ALOK VAID-MENON (they/them/theirs) is an internationally acclaimed writer, performer, and public speaker. This writer and performance artist is fighting for a world where all people are Tragedy, death, loss and love are essentials we struggle to accept. A clip of Vaid-Menon's response as well as others from the episode has gone viral on Instagram. Big Break: This summer, Mx. In 2019 ALOK was invited to close the Business of Fashion Voices Conference with a keynote speech calling for the degendering of fashion and beauty industries. How do I express it? While youre here, head over to the Button store to check out our books and merch, Sabrina Benaim, Neil Hilborn, Phil Kaye, Andrea Gibson, & our newest release from Blythe Baird! Diversity and inclusivity are not just industry buzzwords. I yearned for a way of being that was more consistent with what I felt, not what I had been told. Support Button Poetry: http://bit.ly/buttonpatreonSubscribe to Button! In moments like these I think about how dangerous beauty can be. Alok Vaid-Menon: 'It's time for a new beauty paradigm'. And what I gained was my life back. In a viral clip from the podcast "Man Enough," the nonbinary poet and speaker said the gender binary hurts everyone not just trans people. It depends on each persons experience. And I ask myself, is this me, or is this someone else? Because there are things more important to me than that. And that dissonance, I think, is the crisis of our times. Why wouldnt you accept your own vibrancy and fluidity? Other factors that can affect speaker fees include the talent's schedule, market conditions, length of presentation, and the location of the event. And I think that I still practice that commitment for better or for worse. Let's figure it out. The activist wrote a book describing the rights of the gay community, which was released in 1995. And what I gained was my life back. Tragedy, death, loss and love are essentials we struggle to accept. We speak with internationally acclaimed, gender non-conforming writer, performer, and public speaker Alok Vaid-Menon, whose work speaks to themes of trauma, belonging, and the human condition. I was no longer an individual. 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. "Orange is the New Black" star Cox wrote, "@alokvmenon with the full sermon. There were years of my life that I didnt allow any audio or video recording of me whatsoever. Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. 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. No one else should be able to tell you who you are; thats for you to decide., This repression is something we first did to ourselves. Search instead in Creative? Its just so surreal to me because its kind of the things Ive been saying and doing for over a decade., Latest Project: Mx. In a world thats committed to making your life miserable, theres something audacious and beautiful about insisting on maintaining your humor and your delight.. Fill out a. Awaken is sponsored by Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, a print and digital magazine dedicated to making Buddhist teachings broadly available. And what does it mean to move from there? And thats what were seeing, unfortunately, in 2021. If youre hungry to continue the conversation, join us on Instagram at @RubinMuseum. Music for Awaken was created by Blue Dot Sessions, Podington Bear, Tendinite and Siddhartha Corthus. 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. I sacrificed so much. It became about being seen in a different way. Or is this someone else? Poets use carefully chosen language to connect with audiences, advocate for social causes, and convey emotion. Theres so many turning points. So if its like, oh, Im feeling shame that theres hair on my face, I close my eyes and I breathe in to that. Eyes on the Prize: Fashion plays an important role in Mx. Marginalized people learn from an early age that beauty is often about power. Stuart C. Wilson / Getty Images for The Business of Fashion, postcards that showed women dressed up as men. 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. IE 11 is not supported. All American Entertainment has successfully secured celebrity talent like Alok Vaid-Menon for clients worldwide for more than 15 years. But I dont know if thats honest about being alive. Heartbreaking, brutally AAE is one of the premier celebrity booking agencies and top keynote speakers bureaus in the world. You know, I think that theres a lot of misapprehension, miscomprehension about people like me. What a joy it is to be able to curate the sounds of my own soundtrack. 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. Its the inability to see that vibrancy, diversity, instability, collapse, rupture, serendipity are the natural orientations of being alive. This writer and performance artist is fighting for a world where all people are able to self-determine their gender. But I think what I really want to say is that, why do we endure such sophisticated and pronounced forms of existential and physical terror? And sometimes you wonder if you caused the fire. This writer and performance artist is fighting for a world where all people are able to self-determine their gender. We will send you a reminder message with your password. And then everyone loves it and theyre clapping. I am awake.. Normative beauty is insecure. 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: comedian. 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. Awaken is produced by the Rubin Museum of Art in collaboration with Sound Made Public. Support Button Poetry: http://bit.ly/buttonpatreonSubscribe to Button! Basically, there was a space heater that I didnt turn off, that my mattress got embroiled with. Vaid-Menon said. All American Entertainment (AAE) exclusively represents the interests of talent buyers, and does not claim to be the agency or management for any speaker or artist on this site. They've repressed their own gender nonconformity. And I know that the magic continues, because I was able to return home to it. Like I was interconnected with everything: the air, the people around me, the music. It felt like the body was a mere suggestion. And what a delight and what a joy it is to be foolish together. If youve never read one of Alok Vaid-Menons stunningly evocative poems or cutting social commentaries, youre missing out on the glory of all that is Alok. One of life's paradoxes is that we are encouraged to "be ourselves," but are often punished when we do. For so long I lived my life within society's constraints of who I was supposed to be. And I have never been good at waiting. Beauty, for me, is what the natural orientation of the universe is returning to, said Alok Vaid-Menon. The Museum is closed on Christmas,Thanksgiving, and New Year's Day. 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. Vaid-Menon is a gender nonconforming artist, writer and comedian who uses their work to redefine beauty standards, examine colonialism and explore fluid identity. WebAlok 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 Web89 quotes from Alok Vaid-Menon: 'we have been taught to fear the very things that have the potential to set us free', 'Its not just that you internalize the shame; rather, it becomes I sacrificed so much. And then I ask it until I can remember that the shame was not my own. In her eyes my journey was about hurting her, not about healing myself. 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. Take a look at Button's Privacy Policy. A Tibetan Buddhist Journey Toward Enlightenment. They can also speak "in-conversation" discussions with other artists and advocates. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Alok Vaid-Menon for an upcoming live or virtual event. And I want to show you, right, because the dance was not just a dance that was done in private. Accessing this beauty can feel impossible in a system that rewards conformity over creativity. If it was universal and just, it would not need to be constantly proven. 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. Urvashi Vaid: Wikipedia & Biography# WebFuneral by Alok Vaid-Menon. We do not handle requests for donation of time or media requests for interviews, and cannot provide celebrity contact information. Beauty is no longer in the eyes of the beholder. And in so many ways, the enduring forms of harassment that I experience are the universe asking me this question over and over again. And what most people dont know is that one of the tactics of colonization was the attempted cultural genocide of these populations. "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. 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 I realized that pain cant be eternal, because I can still make beauty from it. #lgbtqia #lgb, What do you do if youre telling a past story ab, Gender Spectrum: A Scientist Explains Why Gender Isnt Binary, 8 of the Easiest Ways To Get Into Real Estate in 2023. When I first told my grandmother I was transgender she responded, "How could you do this to me?" And I wanted so badly back then to be a dancer. ", "I dont need your help. It was a dance that I later staged at my school talent show, for better or for worse. In a secular world like the West, art is one of the only spaces for this mode of relating, this kind of unfurling. That response has deep historical roots, they said, noting that they've studied gender, sexuality and sociology at Stanford University. Criticism of Alok Vaid-Menon's (popular spoken word artist Because the thing is, you have revelations about yourself, but youre not ready yet to live those revelations. It didn't work. And people are saying thats a threat.". 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. When you experience us and our, our, and our way of being, you realize that there is an alternative way. And if youre enjoying this podcast, leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts. But Im less concerned with what I sacrificed as much as I am with what I gained. Are you willing to go back to living someone elses lie? Beauty, for me, is what the natural orientation of the universe is returning to, said Alok Vaid-Menon. And then people began to tell me that the way that I moved my body was wrong, because it was feminine. Is that they will fight tooth and nail desperately to justify our state-sanctioned disappearance and to make us the enemy. Yes, but what kind of beauty do I want to make? 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. One of the things that often gets levied our way is that people say that this is some sort of millennial fad, which couldnt be farther from the truth. 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. Vaid-Menon later said when they talk about challenging traditional gender ideology, cisgender men often feel threatened. And I had to basically stay at home and I started to really write. they told Heath. And then practice that. Explore Gaming. And so then I put this brown body in a pink shirt, and what did that do? We are happy to help! Transgender Model & Advocate; Founder of Gender Proud. 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. WebDo you know who you are outside of who you have been told you should be? And so actually I had a relationship with my body that I am still trying to remember, which was, I just moved to communicate. They've repressed their own creativity.". If you could exist without self-doubt or the feeling of shame, who would you be? I feel like every day is an artistic and spiritual endeavor to be what is. The serious power of Vaid-Menons art lies in their social justice advocacy, informed by their journey in a world that all too often punishes nonbinary people for simply being who they are. P.S. Because I value community and connection, lets connect Instagram ( @CadeHildreth ). 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 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. Could it be that we actually are practicing something thats so important and organic and necessary that its more important than that? to live in america is to blame thedead for their own death, notthe country for creating the veryconditions that already killed thembefore they caught up andmade things more clear, which is why when i tell theliberal who wears words like diplomacyand democrat that i will not pay his taxesbecause i do not want my coins to cause carnageand he calls me a terrorist(i understand), which is why when i tell himthat i do believe in monsters who comeout at night, call them men for shortand he tells me that i only dress femme because i want to be bashed(i understand), which is why when i tell himthat the very women who started our movementare still being murdered in the same cities wheremen are getting married and calling it momentousand he gasps: that happens here? 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. "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.' Alok V Menon on Fashion's Genderless Future | #BoFVOICES 2019, Alok Creating Safe Spaces For Trans & Gender-Nonconforming People, Challenging the Gender Binary with Alok Vaid-Menon | Be You, Funeral - Alok Vaid-Menon | Spoken Fest 2019, Beyond The Gender Binary (pocket Change Collective). And so when I outfit myself in my best form of myself, its because Im trying to receive divinity. Because before I could speak, I could gesture. 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. Diversity and inclusivity are not just industry buzzwords. Be the first to learn about new releases! And that feels like a spiritual practice. Like, Ive experienced this goodness, this rightness, this alignment, this beauty, why would I not want other people to be part of it? WebThat everyone is at once capable of receiving and enacting violence, including little girls. Is this my own gender? . We are not trying to establish a new beauty standard. And if youre enjoying this podcast, leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts. The work of soul searching came to me through being an artist. What kind of joy do I want to cultivate? Is this me? Showing Editorial results for alok_vaid menon. And I really want to say that art was that for me. Its the willful unnoticing. We deserve more options. And what I really appreciate about the story is it requires us to kind of move out, zone out, zoom out of just like an interpersonal interaction and see the world from a different perspective, and be like, what, from the perspective of a tree or from the wind, is this conflict? The driving force of Alok Vaid-Menons work is centered around creating safe spaces for trans and gender-nonconforming people when they perform, create shows or curate events. Mara is often described as representing the inner forces of illusion and ignorance. Our agents find the right fit for your event, Full access to all speakers & celebrities, Your personal Logistics Manager who takes care of all event details. 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. To have relationship with our beauty thats our own beauty? Fill out a, Booking fees for Alok Vaid-Menon, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. . 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. They performed this poem as a part of a recent appearance on The Laura Flanders Show. but instead i will sit here and wait until the train starts up again.i will exit the car without saying goodbye to her.i will walk up the stairs to the boy outside with the smile that makes me feel less lonely. 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. The word artist is one of possibility, not constriction, they said. "I wish I could explain my existence as a non-binary person with this clarity," one person wrote. To which I would ask, why wouldnt you do this? Next Thing: This month, Mx. An insistence on radiant beauty, despite all of the vapidity and the vehement violence. Show more. Beauty is about looking like yourself, even in the face of social and cultural repression. Because thats the substance of life itself. 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. I would tell everyone, Im going to grow up and Im going to be a dancer. I now know that there are as many ways to be beautiful as there are people. poet. The fear is not of what could be, or what was, its the fear of what is. 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. So its not that were waiting for a better world, but were instantiating that world, with a way that we show up in space. '' star Cox wrote, `` how could alok vaid menon funeral poem do this to me? attempted genocide... Cultural genocide of these populations radiant beauty, despite all of the vapidity and the vehement violence should., `` how could you do this learn from an early age that beauty is no longer in world! To accept with the full sermon is an artistic and spiritual endeavor to foolish. Were years of my own and what a delight and what a joy it is be! The Rubin Museum of Art in collaboration with Sound Made public because before I could explain my existence as non-binary. 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