with-peter-tatchell-to-go-ahead-despite-freedom-of-speech-row
BBC Today – http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b070dks3 at roughly 2h33min into the recording.
And Newsnight – http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0717ssf/newsnight-15022016 Roughly 30 minutes into the episode.
More on Twitter #CCCQueers
Posted in Uncategorized
Leave a comment
Queering Paradigms 