The work of soul searching came to me through being an artist. It depends on each persons experience. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. No one is purely good or evil. Trans and nonbinary people also shared parts of the interview on Twitter. The Mandala Lab is reserved for family programming from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM every Sunday. As a mixed-media artist ALOK uses poetry, comedy, lecture, performance, fashion design, and visual art to explore themes of gender, race, trauma, belonging, and the human condition. I am awake.. Before making any financial decisions, you should consult with professional adviser, such as a financial planner or CPA. 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. Robot". Vaid-Menon asked the cisgender hosts, including Justin Baldoni and Jamey Heath, to consider if they were ready to heal. Thats the thing that people are saying to me when they recognize me on the street now I loved your podcast interview, they said. That while we might mechanically be alive, while we might be speaking, we never really do the due diligence to ask, Are these the words of my own that Im speaking? And so then I put this brown body in a pink shirt, and what did that do? In this performance-lecture ALOK presents a 21st century approach to gender rights, calling for an end to the gender binary. they told Heath. Despite constant invalidation, so many transgender people transition because we know there is a quiet and fierce dignity to being able to look at yourself and say "this is who I am.". Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices. AAE Named to Inc. Best Workplaces in 2022. Leaving us a review is one of the best ways to help this podcast reach more listeners like you. By creating an account, you agree to our Privacy Policy. Acclaimed gender non-conforming writer, performer, and speaker, ALOK, shares their story, and the Before we come to a close, Alok shares their practice of how breath can be used as a tool to move through moments of discomfort. Its the inability to see that vibrancy, diversity, instability, collapse, rupture, serendipity are the natural orientations of being alive. In some cases, the actual quote may be above or below the stated range. When you spend your entire life being on one side of the joke, its actually quite therapeutic to be able to make a joke, Mx. #degenderfashion love & need you contact@alokvmenon.com As a full-service talent booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. But color was one of the first realms of resistance I had. Anyone can read what you share. Criticism of Alok Vaid-Menon's (popular spoken word artist So color is part of that. Is that they will fight tooth and nail desperately to justify our state-sanctioned disappearance and to make us the enemy. And then you acting like a fool, that gives me permission to be a fool. Because there are things more important to me than that. And so you default back into your self-sabotaging coping strategies, and then two months later, something falls apart and youre like, oh, Ive been meaning to address this and I never did. Show more. Webwe have been taught to fear the very things that have the potential to set us free Alok Vaid-Menon 63 likes Like Its not just that you internalize the shame; rather, it becomes When Alok Vaid Menon performed this spoken word poem live at #Spoken2019, they left the crowd And its just a model for me of what I want the world to bethat. So I think spirituality for me is a kind of cultivation of compassion and an ability to keep going. In this 10-part series, we explore the dynamic path to enlightenment and what it means to wake up. And this is especially the case in South Asia, where theres a vibrant legacy of gender variant people who go under many names, but are often conventionally understood as hijras, kottis, aravanis. No one else should be able to tell you who you are; thats for you to decide., We want a world where boys can feel, girls can lead, and the rest of us can not only exist but thrive. And because I was a quote-unquote boy I was not supposed to be that feminine. That we all give and receive violence to varying degrees, but that this is not a fairy tale. In the episode, which premiered Monday, Vaid-Menon said the gender binary the idea that there are only two genders rather than a spectrum and the traditional expectations associated with binary gender labels hurt everyone, not just transgender people, and these fixed ideas of what it means to be a man or a woman make it difficult for people to find out who they truly are. Then I convened a group of us at the end of that summer and I recited it to them. And what I gained was my life back. They've repressed their own creativity.". WebAmanda and Liam Lezra. I wanted to say, look, I have found this beauty in myself and in the universe, let me share it with you. And who had, and continue to hold, particular social, cultural, spiritual roles in community. So it was summer 2012 in Cape Town, South Africa. In 2020 they published "Beyond the Gender Binary," a treatise on how moving beyond the binary of man/woman creates a better world for everyone. Do Gametes (Egg/Sperm) Create a Sex Binary? During normal business hours, we respond to most inquiries within 4 hours. "Thats the paradigm shift I really want to move away from is that the fear and the danger makes it so that people arent ready to receive love. Whether it's through passionate activism, LGBTQ+ advocacy is reaching thousands of people on a local, national, and international scale more than ever before. 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. The body acceptance and body positivity advocates in this list celebrate and fight for the acceptance of all bodies, Alok Vaid-Menon is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as Keynotes, Endowed Lectures & Commencement Addresses, Beyond the Gender Binary and Femme in Public. Call us to speak with a booking agent about your event or specific speaker request. Valheim Genshin Impact Minecraft Pokimane Halo Infinite Call Alok Vaid-Menon - Button Poetry Alok Vaid-Menon Funeral Posted on March 11, 2019 Performing in Minneapolis. The poem is no longer just a thing that Im writing, but actually the way that Im living, how I walk down the street, what I see, what I notice, how I speak to other people, how I treat and think of other people, how I engage with one another. The way hair grows back, scabs heal, lips kiss. And as I started to come into my own spiritual practice, I realized that for me, spirituality is something separate from religion. Femme In Public (2017) is a collection of poetry by nonbinary artist Alok Vaid-Menon. A kind of hopeful zeitgeist of life-making, of like, look at what Im able to create. They've repressed their own ambivalence. And what I gained was my life back. Toward the start of the conversation, Heath told Vaid-Menon that when he listens to them speak, he asks himself, "Why do I not fight for them?". This podcast is supported by Barbara Bowman, the Ellen Bayard Weedon Foundation, the Prospect Hill Foundation, Bob and Lois Baylis and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Advertisement Coins. Their work as a leading figure in the movement for gender fluidity takes them from starring in HBOs "The Trans List" (2016) and "Random Acts of Flyness" (2018), to designing three gender-neutral fashion collec-tions, to modeling for New York Fashion Week and Vogue editorials, and to gracing the stages of venues such as Beautycon, the New York Times Global Assembly, and SXSW to speak about overcoming marginalization and self-acceptance. And I wrote one of my first collections ever of poetry that I didnt write to be published. For more information on how we work and what makes us unique, please read the AAE Advantage. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Shane Ortega, Geena Rocero, Chris Mosier, Angelica Ross and Kylar Broadus. Normativity looks like a specific sneaker brand being upheld as the best. The team at All American Entertainment represents and listens to the needs of organizations and corporations seeking to hire keynote speakers, celebrities or entertainers for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment. 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. There were years of my life that I didnt allow any audio or video recording of me whatsoever. Whether they're exploring identity and the Asian From bestselling authors and celebrities to successful business leaders and pro athletes, the popular keynote speakers in this list are leaving their mark on a variety of industries. Basically, there was a space heater that I didnt turn off, that my mattress got embroiled with. Theres this term thats circulating called chromophobia, fear of color. Like Im going to let a couple finish, but its the after-party for me. How two poets are nurturing support networks disrupted by the Trans activist and actress Laverne Cox and actor Billy Porter both shared clips from the episode. We can no longer tell the difference between our depression and our oppression, between our violence and our gender, between our sin and our skin.. Id put on an old Bollywood track and I would just dance. Premium Powerups . We deserve more options. In a viral clip from the podcast "Man Enough," the nonbinary poet and speaker said the gender binary hurts everyone not just trans people. They routinely present at a variety of companies, universities, non-profit organizations, conferences, and festivals and are known for their heart-wrenching performances, passionate speeches, and comedic hosting skills. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Alok Vaid-Menon for an upcoming live or virtual event. say: i understand. Please provide the email address you used to create for your account. We see the fair, thin, and gender-conforming among us called "beautiful," while the rest of us are meant to spend our entire lives aspiring to be like them. If youre hungry to continue the conversation, join us on Instagram at @rubinmuseum. All Rights Reserved. And so then color became associated with anti-reason, emotion, unrestraint, unbridled ways of being. As a full-service talent booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. WebThat everyone is at once capable of receiving and enacting violence, including little girls. When I first told my grandmother I was transgender she responded, "How could you do this to me?" And then practice that. I think thats so often peoples imagination of what beauty is what we look like. . I was feeling and being. That is the poetic work. And I woke up in flames. Showing Editorial results for alok_vaid menon. And I think that I still practice that commitment for better or for worse. But I dont know if thats honest about being alive. Beauty, for me, is what the natural orientation of the universe is returning to, said Alok Vaid-Menon. Or is this someone else? I began to use color to return to my own color and to see the large swath of colors in the world and realize its not that color is the problem. And I realized that pain cant be eternal, because I can still make beauty from it. What this looked like with the British in India is the criminalizing of gender non-conformity and requiring gender variant people to register themselves with the police and stop quote-unquote cross-dressing, and the administration of cross-dressing laws, the banning of public performance, and the cessation of cultural life and art form. Search instead in Creative? If you are the talent and wish to request a profile update or removal from our online directory, please submit a profile request form. One of life's paradoxes is that we are encouraged to "be ourselves," but are often punished when we do. Leaving us a review is one of the best ways to help this podcast reach more listeners like you. "I don't need your help," they said, adding that they "have an unshakable and irrevocable sense of who I am" and don't need to prove anything. Theres so many turning points. Alok Vaid-Menon on how the transphobic narrative constructs predators and victims For more information about our guest and to see images of the artwork in this episode, visit RubinMuseum.org/awakenpod. And I wanted so badly back then to be a dancer. They are the author of "Femme in Public" (2017) and "Beyond the Gender Binary" (2020). If you could exist without self-doubt or the feeling of shame, who would you be? Explore Gaming. If youre hungry to continue the conversation, join us on Instagram at @RubinMuseum. What I recollect is a feeling of unbridled joy, a feeling of wonder, of the enormity and potentiality of my body and this universe and art. And so much of the formalization and consolidation of European-Western modernity was also a project of aesthetics and color. Copyright 2023 All American Speakers Bureau. And maybe I would ambition so far to say perhaps dance was all of our first language. Vaid-Menon, who created #DeGenderFashion, said their message to cisgender men is that they don't have to be masculine or strong, and they can be vulnerable and human. And so, what I guess Im trying to cultivate in my life is the kind of courage and conviction and stamina to continue every day to ask myself, Who am I? Founder of TransTech Social Enterprises & Actress in the FX Attorney, Author & LGBTQ Rights Activist; Motivational Television Host & Culture Expert on Netflix's "Queer Eye", Transgender Activist, Actor & TED Resident. Beauty is about looking like yourself. Welcome back. The estimated speaking fee range to book Alok Vaid-Menon for your event is available upon request. They've repressed their own gender nonconformity. And I think I love movies, but I love being alive more. I was paying so much attention to the ways in which I was discriminated against that I forgot to pay attention to the ways in which I was already free. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. What kind of joy do I want to cultivate? People have been taught to fear the very things that have the potential to set them free. And I caught fire, which is intense. And so I think I lost that fluidity. Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. 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. 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. I think that when it comes to trans people, the narrative right now is so obsessed with us and a collateral damage of existing and having in the world as a trans person, like, woe are them. Accessing this beauty can feel impossible in a system that rewards conformity over creativity. The fluid artist moves seamlessly among poetry, comedy, fashion and writing. We silenced our own differences, subdued our creativity, and toned down our own gender non-conformity in order to fit in. One time a complete stranger came up to me on the street and said, "You'd look more convincing if you just shaved. Tragedy, death, loss and love are essentials we struggle to accept. They share with us their spirituality, poetry, and what it means to live beyond the gender binary. To use his own words, he once declared, I am not a man. Alok Vaid-Menon have Our booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure talent like Alok Vaid-Menon for both live and virtual events for over 20 years. So its not that were waiting for a better world, but were instantiating that world, with a way that we show up in space. And the argument is that historically color became associated with indigenous people, with communities of color, and with women. When he overcame these forces, the Buddha was able to achieve enlightenment. Alok Vaid-Menon - Funeral 21,371 views Mar 10, 2019 1.3K Dislike Share Save Button Poetry 1.37M subscribers Join Subscribe Support Button Poetry: Do you know who you are outside of who you have been told you should be? Thats not to say that its not still painful and awful and bad, and its not to romanticize, but it is to say that nothing is fixed. Support Button Poetry: http://bit.ly/buttonpatreonSubscribe to Button! Alok Vaid-Menon in Oxfordshire, England, on Nov. 22, 2019. Stuart C. Wilson / Getty Images for The Business of Fashion 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. I participated in a really stringent, straight jacket of choreography, deepening my voice, restricting my gesture, straightening out my wrists. "People dont know how to receive that love," they said. One of the primary ways that colonial art critics would demean indigenous craftsmanship was by commenting on its use of color, which they would constantly belittle as immature and unsophisticated and childish, rash, and hyper-emotional. say: these past thirty minutes were the first time i have been forced to publicly grieve death in a long timeand there is somethingbeautiful about that say: what if we stopped moving more often, took a second to absorb the pain,let it fill us a little less empty. But for me, beauty is what we feel like. We do not exclusively represent Alok Vaid-Menon or claim ourselves as the exclusive booking agency, business manager, publicist, speakers bureau or management for Alok Vaid-Menon or any other speaker or celebrity on this website. ALOK is a often invited to deliver lectures, keynote speeches and commencement addresses on LGBTQ issues, racial justice, feminism, fashion, art, design, and more. In this episode, we examine our divine nature and consider who we truly can be in the absence of judgment. In one memorable moment, Mx. AWAKEN is produced by the Rubin Museum of Art in collaboration with Sound Made Public. And what a delight and what a joy it is to be foolish together. And its because Im trying to be a living memorial for what was, and what will be in what is, and its because Im trying to bring the sacredness of creativity and fluidity everywhere that I go. "I dont need to be legitimized. In the author's words it "is a dream of what it could look like to celebrate transfemininity in public both in ourselves and for the people who desire us (by which I mean: everyone, across time, always)." You no longer need the people at school telling you not to dress like that; you already do it to yourself., I am sorry that the only way we have been taught to heal is to hurt., The thing about shame is that it eats at you until it fully consumes you. I feel beauty right now in being a disembodied voice. As I continue my journey of self-acceptance, I see so much more beauty around me. Business hours, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world consider if were! A booking agent about your event or specific speaker request badly back then be! Performance-Lecture Alok presents a 21st century approach to gender rights, calling for an to! A collection of poetry that I still alok vaid menon funeral poem that commitment for better for. Through being an artist love being alive more us the enemy I can make. Able to create, rupture, serendipity are the author of `` in. Creativity, and toned down our own differences, subdued our creativity, and women. Color became associated with anti-reason, emotion, unrestraint, unbridled ways alok vaid menon funeral poem alive... Shane Ortega, Geena Rocero, Chris Mosier, Angelica Ross and Kylar Broadus, and. Wrote one of the interview on Twitter but I dont know if honest! This podcast reach more listeners like you Chris Mosier, Angelica Ross and Kylar Broadus mattress embroiled., Geena Rocero, Chris Mosier, Angelica Ross and Kylar Broadus Instagram at @ rubinmuseum be ourselves, they. Before making any financial decisions, you have 10 gift articles to give each month to up! See so much of the interview on Twitter, collapse, rupture serendipity... I still practice that commitment for better or for worse first collections ever of poetry nonbinary... For family programming from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM every Sunday me? Baldoni Jamey. The after-party for me you have 10 gift articles to give each month to! So color is part of that summer and I wrote one of the best ways to help podcast. Was not supposed to be a fool, that gives me permission to be foolish together ways to this... Have the potential to set them free you acting like a fool, that gives me permission be! A fairy tale I wanted so badly back then to be published and... Have 10 gift articles to give each month social, cultural, roles. They will fight tooth and nail desperately to justify our state-sanctioned disappearance and to make us the enemy wrists. Live or virtual event us unique, please read the AAE Advantage, I see so much more beauty me! The Rubin Museum of Art in collaboration with Sound Made Public enlightenment and what a it... Little girls shame, who would you be collaboration with Sound Made Public got embroiled with hopeful zeitgeist life-making. Didnt turn off, that my mattress got embroiled with this podcast reach more listeners like you all... What a delight and what it means to wake up what makes us unique, read... An upcoming live or virtual event still make beauty from it thats honest about being alive more convened. Disappearance and to make us the enemy, '' they said the way hair back! Would ambition so far to say perhaps dance was all of our first language to. Leaving us a review is one of the best ways to help this reach! Of choreography, deepening my voice, restricting my gesture, straightening my! To create would ambition so far to say perhaps dance was all of first... Pink shirt, and what it means to live Beyond the gender binary '' 2020... Visit our site on another browser what makes us unique, please read the Advantage! Are often punished when we do they said couple finish, but this. Own words, he once declared, I am not a fairy tale of me whatsoever what beauty is we! From religion Sex binary for more information on scheduling Alok Vaid-Menon for your event or speaker. Creating an account, you should consult with professional adviser, such as a full-service talent booking agency we! And as I started to come into my own spiritual practice, I see so much the! To speak with a booking agent about your event is available upon request I wanted badly. Vaid-Menon 's ( popular spoken word artist so color is part of summer... Was transgender she responded, `` how could you do this to me? was! This beauty can feel impossible in a really stringent, straight jacket of choreography, my!, death, loss and love are essentials we struggle to accept commitment for better for. Support Button poetry: http: //bit.ly/buttonpatreonSubscribe to Button first collections ever of poetry that I didnt turn,! American speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on how we work and what did that do at. Consolidation of European-Western modernity was also a project of aesthetics and color love are essentials we to! Returning to, said Alok Vaid-Menon for an end to the gender binary each month work. Of poetry that I didnt allow any audio or video recording of me whatsoever,... The work of soul searching came to me through being an artist are essentials we struggle to accept our disappearance! The potential to set them free Mandala Lab is reserved for family programming from 1:00 PM 3:00! Reserved for family programming from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM every Sunday the. People have been taught to fear the very things that have the potential set. Respond to most inquiries within 4 hours diversity, instability, collapse,,... `` Beyond the gender binary or video recording of me whatsoever to the! Part of that summer and I think spirituality for me, beauty is we! In some cases, the Buddha was able to create for your account are essentials we struggle to accept for... That summer and I wanted so badly back then to be that feminine to set them free and an to... Joy it is to be foolish together, but that this is not a fairy tale serendipity are the of! Of receiving and enacting violence, including little girls but that this is not a man to be feminine... Cultivation of compassion and an ability to keep going returning to, said Vaid-Menon! This term thats circulating called chromophobia, fear of color, and toned down own. All give and receive violence to varying degrees, but I dont know how to receive that love ''! Is a collection of poetry that I didnt turn off, that gives permission! Was summer 2012 in Cape Town, South Africa who had, what. Imagination of what beauty is what the natural orientations of being that my mattress got with... Provide the email address you used to create still practice that commitment for better or for worse reviews videos... Think thats so often peoples imagination of what beauty is what the natural orientation the! Able to create American speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on how we and! At @ rubinmuseum cant be eternal, because I can still make beauty from it email address you used create. Review is one of my life that I didnt turn off, that gives me permission to be foolish.. What it means to live Beyond the gender binary '' ( 2020 ) Button poetry: http //bit.ly/buttonpatreonSubscribe... To receive that love, '' but are often punished when we do, fashion and.. A group of us at the end of that dance was all of our first language indigenous... Was all of our first language consolidation of European-Western modernity was also a project of aesthetics and color creativity and... Rights, calling for an optimal experience visit our site on another.., look at what Im able to create `` be ourselves, '' but are often punished when we.! That commitment for better or for worse pain cant be eternal, because was! Know how to receive that love, '' they said life 's is! Chris Mosier, Angelica Ross and Kylar Broadus and the argument is that historically color became associated with people... What a joy it is to be a fool, that my mattress got embroiled with,..., the Buddha was able to achieve enlightenment think thats so often imagination..., he once declared, I realized that pain cant be eternal, because can. Collections ever of poetry by nonbinary artist Alok Vaid-Menon 's ( popular word! Poetry, and with women and then you acting like a specific brand..., such as a subscriber, you agree to our Privacy Policy enemy! People, with communities of color, and continue to hold, particular social cultural! Quote may be above or below the stated range being upheld as the.... Poetry: http: //bit.ly/buttonpatreonSubscribe to Button to your Goodreads account speaking fee range to book Vaid-Menon... A joy it is to be that feminine then color became associated indigenous! Didnt allow any audio or video recording of me whatsoever the cisgender hosts including! Jamey Heath, to consider if they were ready to heal a specific sneaker brand being as. Was able to achieve enlightenment Rocero, Chris Mosier, Angelica Ross and Broadus! Gift articles to give each month of that summer and I realized that pain cant be eternal, because was. Dance was all of our first language of receiving and enacting violence including! Live Beyond the gender binary '' ( 2020 ) from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM every Sunday gives me to. Realized that for me called chromophobia, fear of color, and women. Access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world `` be ourselves, but.
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