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Yvonne Fly Onakeme Etaghene

Yvonne Fly Onakeme Etaghene is an Ijaw and Urhobo Nigerian dyke performance activist, poet, dancer, essayist, playwright, actress, video blogger and mixed media visual artist who was born with a mouth full of dynamite and sugarcane. She uses her poetry to chisel a verbal sculpture of her soul for listeners while addressing issues of race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, war, imperialism, love, self-esteem and family. Etaghene has self-published three collections of poetry, toured nationally and performed in over 30 u.s. cities. She was interviewed by and was a Contributing Writer to None on Record: Stories of Queer Africa, a sound documentary project that collects the stories of QLGBT Africans from the African Continent and the Diaspora. She has toured nationally with her multi-media one-woman show, Volcano’s Birthright{s}. Etaghene is a mixed-media visual artist who has produced 4 solo art exhibitions. In June 2012, Etaghene founded Sugarcane, an LGBTQ Of Color writing workshop based in the principles of June Jordan’s Poetry for the People.

Etaghene has written and directed 2 poem videos (“The First Time” [2010] and “i deserve somebody” [2011]) that marry film, poetry and music. Etaghene has self-published 3 chapbooks of poetry: afrocrown: fierce poetry (2000),write or die (2004) and tongue twisted transcontinental sista (2006.) She independently released an album of poetry and music entitled liberty avenue, nigeria, usa (2004.) She has shared stages with Amina Baraka, Bonfire Madigan, Sharon Bridgforth, Staceyann Chin, climbing poeTree, Invincible, DJ Kuttin Kandi, Lenelle Moïse, DJ Moni, Queen GodIs, Ongina Ryan, Hanifah Walidah & innumerable other brilliant magic-makers.

Taiwan's First Same-Sex Wedding Held At Buddhist Monastery [Huffington Post]

Global rights advocates are hoping that Taiwan's first same-sex Buddhist wedding sets an international precedent by helping the country become the first in Asia to legalize gay marriage in the future.

As the AFP is reporting, Fish Huang and her partner You Ya-ting, both 30 years old, wore traditional white gowns but opted to exchange prayer beads rather than wedding bands as they tied the knot in a monastery in Taoyuan, in northern Taiwan.

Among those to hail the ceremony's significance was Shih Chao-hui, the female Buddhist master who presided over the ritual. "We are witnessing history," Shih is quoted by the AFP as saying. "The two women are willing to stand out and fight for their fate... to overcome social discrimination."

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YALINI.DREAM

via Dark, Lovely and South Asian 

Lankan Tamil blood, Manchester born, Texas bred and Brooklyn steeped, YaliniDream is a queer performance artist, activist, and facilitator. One of the South Asian American community’s most prominent performance poets, YaliniDream has toured throughout the US, Canada, Europe and South Asia, performing in venues ranging from NYC’s Lincoln Center to subway cars to street protests to refugee camps to the hottest clubs in the New York underground. She was the Director of Mango Tribe’s NYC run of “Sisters in the Smoke” and “Creation Myth Project,” and served as the group’s Interim Artistic Director in 2007. As a movement artist, YaliniDream is trained in ballet, modern, jazz, Laban Movement Analysis, hip hop dance, and the aerial technique corde lisse. She holds a BA in Theater with a concentration in Acting & Directing from the University of Texas, Austin. 

Her official website is: http://www.yalinidream.com/

YaliniDream is also a member of The Sugaran Tour, a caravan of multimedia stories performed and presented by artist-activists including Nandini Nessa, Bushra Rehman, and Amita Swadhin. 

For more information, http://thesugarantour.tumblr.com/

Fashion Moment: Aemi Trousers by Toast

Yes, please.

Know Your Herstory: Malinda Lo

Malinda Lo was born in China and moved to the United States as a child. Ash, her first novel, was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award, the Andre Norton Award for YA Science Fiction and Fantasy, and the Lambda Literary Award for Children’s/Young Adult, and was a Kirkus 2009 Best Book for Children and Teens. Her second novel, Huntress, is a companion novel to Ash and received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Formerly, she was an entertainment reporter, and was awarded the 2006 Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for Excellence in LGBT Journalism by the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and has master’s degrees from Harvard and Stanford Universities. She now lives in Northern California with her partner and their dog.


Bio from http://www.malindalo.com/

Groovy

Photo via Tomboy Style

Ugandan Lesbian Kasha Nabagesera Honored [Autostraddle]

Last week Ugandan lesbian activist Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera was awarded the 2011 Martin Ennals Human Rights Defenders Award, second only to the Nobel Peace Prize in prestige and the premiere award in human rights work.

Nabagesera runs the organization Freedom and Roam Uganda established in 2003 to “lobby and press for the recognition of same sex relationships, especially lesbians in Uganda and thereby attain full equal rights and freedom in all aspects of life.” Working for gay rights and acceptance in a country where homosexuality is illegal and  on a continent where this is the case in nearly 40 countries is clearly commendable.

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