Normative beauty is insecure. WebThat everyone is at once capable of receiving and enacting violence, including little girls. I am proud to be part of a generation of artists who are challenging mainstream beauty and showing the world that niche is the new norm. And Id rather spend my life and my career speaking about those important things. Alok Vaid-Menon will appear at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas in Sydney on Sunday, September 18. Awaken is sponsored by Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, a print and digital magazine dedicated to making Buddhist teachings broadly available. In a world thats committed to making your life miserable, theres something audacious and beautiful about insisting on maintaining your humor and your delight.. Most can be grouped into four categories: dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope., The gender binary is like a party guest who shows up before you get the chance to set the table. If you are the talent and wish to request a profile update or removal from our online directory, please submit a profile request form. And what I gained was my life back. And thats what were seeing, unfortunately, in 2021. And if youre enjoying this podcast, leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Vaid-Menon said. We thought fitting in would give us securitybut is it security when someone else living their life differently unsettles us to our very core?, The best way to eliminate a group is to demonize them, such that their disappearance is seen as an act of justice, not discrimination., Power can be defined as the ability to make a particular perspective seem universal, Arguments against gender non-conforming people are about maintaining power and control. WebALOK they/them author. Diversity and inclusivity are not just industry buzzwords. And who had, and continue to hold, particular social, cultural, spiritual roles in community. And so what I used to do is, I would just dance for my local Indian community. I see interconnectivity with nature, the earth, humanity, and a deep practice of humility. I now know that there are as many ways to be beautiful as there are people. They are the creator of #DeGenderFashion: a movement to degender fashion and beauty industries. ALOK (they/them) is an internationally acclaimed writer, performer, and public speaker. We tell them that they are not real. And so when I outfit myself in my best form of myself, its because Im trying to receive divinity. Our agents find the right fit for your event, Full access to all speakers & celebrities, Your personal Logistics Manager who takes care of all event details. What kind of joy do I want to cultivate? Vaid-Menon appeared on "Man Enough," a podcast that seeks to undefine traditional gender roles and masculinity, hosted by actor Justin Baldoni, writer and MSNBC columnist Liz Plank and composer Jamey Heath. they tell us that someone jumped in front of the tracksthat he died upon impactso we just sit there in silence as they remove his remains. I describe putting together an outfit as making an altar on my body. All American Entertainment Named to Inc. Best Workplaces in 2022. The fear is not of what could be, or what was, its the fear of what is. Next Thing: This month, Mx. They tell us to be ourselves, but if you listen closely, theres more to that sentence: . In her eyes my journey was about hurting her, not about healing myself. Basically, there was a space heater that I didnt turn off, that my mattress got embroiled with. In the early 20th century, when women were advocating for the right to vote, men created postcards that showed women dressed up as men and men dressed up as women, Vaid-Menon said. Rather, we are trying to make standard that there is no one way to be beautiful -- there is just your way to be beautiful. I was raised Hindu, and I associated religion with organized religion, with a set of parameters and protocols and scriptures that had to be followed explicitly. She eventually passed on without ever seeing me as myself. Let me buy you a razor?" And so actually I had a relationship with my body that I am still trying to remember, which was, I just moved to communicate. Is this my own life? As a visibly gender non-conforming person, I often receive unsolicited advice about my appearance. If youve never read one of Alok Vaid-Menons stunningly evocative poems or cutting social commentaries, youre missing out on the glory of all that is Alok. Are these my own feet? AAE is a talent booking agency for paid events only. "Women were basically just saying, 'We want the right to vote,' and men heard that as 'Im losing power,'" they said. WebAmanda and Liam Lezra. Awaken is sponsored by Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, a print and digital magazine dedicated to making Buddhist teachings broadly available. I really believe in the divinity of all of us, that we are souls first, bodies second. Because there are things more important to me than that. In a world structured by dichotomy and dualism, we transcend and invite another way of not just living but thinking, not just thinking but living. I sacrificed so much. How are you supposed to be believed about the harm that you experience when people don't even believe that you exist? And so freedom for me is a daily practice, and its constantly evolving and absolutely not linear, which is so unfortunate sometimes. No one is purely good or evil. I feel like every day is an artistic and spiritual endeavor to be what is. And so much of the formalization and consolidation of European-Western modernity was also a project of aesthetics and color. People have the right to self-determine their gender whether it be a man, woman, or a nonbinary gender. Is this my own gender? Then you cannot tell the difference between their shame and your own between a body and an apology., Some gender non-conforming people are nonbinary, and some are men and women. Why would you do this, if you lost access to power, legitimacy, intelligibility? Dont miss this powerful poem from Alok Vaid-Menon, performing in Minneapolis, MN. And then I ask it until I can remember that the shame was not my own. Acclaimed gender non-conforming writer, performer, and speaker, ALOK, shares their story, and the stories of those who came before them, with an urgency that invites us to step into our power and the power of interdependence. When Alok Vaid Menon performed this spoken word poem live at #Spoken2019, they left the crowd stunned. School, Vaid-Menon explained to me, was difficult, and they needed an outlet. Some of my favorite comedians are Black, Indigenous, people of color and trans people because we know that humor is not about levity. This world in a post-9/11 era told me that I was brown and that brown meant certain things. It depends on each persons experience. One time a complete stranger came up to me on the street and said, "You'd look more convincing if you just shaved. "I'm nonbinary, which means it's not just that I'm challenging the binary between male, female, man and woman, but between us and them," Vaid-Menon, author of " No one else should be able to tell you who you are; thats for you to decide., This repression is something we first did to ourselves. Its irrelevant. That was the voice of Alok Vaid-Menon. And I think that I still practice that commitment for better or for worse. Her nephew is also a transgender activist and performer, Alok Vaid-Menon. But there are so many more important questions to be asked when a child is born, such as: Hows your baby doing? or How can I support you during this time? or Why is it so expensive to raise kids? Or maybe even Where can I donate to help?, Gender non-conforming people are not opportunisitic; we are oppressed., Common sense is what happens when a particular point of view is regarded as the status quo because its held by the people in power, not necessarily because it is right., The scrutiny on our bodies distracts us from what's really going on here: control. Big Break: This summer, Mx. Search instead in Creative? Are you willing to go back? . Gender-neutral language isnt about replacing an old norm with a new one. Although I am constantly harassed for it, I am able to keep going because I know who I am. For many, the path to enlightenment begins by acknowledging suffering but not letting it define who we are. So my organic predisposition was actually one of radical self-acceptance. Diversity and inclusivity are not just industry buzzwords. Nonbinary activist Alok Vaid-Menon broke down the history of and problems with the gender binary and how people can fight against it in video that has gone viral on social media. Vaid-Menon is self-publishing a poetry book called Your Wound/My Garden. At the beginning of my career I was really concerned with detailing the nature of the wound that I had in the world, Mx. All Rights Reserved. We define ourselves by what we are not., The days that I feel most beautiful are the days that I am most afraid. When Alok Vaid Menon performed this spoken word poem live at #Spoken2019, they left the crowd One of my favorite things was going to weddings and seeing intergenerational dancing. I guess the academic in me would say, I felt like I was no longer a subject. Alok Vaid-Menon: 'It's time for a new beauty paradigm'. Look around: there are no princesses. Support Button Poetry: http://bit.ly/buttonpatreonSubscribe to Button! But whose standards of beauty are we required to adhere to? Leaving us a review is one of the best ways to help this podcast reach more listeners like you. It was a dance that I wanted to stage for my own community. Atlanta-based company Mailchimp calls Aloks talk required viewing for the world and Cornell University uplifts Aloks presentation as truly life-saving work.. But what does it take to step off the hamster wheel and recognize our divine nature? Be the first to learn about new releases! The estimated speaking fee range to book Alok Vaid-Menon for your event is available upon request. And that cant coexist with a project that is more about control than creative self-exploration. If it was universal and just, it would not need to be constantly proven. And you see someone who you never thought dance, could dancean 85-year-old, just with this kind of unbridled sense of possibility in every step and gesture. I was no longer an individual. Alok Vaid-Menon is one member of the transgender South Asian performance duo known as DarkMatter. The message that men who opposed the vote for women were sending to other men was that were going to be feminized and were going to lose power, and its going to be women who are making us do what weve done to women: take care of the kids and stay at home, Vaid-Menon said. A nonbinary gender life and my career speaking about those important things # DeGenderFashion: a movement degender! Movement to degender fashion and beauty industries beautiful as there are so many more important questions to be when! Putting together an outfit as making an altar on my body standards beauty! That commitment for better or for worse it take to step off the hamster wheel and recognize our nature... Fear of what could be, or a nonbinary gender during this time many more important to me that! Of myself, its the fear of what is digital magazine dedicated to Buddhist. 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