I Am Queer, but Am I Safe?
Four interviews on the relationship between LGBTQ+ communities and public spaces in Chișinău bring to the fore the need for a safe and inclusive public landscape for all.
17 July 2023
Constanţa Dohotaru, Clara Abdullah, Mariana Agleanov
#OmulFaceLocul is a project of Constanta, Clara and Mariana who live in Chișinău. As architects and urban planners, they explore different aspects of community urbanism and formulate what we, as a society, can do together to make the cities we live in a bit friendlier. A sustainable city is a safe place, one that allows movement without fear of crime, victimization, or harassment, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. Under the tagline I am queer, but am I safe? the Loc de Dialog (The Place of Dialogue) series invites queer people of Chișinău to reflect upon what their city does to ensure the safety needs of LGBTQ+ individuals. The interviews explore Chișinău’s places of vulnerability and victimization, as well as places that represent queer resistance, activism, and empowerment, as they are experienced in everyday queer lives.
In this first episode, the Loc de Dialog talks to Katisch, a decolonial activist and independent researcher, about her experiences of in/visibility as a queer woman in Chișinău.
Noise pollution threatens us on every street corner. Chișinău is growing. But does this progress meet the needs of queer communities? In the second episode Marin, a civic activist, talks about his experiences of life in Chișinău and his own definition of an inclusive city.
In episode number three Constanta and Mariana talk to LGBTIQ+ activist Leo Zbancă about how he develops resilience to discrimination, but this is not the outcome he wants. It’s important to have an open dialogue about how we create a society where everyone will enjoy equal rights.
Chișinău became a second home for Anhelina, who was forced to run there after the full-scale war in Ukraine began. In the fourth episode, she talks about equal rights for all and shares her experiences as a queer refugee in Chișinău.
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Behind the Mask: Contemporary Drag Culture in Kazakhstan
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An essay about the desire to live out queerness clashing with cultural context and family needs.
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Drag in Armenia: An Evolution of the Artform
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Guess the Fact – Queer Artist Edition
In this video queer artists learn different facts about each other through a game called “Guess the Fact”.
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Meet Ukrainian queer photographer Katerina Turenko and the Sapphic women* captured in her images.
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Defying Boundaries: Azerbaijan’s Drag Star
Lady Slim, an Azerbaijani drag queen, pushes back against growing anti-queer restrictions to perform at home and abroad.
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“The Most Important Thing For Me Is That My Son Is Happy”
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“There Are Things One Doesn’t Choose”
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“I Was Told I Had Disgraced Kazakhstan”
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“If Your Protesting Hand Gets Tired, I’ll Be There To Take It”
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Trans Solidarity Against Bigoted Institutions
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“I Gave Up a Lot To Be Who I Am”
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Influence
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A Story of One Migration
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In Armenia, Trans Community Faces Fear, Neglect
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“If We Call the Police, They Laugh at Us”
Three queer people from Kyrgyzstan talk about their lives and the problems they face, personally and as a group.
No Trauma, No Drama. Rewriting Media LGBTQI+ Narratives
Nora Petrossian and Mischa Badasyan advocate for a more nuanced portrayal of queer individuals in media.
What if homophobia in Central Asia is a product of colonialism?
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Russian Propaganda’s Influence on Soviet and Post-Soviet Homophobic Narratives in South Caucasus
Examining the roots of anti-LGBTQI agenda propagated by present-day Russia, and how it spreads in the South Caucasus countries.
Russian Colonialism and Homophobia in Moldova
An attempt to see if homophobia in Moldova is linked to Russian colonialism and cultural policy since the annexation of Bessarabia in 1812.
Migration Is the Path to Freedom. A Photo Report about Sumaya
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Russia’s Homophobic Law Inspires Azerbaijani Political Elites
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“I Put a Lid On My Sexual Orientation, I Buried It”: Life of LGBTQ+ People in the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine
After the start of Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine, Serhii’s identity became a deadly threat. Anna Vorobyova tells his story of evacuation from Mariupol.
Non-traditional Values: Did Uzbekistan Inherit Homophobia and Family Concepts from Soviet Union?
A review of changes in the LGBTIQ+ rights legislation over the last century and the roots of the homophobic paradigm the society lives in.
Gay Pride Parade, “Dazhynki” or White March: which holiday suits “Belarusians of the future”?
An observation of the words, signs and meanings that fill the media space at the conventional hash-tag #belarusian.
Beyond Blurred Existence
Meet the queer people disrupting the patterns of post-Soviet coloniality and imperialism and reconnecting with multicultural and inclusive roots of Georgia.
Kazakhstan’s and Russia’s LGBTIQ+ Legislation: Why It Matters
An analysis of the Kazakh and Russian realities and laws in regards to discrimination and lack of protection of queer people.