LIFE ON THE FLIPSIDE

Body Mapping with Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Men and Women

Nairobi, 3rd-7th December 2007


Living as a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) man or woman in Kenya is not easy, to say the least. Constitutionally, homosexuality is considered illegal and a prison penalty of up to 5 years can loom if ‘caught in the act’. Public opinion is strongly coloured by some Christian teachings that consider homosexuality sinful at best and satanic at worst. In the educational and health professions, homosexuality is generally treated as a disability or mental illness. For a LGBT person growing up in Kenya, the traditional sources of support and guidance (parents, elders, peers, teachers, religious figures, doctors, counsellors) mostly give out one message: who you are and what you do is wrong!

Recently, however, organisations and individuals working in the field of HIV/Aids have started to recognise LGBT men and women among the groups most vulnerable to HIV infection. This has given the so far mostly underground LGBT community an entry into public life and debate. A number of support and lobby groups have formed, and even the Kenyan government has started to implicitly recognise the LGBT community by inviting some groups into the policy making process under the umbrella of the Kenya AIDS Vaccine Initiative.

In order to advance this move to greater social visibility, Art2Be and GTZ joined hands to offer members of the LGBT community a space for expression that was not limited only to HIV/Aids but addressed all aspects of their lives. From the 3rd to 7th December 2007, 10 members of ISHTAR (Men having Sex with Men - Health & Well Being), Icebreaker (Uganda-based partner organisation of ISHTAR) and Minority Women in Action came together for a week of Body Mapping.

The workshop was appreciated particularly for its opportunities to release difficult and long-held emotions. Participants openly showed and shared their pain about the multiple rejection experienced in their families and wider society. Longing for freedom, love and belonging were the main themes running through the week. Yet, there also was an exceptional level of joyful energy within the group which was freely expressed in the use of colours, artistic experimentation, singing and dancing.

The contact between the heterosexual facilitators/assistants and the LGBT participants gave way to many discussions about love, sex and relationships. Many different opinions and experiences were aired in a respectful and caring atmosphere so different from the hateful confrontation usually experienced. As the workshop progressed, participants brought in more and more aspects of their queer life, such as clothing, make-up and dance styles. Participants invited friends and partners to visit, participate in some exercises or add some brush-strokes to their paintings. In an increasingly exuberant atmosphere, the facilitators/assistants joined the dancing and queer parading. Many from ‘both sides’ commented on how the workshop had given them an appreciation of the diversity of human beings as well as the similarities between homosexual and heterosexual life.

At the end, most participants walked out of the workshop feeling more confident and at peace. The struggles of leading a double life (LGBT in private/hiding and heterosexual / a-sexual in public) and sense of being split and torn inside had been soothed in the caring and creative environment of the group. The (re-)discovery of artistic talents led to much satisfaction and a sense of achievement. Most participants commented with pride on how their final paintings had become a whole and powerful expression of themselves. Many shared their resolve to “keep on fighting” and “stay true” to themselves in order to claim a rightful place for themselves in this world.

Body Maps from this workshop will be presented by the artists during the 3rd National Conference on Peer Education, HIV and Aids from the 18th – 20th of June 2008 at Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi. A further exhibition is planned at RAMOMA, Kenya’s most prominent centre for contemporary art.