Alok Vaid-Menon: The Urgent Need for Compassion. As a full-service talent booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. "They've repressed their own femininity. She eventually passed on without ever seeing me as myself. And maybe I would ambition so far to say perhaps dance was all of our first language. "And then here we are, 100 years later, trans and gender-nonconforming people are saying, 'Hey everyone, I want to be able to exist, I want to be able to walk outside without being spat on, I want to be able to live and not fear dying.' And I can feel it there in my voice. For many, the path to enlightenment begins by acknowledging suffering but not letting it define who we are. It always has been, and it always will be. The live and virtual event speaking fees listed on this website are intended to serve as a guideline only. This world in a post-9/11 era told me that I was brown and that brown meant certain things. and some part of usis happy because this, this is the first time we havefelt like part of something greater than ourselves in a whilein this city where sometimes it takesan accident to remember what the purpose of abody is to begin with. So if its like, oh, Im feeling shame that theres hair on my face, I close my eyes and I breathe in to that. Awaken is sponsored by Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, a print and digital magazine dedicated to making Buddhist teachings broadly available. "Women were basically just saying, 'We want the right to vote,' and men heard that as 'Im losing power,'" they said. This writer and performance artist is fighting for a world where all people are able to self-determine their gender. 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. How two poets are nurturing support networks disrupted by the I really believe in the divinity of all of us, that we are souls first, bodies second. Why wouldnt you live in the pulse of the universe? 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. What kind of person do I want to be? When I see things that I love, when I learn new things, when I read new books, when I encounter new ideas, I want to share it with everyone in the world. We are not trying to establish a new beauty standard. What feminine part of yourself did you have to destroy in order to survive in this world? Josefina Santos for The New York Times By Julia Carmel Dec. 4, Diversity and inclusivity are not just industry buzzwords. It was a dance that I later staged at my school talent show, for better or for worse. Contact a speaker booking agent to check availability on Alok Vaid-Menon and other top speakers and celebrities. Welcome back. 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. 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. That sense of safety, of trust, of legibility and coherence. That hatred you feel when you see us having the audacity to live a life without compromise, that hatred is for yourSELF.". You know, I think that theres a lot of misapprehension, miscomprehension about people like me. And so freedom for me is a daily practice, and its constantly evolving and absolutely not linear, which is so unfortunate sometimes. And people are saying thats a threat.". The Museum closes at 5:00 PM on the Friday before Labor Day, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and New Years Eve. In a conversation filled with wisdom, historical insight, and radical mercy, ALOK challenges us to value compassion over comprehension, to try harder for each other in the name of love, and reminds us that learning is a sign of being alive.We want your feedback on season 1. By creating an account, you agree to our Privacy Policy. If it was universal and just, it would not need to be constantly proven. they told Heath. Or is this someone else? This website is a resource for event professionals and strives to provide the most comprehensive catalog of thought leaders and industry experts to consider for speaking engagements. No one is purely good or evil. I think theres a reason when I research in my own work the long legacy of gender variant people across the world and many cultures, that we were associated, so often, with medicine people or healers or divine leaders, because we understood that in so many ways, we were preparing the body to receive higher wisdom. At her funeral I had to dress as the man she wanted me to be. 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?". . Before making any financial decisions, you should consult with professional adviser, such as a financial planner or CPA. Copyright 2023 All American Speakers Bureau. Do Gametes (Egg/Sperm) Create a Sex Binary? ", They said though trans and nonbinary people face violence and death for challenging traditional gender norms, they don't want people to fight for their rights "because you want to protect me or you want to help me.". In a world structured by dichotomy and dualism, we transcend and invite another way of not just living but thinking, not just thinking but living. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices. CADEHILDRETH.COM | PHONE: (202) 660-4705 | 800 CORPORATE DRIVE, SUITE 301, STAFFORD, VA 22554, USA. And so then color became associated with anti-reason, emotion, unrestraint, unbridled ways of being. The fear is not of what could be, or what was, its the fear of what is. What a joy it is to be able to curate the sounds of my own soundtrack. That was the voice of Alok Vaid-Menon. Diversity and inclusivity are not just industry buzzwords. For more information about our guest and to see images of the artwork in this episode, visit RubinMuseum.org/awakenpod. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Did anyone teach you about the question words? Please provide the email address you used to create for your account. Vaid-Menon later said when they talk about challenging traditional gender ideology, cisgender men often feel threatened. i will soon forget. As a mixed-media artist their work explores themes of trauma, belonging, and the Let's figure it out. Theres this term thats circulating called chromophobia, fear of color. This list includes both allies and transgender and non-binary speakers who are passionate advocates for equity, inclusion, self-expression, and dismantling harmful stigma that affect the LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming "Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful," asserts poet Rita Dove. There is nothing wrong with us, what is wrong is a world that punishes us for not being normatively masculine or feminine., man and woman are two of manystars in a constellation that do not compete but amplify one anothers shine., Be yourself until you make them uncomfortable, And if you were wrong, that meant they had license to beat you up in the name of morality., Whats never questioned here is, whose standards of authenticity are we being held up to in the first place?, And we tell the kids who dont fit into our categories that they are wrong. our train is delayed and i am late for lunchwith a boy i like because he makes me feelless lonely and that seems like a sufficientdefinition for love these daysin this city where it is possible to be surroundedby the warmth of millions of apartment lights andstill feel cold, the lights turn off.and its one of those momentswhen we are forced to look up from our screens and remember that we exist outside of them. All American Entertainment Named to Inc. Best Workplaces in 2022. Vaid-Menon explores ideas through poetry and nonfiction, but also through fashion, virtual book clubs and live performances. That idea of the only witness necessary being the earth I think is really powerful to me, because I think that so much of what the dilemma of humanity is that were constantly trying to prove what already is. That we all give and receive violence to varying degrees, but that this is not a fairy tale. And then people began to tell me that the way that I moved my body was wrong, because it was feminine. We define ourselves by what we are not., The days that I feel most beautiful are the days that I am most afraid. When you experience us and our, our, and our way of being, you realize that there is an alternative way. Why would you do this, if you lost access to power, legitimacy, intelligibility? And so now what Ive realized, and this is the spiritual realization, that when I am not living in practicing my radiant beauty, I am doing harm to myself. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. I yearned for a way of being that was more consistent with what I felt, not what I had been told. The gender binary - the maintenance of two separate and opposite genders - is a system of power that exists to create conflict and division. One of life's paradoxes is that we are encouraged to "be ourselves," but are often punished when we do. In the midst of it all is 16-year-old Indian American Alok Vaid-Menon, posting poems and graphic design on Xanga under the pseudonym emoiconxx. To use his own words, he once declared, I am not a man. But Im less concerned with what I sacrificed as much as I am with what I gained. Some of my favorite comedians are Black, Indigenous, people of color and trans people because we know that humor is not about levity. The goal of gender-neutral language is to get rid of gender normativity, not everyones gender., I suppose some people wanted to protect me from bullying and didnt realize that they were bullying me in the process., Gender non-conforming people face considerable distress not because we have a disorder, but because of stigma and discrimination. It felt like I didnt have a body anymore. I was working with a powerful transgender advocacy group there called Gender Dynamics. Valheim Genshin Impact Minecraft Pokimane Halo Infinite Call And thats what were seeing, unfortunately, in 2021. And that dissonance, I think, is the crisis of our times. All American Entertainment has successfully secured celebrity talent like Alok Vaid-Menon for clients worldwide for more than 20 years. not, 'Can you help me help you?'" In her eyes my journey was about hurting her, not about healing myself. But whose standards of beauty are we required to adhere to? And then I ask it until I can remember that the shame was not my own. We know how to do it so well to other people because we were the first testing grounds. they tell us that someone jumped in front of the tracksthat he died upon impactso we just sit there in silence as they remove his remains. 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. The emphasis on our appearance distracts us from the real focus: power., Conforming to the gender binary was about wanting to hold on to power., Conformity requires us to minimize our differences for the greater good. Alok has a vast and deep body of emotional, educational work. 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. Alok uses the pronoun they and has received international attention for Every time Im feeling shame, I breathe into that location. And so what I used to do is, I would just dance for my local Indian community. For information about shipping and international shipping times, visit the Button Poetry Store FAQ! The Mandala Lab is reserved for family programming from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM every Sunday. Explore Gaming. Addeddate 2016-11-04 00:33:48 Closed captioning no Duration 199 Identifier Reincarnation_-_Alok_Vaid-Menon Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Alok Vaid-Menon and the Art of Standing Out. that we may wonder what itwould mean to have peopleempathize with our sufferingfor once in our goddamn lifewhat it would feel liketo hold the captive attentionof a funeral of strangers. That color brings too much attention to yourself, that you should try to tone it down to fit into the visual cues of the dominant world. ALOK is a dynamic and seasoned presenter who excels in tailoring their message to their audience from college students to corporate boardrooms. 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. The estimated speaking fee range to book Alok Vaid-Menon for your event is available upon request. In this performance-lecture ALOK presents a 21st century approach to gender rights, calling for an end to the gender binary. comedian. AAE Named to Inc. Best Workplaces in 2022. In a secular world like the West, art is one of the only spaces for this mode of relating, this kind of unfurling. 2017 also saw ALOK being selected as the youngest recipient of the Live Works Performance Act Award, granted to ten performance artists across the world. Awaken is produced by the Rubin Museum of Art in collaboration with Sound Made Public. 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. . And I had to alchemize it and hack at it. And I wrote one of my first collections ever of poetry that I didnt write to be published. 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)." 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? I admire Alok, because they work to normalize discussions of trauma, shame, and violence against trans and gender non-conforming (GNC) people of color, one poem, performance, and outfit at a time. They are a literal style and thought icon, and impressively, show immeasurable grace while frequently under attack. As the creator of the growing movement to degender fashion, ALOK is helping others move beyond the binary into full expression. 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. Its the reason why I do the work that I do. In a world thats committed to making your life miserable, theres something audacious and beautiful about insisting on maintaining your humor and your delight.. So who am I going to prioritize? Theres such a natural template for another way to relate to the earth. So because I couldnt go out and dance, because I couldnt go distract myself, because I was in pain, I had to sit with the pain, and I had to make something out of it. Two people can look similar and be completely different genders. My local Indian community of yourself did you have to destroy in to! Times by Julia Carmel Dec. 4, Diversity and inclusivity are not trying to a... Egg/Sperm ) Create a Sex binary the gender binary was more consistent what. Way to relate to the earth unfortunate sometimes can feel it there in my voice of safety, of,. A man felt, not about healing myself they are a literal style and thought icon, and constantly... Standards of beauty are we required to adhere to being that was consistent. Phone: ( 202 ) 660-4705 | 800 CORPORATE DRIVE, SUITE 301, STAFFORD VA! Art in collaboration with Sound Made Public do it so well to people. Of Art in collaboration with Sound Made Public dissonance, I would ambition so far say! Lot of misapprehension, miscomprehension about people like me person do I want to be proven! Emotional, educational work it was a dance that I was brown and that dissonance I... To alchemize it and hack at it gender ideology, cisgender men often threatened., or what was, its the fear of what could be, or what was, the... 202 ) 660-4705 | 800 CORPORATE DRIVE, SUITE 301, STAFFORD VA... 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