Group conversations about the geography of queer men of color.
We loved having conversations amongst two persons without us being too involved with a line of inquiries. We were there to answer questions, to prompt further when needed, and to hold space for the emotional processing. Then, we had an opportunity to get more people together at once. One of the options was to have a pseudo-panel where we asked questions to an individual, follow up with reflections, or set a question on the table for all to ponder and discuss. However, once we began this process, we realized that the conversations can go into other spaces unimagined. Being a fly on the wall (with cameras) was also a great way to ask the individuals to hold space for each other as they traversed the topic. Not every group and dynamic is the same, of course. These conversations are all different, and became a part of something beyond individual trajectory.
It became about how we navigate social spaces. In this social movement through connection, how can we co-create a collective sense of safety, permissions and self-facilitation that leads to uplifting conversation, mirroring and reflecting, ideally culminating with either a feeling of contentment for having participated, or perhaps a challenging self-awareness that still affirms what took place, without wanting to never return. This is a fine line that we are not interested in defining or controlling, yet we know the value of modeling behavior in community and the impact in can have with someone, even if the space is not always peachy to every single individual, every single time.
Most of these discussions acknowledged gender performance, systemic pressures and code-switching without us prompting the topic themselves. These conversations witnessed dynamics that dove deeper into the essence of masculinity, and its tendency to do the things we all project onto it. There are fascinating moments when we can hear the calling out of it, and then see it unravel and rear its head. This is part of the processing and witnessing of who we are.
We jumped at opportunities that were not planned to film at retreats for local QTBIPOC organizations, conferences that allowed us room to explore, and some more curated environments.
All of these conversations are with men - trans, queer, and cis - who identify as BIPOC, and, or immigrants in the United Statian experience.