Queering the Perspective

Béla Belissima

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EDUCATION

Challenging gender and power relations from the perspective of a non-binary/genderqueer person. Foregrounding the marginalized. Fighting the cis-tem. & offering a safe space for empowerment and radical authenticity. OUT NOW: Season 4 - South (East) Asia Edition.

01/31/2025

#49 Degrowth & Commons

Welcome to this third and last part of the three part mini-series “Queering the Perspective XAlt Shift Festival 2024"! The conversation of this episode is based on the roundtable discussion “Autonomies and Commons” with the movement anchorsSchool of Commons (a self-organized university based on commoning learning in Zurich, Switzerland,Fisch Acker (a queer-feminist occupation in rural Austria),La Foresta(a community academy that is growing in a collectively regenerated space of the Rovereto train station in Trentino, Italy), and moderated by Tadeas fromNazemi (an organization fostering transformative education and thriving towards a no-growth economy in Brno, Czech Republic We begin the episode by defining the quite abstract concept of "commons/commoning" and continue by relating it to queerness and degrowth. Next, we dive a little deeper and tackle the issues of redistributing power and redefining ownership through commons being a place for dissident identities and practices. Towards the end, we talk about the idea of "Nowtopias" and why they are necessary to move forward in our current political climate. Hope you enjoy this episode, and go listen to the two other episode of this mini-series (#47 on Decoloniality & #48 on Queer-Feminism) if you're interested to learn more Thank you Alt-Shift Festival for the opportunity to co-create this podcast series and I hope that this project can continue to educate and inspire listeners to further engage with the topic of degrowth and all its intersecting aspects. If you would like to be part of the podcast community, you can now follow on Instagram and/or join our telegram group for frequent update on new podcast developments I am your host Béla Belissima, non-binary soul from Berlin on the journey to dismantle our cis-heteronormative world and look beyond all binaries. Re-writing our narratives and telling our own stories. Thanks for being here

33 min
12/25/2024

#48 Degrowth & Queer Feminism(s)

Here comes the second episode of the three part mini-series “Queering the Perspective X Alt Shift Festival 2024"! The conversation is based on the queer-feminist roundtable discussion with spokespeople of the organizations Sorge Ins ParkCenter, Ni Una Menos Austria, and indigenous, feminist rights activist Airam Quila The episode is centered around the queer-feminist underpinnings of de-growth and bringing the repressive cultural element of capitalism to the forefront. In that regard we speak about femi(ni)cides, the necessity of multiple forms of co-existing feminisms as well as allyship between them. Without necessarily planning it, the conversation naturally shifted to the topic of grief, spiritual poverty and active memory as a form of resistance against attempts of erasure. General mood of this episode: "We are the granddaughters (grandchildren) of the witches you couldn't burn" If you would like to be part of the podcast community, you can now follow on Instagram and/or join our telegram group for frequent update on new podcast developments I am your host Béla Belissima, non-binary soul from Berlin on the journey to dismantle our cis-heteronormative world and look beyond all binaries. Re-writing our narratives and telling our own stories. Thanks for being here 3

33 min
11/23/2024

#47 Degrowth & Decoloniality

Hi everyone and welcome to the first episode of the three part mini-series “Queering the Perspective X Alt Shift Festival 2024"! The conversation is based on the roundtable discussion “Anti-Imperialism and Decoloniality” with the activists Chihiro Geuzebroek , Airam Quilla and spokeswomen of the organizations D.E.I. Futuro Antirazzista, Abya Yala De(s)colonial and Debt for Climate Austria We begin the episode by introducing the festival and the concept of degrowth to those that are not (as) familiar to it. We then move on to issues such as climate justice, de-militarization and abolitionism as well as demands such as reparations and land back ! Lastly, we’re taking a critical view inside the structures of the alt-shift festival itself and analyze how to practically apply decoloniality within the degrowth movement to fight for “a world where many worlds fit” inspired by the the Zapatista vision. If you would like to be part of the podcast community, you can now follow on Instagram and/or join our telegram group for frequent update on new podcast developments I am your host Béla Belissima, non-binary soul from Berlin on the journey to dismantle our cis-heteronormative world and look beyond all binaries. Re-writing our narratives and telling our own stories. Thanks for being here

35 min
10/28/2024

#46 s*x positivity & sl*tshaming

We are back in time for the cozy podcast fall with our third episode of Queering the Perspective Season 5 ! This episode was recorded at Whole Festival 2023 and included many different festival guests that were sitting down and sharing their experiences as well as an audience of people taking a moment to listen to this live conversation from a distance. Note: With the conversation taking place at a loud queer festival and unfortunately an error with the recording input from the technical side, the audio quality of the episode is not where I would like it to be. However, I hope you still give it a chance because the content of the episode is very important and worth listening ;) What we talk about specifically is the meaning of being a sl*t, unlearning (internalized shame) especially within a queer context as well as exploring the asexual spectrum, non-Western perspectives on sexualities and celebrating non-normative sexual practices. Overall, the main message of this episode is reappropriating and owning s*x positive identities outside of heteronormative frameworks. All day, every day! Especially together with other queer & trans people! If you would like to be part of the podcast community, you can now follow on Instagram and/or join our telegram group for frequent update on new podcast developments I am your host Béla Belissima, non-binary soul from Berlin on the journey to dismantle our cis-heteronormative world and look beyond all binaries. Re-writing our narratives and telling our own stories. Thanks for being here

30 min
09/04/2024

#45 All about Transitions

It’s been a hot second but we’re back with the second episode of season 5: All About Transitions. In this conversation, we: Blumen (he/him), Lux (they/she), Magda (she/her), Minu (he/she/they), Pars (they/them) , Thea (she/her) and me) talk about our experiences, reflections and feelings with regards to our gender transition journeys. Central to this episode is the fact that there are infinite ways of transitioning beyond the two normative ones: Female-to-Male and Male-to-Female. We talk about our journeys of coming into our trans bodies, the feeling of somehow not being trans enough as well as the idea of passing v. gender non-conformity/staying uncomfortable and not easily digestible to the cis-gaze. Send this episode to your loved ones, trans friends and arguably most importantly your uncle or colleague that has never met a trans person. In 50 minutes they’ll have the chance to get to know seven of us up close, might learn a thing or two (or 30 lol) and possibly even laugh with us because… TRANS IS JOY TRANS IS EUPHORIA and TRANS IS THE FUTURE If you would like to be part of the podcast community, you can now follow on Instagram and/or join our telegram group for frequent update on new podcast developments I am your host Béla Belissima, non-binary soul from Berlin on the journey to dismantle our cis-heteronormative world and look beyond all binaries. Re-writing our narratives and telling our own stories. Thanks for being here

51 min
07/07/2024

#44 Uganda & Global Queer Solidarity

Welcome to Queering the Perspective Season 5 fluid.vision X Anti-Mass Fundraising event for Uganda after the passing of the Anti-LGBT* law there in 2023. We talk with two of Anti-Mass' founders: Nsasi (they/them) and Turkana (she/her) about the vision of the Anti-Mass Collective, the situation in Uganda and how to foster global queer solidarity. The episode was recorded on July 7th 2023, so it's already a year old. However with the passing of yet another anti-LGBT law in Ghana earlier this year pushed for by similar Christian fundamentalist actors, this episode seems as important as ever. This first episode of the season is very special and dear to my hear because it is co-moderated with our very close friend Nada who is no longer with us. So listening to his voice, hearing his joy, dedication & revisiting the general atmosphere of the conversation felt similarly heartbreaking and healing at the same time. His legacy keeps on living and reminds us to fight harder than ever before for the most marginalized members of our (global) queer community if you would like to be part of the podcast community, you can now join our telegram group for frequent update on new podcast developments I am your host Béla Belissima, non-binary soul from Berlin on the journey to dismantle our cis-heteronormative world and look beyond all binaries. Re-writing our narratives and telling our own stories. Thanks for being here

45 min
10/12/2023

#43 Queering Classical Khmer Dance

There is no other word than inspirational to introduce today's guest: Prumsodun Ok (he/him), an artist, dancer, writer and founder of Cambodia's first gay dance company "Prumsodun Ok & NATYARASA". In the studio, he teaches classical Khmer dance and focuses on re-telling ancient Cambodian tales with a contemporary spirit incorporating queer expression. In our conversation, Prum talks about his identity as growing up gay and Asian-American in the USA and then migrating to Cambodia to build a new life through dancing and rediscovering his ancestrial roots. Prum goes in detail into the description of a few Cambodian tales and how they can be reinterpretated via the lens of queerness while still remaining a part of Cambodian culture and heritage. This is the very last episode of this Season 4: (South) East Asia Edition. We hope you enjoyed this season and all the background information on the countries we visited and people/communities we met along the way. It certainly has been a journey and we feel so grateful and fortunate to have had the opportunity of learning from our guests and sharing their voices with the wider podcast community. If you want to learn more about the Classical Khmer Dance and how Prum is "queering" this art form, check this blogpost on our website This podcast is partially funded by Heinrich Böll Stiftung Phnom Penh, Cambodia & Heinrich Böll Stiftung New Delhi, India in collaboration with SafeSpaceBTB ------ if you would like to be part of the podcast community, you can now join our telegram group for frequent update on new podcast developments feel free to reach out if you have any feedback, questions, suggestions for future topics/guests via Instagram or e-mail: belissima@riseup.net I am your host Béla Belissima, non-binary soul from Berlin on the journey to dismantle our cis-heteronormative world and look beyond all binaries. Re-writing our narratives and telling our own stories. Thanks for being here

52 min
10/05/2023

#42 Genderfluid (Youth) Culture

In today's episode, we visited the LGBTQIA* center A Place To Be Yourself in the city of Siem Riep and talked with four of the community members: Kimmouy, Mouy Heng, Khunyeam and Lyhuor about their genderfluid identity. We speak about gender roles growing up in Cambodia, struggles and joys in transgressing them and different beauty standards. Towards the end of our conversation, we address the importance of standing up for each other, supporting one another in their identity discovery journey and how to center gender euphoria over negative societal attitudes. If you want to learn more about beauty standarts and how to challenge them through queerness, check this blogpost on our website This podcast is partially funded by Heinrich Böll Stiftung Phnom Penh, Cambodia & Heinrich Böll Stiftung New Delhi, India in collaboration with SafeSpaceBTB ------ if you would like to be part of the podcast community, you can now join our telegram group for frequent update on new podcast developments feel free to reach out if you have any feedback, questions, suggestions for future topics/guests via Instagram or e-mail: belissima@riseup.net I am your host Béla Belissima, non-binary soul from Berlin on the journey to dismantle our cis-heteronormative world and look beyond all binaries. Re-writing our narratives and telling our own stories. Thanks for being here

38 min

Challenging gender and power relations from the perspective of a non-binary/genderqueer person. Foregrounding the marginalized. Fighting the cis-tem. & offering a safe space for empowerment and radical authenticity. OUT NOW: Season 4 - South (East) Asia Edition.

Creator

Béla Belissima
Years Active

2021 - 2025
Episodes

52
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© Béla Belissima
Show Website

Queering the Perspective