This February Edition hosted the Live painting of “VOID: Perfect Imperfection” by Nigerian Non-Binary abstract artist Babatunde Tribe of @1002arts on the 18th of February 2023, at 1 PM
The Third Cafe provided the one-of-a-kind afternoon of art, coffee, and movies., with relaxed and contemporary setting. Light refreshments were served, and Jazz music to keep the room entertained throughout the afternoon.
This month’s Movie Screening: Hell or High Waters by TIERs Nigeria
We’re committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere for all, we look forward to seeing you soon at Third Cafe!”
The message of this year’s Pride in Lagos theme underscores the importance of inclusivity and acceptance of all individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic that sets them apart from others in Lagos, Nigeria, and West Africa. Defining “We All Belong”: “We All Belong” is a statement that recognizes that…
Are you passionate about telling powerful stories and amplifying the voices of underrepresented communities? Do you want to be a part of an exciting and impactful project that celebrates the diverse and vibrant culture of Lagos? If so, we want to hear from you! The Pride in Lagos 2023 team is looking for talented writers…
We are thrilled to announce that Pride Lagos 2023 will be taking place from June 12th to June 18th, 2023! This year’s celebration promises to be bigger and better than ever before, as we come together to celebrate love, diversity, and inclusion. Pride Lagos is an annual event that brings together members and allies of…
QUEERCITY MEDIA PARTNERS WITH THE GOETHE-INSTITUT NIGERIA TO ORGANIZE AN ARTISTIC SAFE SPACE
“The Third Cafe” is a monthly café style safe space for Queer folx seeking community through discussions, films, open mic, books, and coffee. The “3rd Café” works with queer filmmakers, queer artists, queer Comedians, queer authors, and other creative endeavors to express their craft, amplify their works, and reach and build community.
Serving as a monthly creative community platform for creatives to engage the community and for people to network, the 3rd Café would also provide an extensive artistic outlet for socio-cultural discuss Nigerian gender identities and expressions.
The Third Cafe hopes to foster community building, provide creative support and amplification of works for Queer creatives in Lagos, and Create a Safe Space for artistic networking and the exchange of ideas while encouraging conversations that matter.
Saturday 28th of January, 2023 at exactly 12:00pm.
We are screening Pink Lounge (@pinkloungefilm) by @maxivive, having conversations with Sheifunmi Nomia Yusuf (@sheifunmi) on experimental storytelling. Stand-Up comedy would be by Arctic Flame (_arcticflame). Come connect with friends, old and new over coffee.
Attention all activists, archivists, individuals, and organizations with archival material related to the Nigerian LGBTQI+ community! We at Haus II Gallery are excited to announce an open call for submissions of archival material related to the Nigerian LGBTQI+ community. This call is an effort to preserve the history and narratives of the Nigerian LGBTQI+ community…
This February Edition hosted the Live painting of “VOID: Perfect Imperfection” by Nigerian Non-Binary abstract artist Babatunde Tribe of @1002arts on the 18th of February 2023, at 1 PM The Third Cafe provided the one-of-a-kind afternoon of art, coffee, and movies., with relaxed and contemporary setting. Light refreshments were served, and Jazz music to keep…
Haus II gallery finds Collaboration with Queercity Media “Attention all history enthusiasts and advocates of decolonization! We invite you to join us for the Decolonizing Nigerian Histories: An Archival Restoration Workshop on Indigenous LGBT+ History. This workshop will take place from February 14th to 16th, 2023 and is an opportunity to delve into the rich…
HAUS II GALLERY ANNOUNCES NEW WORKSPACE FOR LGBTIQ+ ARTISTS AND WRITERS IN LAGOS, NIGERIA
Lagos, Nigeria – Haus II Gallery in collaboration with Queercity Media is excited to announce the opening of a new workspace specifically for LGBTIQ+ artists and writers in Lagos, Nigeria. This state-of-the-art facility will provide a safe and supportive environment for these artists to create and share their work and will be a hub for the local community to come together and celebrate diversity.
The opening of this workspace is a major milestone for the LGBTIQ+ community in Nigeria, and we are thrilled to be able to provide a space where artists can feel free to express themselves without fear of discrimination. We believe that art has the power to bring people together and create a sense of belonging, and we are committed to fostering an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere for all.
The workspace will feature a range of resources and amenities to support the creative process, including private studios, shared workspaces, and a library stocked with a diverse selection of books and resources. We will also be hosting regular events and workshops, as well as exhibitions and other community-building activities.
“We are thrilled to be able to provide this much-needed resource for LGBTIQ+ artists and writers in Lagos,” said Olaide Kayode Timileyin, the Director of Queercity media and Productions. “We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to express themselves and share their work, and we hope that this new workspace will help to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for members of the community.”
The workspace will be opened Monday 9th of January and would run daily through Friday from 10:00am to 3:00pm, and all are welcome to come and use the space. Haus II Gallery looks forward to supporting the growth and development of the talented LGBTIQ+ artists and writers in Lagos through this new initiative.
For more information, please contact @haus2gallery on Instagram or Xela via Contact
Nigerians will never learn. Is this more important than insecurity in our land? Is this more important than inflation? Is this more important than regular ASUU strike? Is cross-dressing so much of a national disturbance? Well, elections are close and the lots of these reps…
Umar Muda a member of the house of Representatives on the 5th of April, 2022, as reported by SAHARA REPORTERS – introduced and read a bill to further criminalize cross-dressing In Nigeria with liable punishment of up to 6month imprisonment or a fine of five hundred thousand naira.
This bill seeks to further enforce the SAME-SEX MARRIAGE PROHIBITION ACTS “SSMPA 2014” and amend the extension to include cross-dressing as one of the offences under the act, as if cross-dressing in Nigeria ever seize being a crime. It is yet another day in the unsafe targeted lives of Queer/LGBTQ+ people by the Nigerian government while neglecting all systemic emerging odds of the state. The Nigerian government and its law enforcement agents would better criminalize the minority for living than fix the simplest potholes on the federal roads in Nigeria.
The proposed bill doesn’t just aim to further criminalize LGBTQ+ but also aims at oppressing and taking up our tiniest freedom of expression and visibility, constantly painting us as the most social problem that needs to be immediately eradicated before the system can function while sailing the nation close to the wind.
Ahead of the 2015 elections was the ANTI-GAY laws “SSMPA” and this year, 7 years after, ahead of the 2023 elections is a need for the expansion of the “SSMPA” waved criminalizing cross-dressing, the most understood term for “Transgender” in Nigeria up to 6month imprisonment or paying an exploitative fine of five hundred thousand nairas. It’s no doubt that the Nigerian government take pleasure in the unhealthy political strategy of baiting LGBTQ+ minority lives to please the masses in exchange for their desirable biased thumbprint on their ballot papers.
This is because hypocrisy hides in the heart of imperial religious practices in Nigeria and homophobia/transphobia is a key to unlocking the masses – The idea of “SSMPA” happened as bait to catch the attention of Nigerian mass ignorant bigots in exchange for 8years trust. However, the proposed read bill is yet to be passed aimed target at Bobrisky(Okuneye Idris Olanrewaju ), Denrele(Adenrele Oluwafemi Edun), and James Brown(James Chukwueze Obialor) and other cross-dressers in Nigeria.
We hope that someday, Nigeria and her people would realize the great harm they have caused for a better inclusive and respectful change.
QUEERCITY MEDIA PARTNERS WITH THE GOETHE-INSTITUT NIGERIA TO ORGANIZE AN ARTISTIC SAFE SPACE “The Third Cafe” is a monthly café style safe space for Queer folx seeking community through discussions, films, open mic, books, and coffee. The “3rd Café” works with queer filmmakers, queer artists, queer Comedians, queer authors, and other creative endeavors to express…
The phrase that comes to our mind at first might be sexual intercourse activities but sex does not just mean intercourse, it is definitely beyond its typical meaning, it also refers to the categories to which people are typically assigned at birth based on physical characteristics (genitalia) by a gynaecologist.
Sex and Sexuality
Sex according to the construct of the social and political category is the perceived physiological identity difference between persons who are imposed, assigned males, females, and intersex… based on genitalia. I believe this is insignificant not just because the discussion of sex “genitalia” should end at birth, but more because it’s a yardstick to further discrimination, enabling inequality and oppression in most societies.
Rather than for sex to be enjoyed mutually as intercourse to its best, it’s further otherwise used as a tool to subjugate, define and measure the individual capacity to function outside the bedroom.
Society often sees males and females as a biological binary. However, there are issues with this distinction. The chromosomal markers are not always clear-cut, some babies assigned “males” at birth are born with two or three X chromosomes, just as some babies assigned “females” are born with a Y chromosome and the base of it, we all carry the hormonal structure of both estrogen and testosterone at a uniquely different spectrum of overtime development. Also, some babies are born with genitalia ambiguous genitalia. Being intersex can mean a person has genitals or internal sex organs that fall outside of “ typical” binary categories. Or, a person might have a different combination of chromosomes. Some people do not know that they are intersex until they reach puberty. This explains that biology is complex and bodily development could be a spectrum of growth. Sexuality is not just about sex and certain body part that is associated with sexual activities.
Sexuality includes sexual orientation, such as who a person is attracted to, sexual identity as well as sexual fantasies and attitudes and values related to sex. Sexual orientation refers to sexual and romantic feelings for people of the same gender, a different gender, or more than one gender. People who identify themselves as “straight” or “heterosexual” typically feel only attracted to people of the other heterosexual or straight orientation of a different gender than their own. People who identify as “lesbian” or “gay” typically feel attracted to people of the same gender as themselves. People who identify as “bisexual” typically feel attracted to both the opposite and same gender as themselves. People who identify as “Pansexual” do not just feel attracted to more than one gender but they do not see the existence of gender in their romantic feelings and relationship. People who use the term “queer” may use it to mean other terms that describe their experiences beyond the societal matching binary. Sexuality is a spectrum of sexual attractions which may be subjected to evolving changes in sexual preferences. Sexual orientation can change over time for some people. A person might be attracted only to people of the same gender as themselves, and then later be attracted to more than one gender. This means that sexual orientation is diverse for some people.
Gender and Gender relation
The World Health Organization WHO explains gender as “Gender refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially constructed. This includes norms, behaviours and roles associated with being a woman, man, girl or boy, as well as relationships with each other. As a social construct, gender varies from society to society and can change over time”. Based on this definition, gender is seen as a socio-cultural construct where roles and behaviour are determined and distinguished by the society based on perceived characteristics of man/woman, boy or girl. The above definition shows the binary idea of the societal class system leaving out other persons who do not fit into the binary norms, roles, behaviours, and characteristics as insignificant. However, the concept of gender has enjoyed frequent usage but has been subjected to diverse definitions and interpretations. Gender is widely agreed to be a social construct that arises out of culture and cuts across all parts of society. For so long in history, gender and sex have been defined in binary between male and female, man and woman, boy and girl eradicating the existence of others that do not fit in or outside the binary based on gender relations provided as the standard of interrelationships and dynamics of power between binary gender in the society (man and woman) —
Gender relations define how people interact with others and how others relate to them, depending on their attributed gender, and they should be analyzed within the cultural context in which they develop——The Psychology of Gender and Health, 2017.
Gender relation across all societies is not just skewed as parasitic and exploitative of women, it also erases other forms of gender existence and denies the ability to tap into the diversity of self, basically making persons who do not exist according to the binary system dysfunctional and a problem. Understanding that gender and gender relation are distinctive and roles are spelt out according to the structure of the society and culture, there is hardly any society where the roles to describe masculinity and femininity enable equality.
Gender relations in Nigeria only recognize Man and Woman class system and this is enabled by the patriarchal nature of the Nigerian society —- a system based on distinctive sexual physiological characteristics at binary level male and female, where persons who are assigned male at birth are societally ascribed as men and females as women. Patriarchy is the authoritative male centred system that is oppressive and discriminatory, it is enforced through an early socialization process that continues to instil discriminatory attitudes in children that grow up to be adults. A “male” child is labelled as a “boy”, trained to grow up into a man expected to exude rigidity, authoritative in the society and not a simple form of softness and weakness as such traits are perceived as feminine while the “female” child is labelled as a girl, socialised to be supportive to their husband and expected to be dependent, labour for free and never to show any form of bravery as such trait is commended masculine neglecting individual capacity while constructing them into binary depleted by physiological sex organ.
However, persons who do not meet the standard of humanity as to the binary structure of society are targeted as deviant minorities, invalidated and violently eradicated. In no doubt, society has its expectations and individuals have roles to perform to meet the expectations for the functionality of the society in contexts that align with the societal values and norms.
Gender relations
Nigerian society does not just encourage marginalization and inequality, it also doesn’t give room for diversity of self.
Despite the gender binary documentation in the state, there is the gradual emerging “pity” recognition of “third gender”, as persons who do not identify with the gender binary in very fainted parts of Nigerian social institutions are represented under inclusion and diversity projects mostly incorporated by members of the sexual and gender diverse marginalised community. However, understanding gender diversity is understanding that sex is not gender and it shouldn’t be a determinant factor for individual functionality. .“Someone who identifies with the sex that they were assigned at birth is called “cisgender.” “Someone who is not cisgender and does not identify within the gender binary of man or woman, boy or girl may identify as nonbinary, gender fluid, or genderqueer, among other identities. A person whose gender identity is not totally based on sex assigned at birth might identify as transgender which is a bigger umbrella term.
It’s clear that as much as gender is a societal construct mostly related to binary, gender is more and beyond what it may have seemed to be as explained. Gender is a spectrum of characteristics, traits, expressions, many other internal and external factors and none that holistically represents individuality, which may be related to masculinity, femininity, neither, both and none that is not exactly the socially constructed identity of the man and woman binary. Gender is who you are and how you see yourself internally and externally as an individual. This means that there are more than two genders because a person may identify and express their gender in the most suitable ways. Gender expression is how a person chooses to present their gender to the outside and gender identity is how and what a person feels internal and resonates with. This means that a person may identify as a woman based on their reality and experiences but present as masculine to the outside world although what is considered masculine and feminine changes over culture and tradition.The terms sex, sexuality and gender remain concerned topic in the world of today and this is because of distinguishing human diversity agitating for equality and inclusion. For so long, many societies have enforced the idea that a person is either a man or a woman based on their sex physiological characteristics and the idea doesn’t work for each other because sex and gender are two different things. Sex ends at birth, sex is a person’s physical bodily characteristics at birth, and gender is all and beyond a person’s identities, expressions, values and societal roles.
In conclusion, The principle of equality may be forged from the gender binary class system, we can not agitate for equality when there is no room for diversity. Humanity is diverse and there may not be an exact balance of inequality if there is no room for affirmation of self in diversity. Our experiences are totally not based on the outside but also include the inside. Equality might unfairly constrain us to the subject of oppression and class. Clamouring for equality may not be as strong as the liberation of human nature of diversity just as the nature of the universe there in and out.
HAUS II GALLERY ANNOUNCES NEW WORKSPACE FOR LGBTIQ+ ARTISTS AND WRITERS IN LAGOS, NIGERIA Lagos, Nigeria – Haus II Gallery in collaboration with Queercity Media is excited to announce the opening of a new workspace specifically for LGBTIQ+ artists and writers in Lagos, Nigeria. This state-of-the-art facility will provide a safe and supportive environment for…
Join Us this Summer in Lagos, We’re Outside! For a Cook-Out this summer at a Private Beach. Sizzling n Grilling Rave, Community, Booze Volleyball, Jenga, and Colors Hoochie daddy shorts, Bikinis, Body,Games, and a lot more To Register Send a WhatsApp message to register. Admission is VERY Limited! ( A very…
An Incubation program for Nigerian Queer Digital Creators The Queercity Media and Productions Lagos, Nigeria invites LGBT+ West African content creators, digital artists, and creatives at large to harness a creative think tank whose work seeks to further the creative, social, political, and economic liberation of LGBT+ Nigerians. Tinkers Tank is a 6 weeks digital…
Timeless Queer Defiance and it's consequences in Nigeria With Chude –
QueerCity
"Defiance comes with consequences and I am comfortable with it". He speaks about gay rights in the Nigerian churches, at conferences and anywhere. On this episode of the Queercity podcast, we would be experiencing what the reality of speaking for LGBT+ rights in Nigeria is for Nigeria's own Chude Jideonwo. Chude is known for his active amplification of minorities issues with his big show #WithChude, where he has also created space to help bring Queer persons' narratives safely to the mainstream media.
Chude speaks of how empathy could be an approach to fighting for the rights of sexual minorities, and to furtherly engaging violently oppressive systems. Behind the scenes packing and Bisi Alimi's appearance on “The Dawn” in 2004, and the interview with Faraphina magazine
Timeless Queer Defiance and its consequences in Nigeria with @chude Jideonwo
Join the community by conversation via #Queercitypodcast #7yearsLaterSSMPA #LGBTNigerianLivesMatter #LGBTpodcast #Queerlivesmatter
Credit Executive Producer: Queercity Media and Productions @Queercitymediaandproductions
Hosted and Produced by: Olaide Kayode Timileyin(QueerNerd) @OKTIMILEYIN
Guest: Chude Jideonwo
Website: Queercitypodcast.com
Upcoming event: bit.ly/PrideInLagos
—
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/queercity/message
Red means life, Orange means healing, yellow wants you to shine, green means nature, blue means serenity and purple mean spirit. The first Pride was a protest outside the Stonewall Inn in New York in 1969, led by Black transgender women in likes Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera and others in good memories. 1st of June of every year marks the celebration of PRIDE month, a celebration of colours, style, reality and struggles of the LGBTQ+…..all over the world, we hit the street to protest for the rights and freedom of ourselves and for others across the globe, we seek justice for people who lost their lives to homophobia, transphobia and injustice of any kind resulting from their sexuality.
Sadly, in the case of Africa when it comes to sexuality discussions, privileges are respected over rights, the societal values and norms are strongly held and a little smell of deviance to the societal norms is instantly terminated.
This made LGBTQ+ people in Africa most especially in Nigeria and other West African countries live in fear. Pride month is a month to protest for rights in loud colours and styles in societies that already scaled through the depth of homophobia. While, For the Nigerian LGBTQ+ persons, it’s a way to celebrate our survival through life.
Pride month in Africa, most especially Nigeria is celebrated to agitate for the rights to live freely and love as a queer persons in these African countries.
We agitate for the right to hit the street as queer persons with no fear of paying with their lives or being queer is punished by law and made to look like criminal through laws like the Same-Sex Prohibition Act (SSMPA) of 2014.
However, due to the development of technology and virtual spaces of communication, queer people have been able to unite, connect to each other around the world, share their struggles and reality and also be able to proffer solutions to the problems affecting the LGBTQ+ global community.
We at Queercity Media Productions, we are here to celebrate with each and everyone through this month. We celebrate your struggles and reality. We implore everyone out there to be stronger and never to give up, it only takes time. In this space, we celebrate you for being true to yourself despite the challenges, we appreciate every shade and colour of your queerness and we are assuring you that you are not alone, you are loved and you’ll always be loved. So shake your body, put your flag up, your colours high and let it fly. Heal, love, support and find peace.
HAPPY PRIDE MONTH
Timeless Queer Defiance and it's consequences in Nigeria With Chude –
QueerCity
"Defiance comes with consequences and I am comfortable with it". He speaks about gay rights in the Nigerian churches, at conferences and anywhere. On this episode of the Queercity podcast, we would be experiencing what the reality of speaking for LGBT+ rights in Nigeria is for Nigeria's own Chude Jideonwo. Chude is known for his active amplification of minorities issues with his big show #WithChude, where he has also created space to help bring Queer persons' narratives safely to the mainstream media.
Chude speaks of how empathy could be an approach to fighting for the rights of sexual minorities, and to furtherly engaging violently oppressive systems. Behind the scenes packing and Bisi Alimi's appearance on “The Dawn” in 2004, and the interview with Faraphina magazine
Timeless Queer Defiance and its consequences in Nigeria with @chude Jideonwo
Join the community by conversation via #Queercitypodcast #7yearsLaterSSMPA #LGBTNigerianLivesMatter #LGBTpodcast #Queerlivesmatter
Credit Executive Producer: Queercity Media and Productions @Queercitymediaandproductions
Hosted and Produced by: Olaide Kayode Timileyin(QueerNerd) @OKTIMILEYIN
Guest: Chude Jideonwo
Website: Queercitypodcast.com
Upcoming event: bit.ly/PrideInLagos
—
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/queercity/message
Queerness is still very illegal across many African countries, and this means that queer folks in these part of the world are constantly exposed to all forms of violations which includes targeted hate. During the First quarter of 2021, while the world is still busy battling with the covid-19 pandemic , arrest and violations of queer persons and organizations have been recorded in at least three West African countries, these includes, Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon.
Across the globe, Queer folks acknowledge every May the 17th as the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia, where we educate, advocate and communicate unapologetically against hate against queer bodies. Between February 2021 and May 2021, about four transwomen have faced from eviction and harassments to the most recent one of imprisonment as in the case of Shakiro and Patricia in Cameroon.
This year, we at Queercity Media and production say we recognize how much battles we as a community of queer folks in Africa had fought, we have survived and still fight, that words from our head can’t describe. From the stories we have chosen to tell, we constantly see how far we still have to go as a community in fighting against hate and violations of queer folks, most especially in the creation of healing spaces for ourselves as a community. Everyday queer person is faced with compulsory resistance against the society as our very existence is still criminalized, and this year we are choosing to say as a community we would be Resisting, Supporting and Healing together.
As LGBT persons in Sub Saharan Africa, we recognize we still have a long way to go with community supports, as often time we forget we are all we have as a community of criminalized person, and this year’s international day against homophobia, biphobia and transphobia is indeed a clarion call that we all should answer to. While we all as individuals do our best in advocating for our existence, we should never ignore the fact that haven to fight for our existence is mentally and emotionally draining, and we need more healing spaces for ourselves as a community, paying attention to things like this promotes the quality of our activism and is prone to yield more effective results with the work with all do.
With Resistance, healing and supports we are moving a step at a time towards equality. Happy IDAHOBIT 2021 queer folks.
Timeless Queer Defiance and it's consequences in Nigeria With Chude –
QueerCity
"Defiance comes with consequences and I am comfortable with it". He speaks about gay rights in the Nigerian churches, at conferences and anywhere. On this episode of the Queercity podcast, we would be experiencing what the reality of speaking for LGBT+ rights in Nigeria is for Nigeria's own Chude Jideonwo. Chude is known for his active amplification of minorities issues with his big show #WithChude, where he has also created space to help bring Queer persons' narratives safely to the mainstream media.
Chude speaks of how empathy could be an approach to fighting for the rights of sexual minorities, and to furtherly engaging violently oppressive systems. Behind the scenes packing and Bisi Alimi's appearance on “The Dawn” in 2004, and the interview with Faraphina magazine
Timeless Queer Defiance and its consequences in Nigeria with @chude Jideonwo
Join the community by conversation via #Queercitypodcast #7yearsLaterSSMPA #LGBTNigerianLivesMatter #LGBTpodcast #Queerlivesmatter
Credit Executive Producer: Queercity Media and Productions @Queercitymediaandproductions
Hosted and Produced by: Olaide Kayode Timileyin(QueerNerd) @OKTIMILEYIN
Guest: Chude Jideonwo
Website: Queercitypodcast.com
Upcoming event: bit.ly/PrideInLagos
—
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/queercity/message
QueerCity Media 