Filmmaker and activist Beverley Ditsie receives honorary doctorate
Summary
TLDRThe video script recounts the significance of the first pride march, highlighting the empowerment it brought to the LGBTQ+ community by affirming their legitimate existence and fighting against shame. It details the speaker's involvement with an international group of lesbians advocating for global human rights at the United Nations, particularly focusing on the struggle for lesbian rights within the women's rights discussion. The narrative also touches on the challenges of advocating in a male-dominated conference and the speaker's pivotal speech that resonated with the audience, signifying a shift in perception. The speaker reflects on the current state of their country, expressing concerns about societal issues such as unemployment, poverty, and substance abuse, while emphasizing the importance of love, acceptance, and unity within the LGBTQ+ community.
Takeaways
- 🏳️🌈 The first pride march was a significant event that validated the existence and legitimacy of the LGBTQ+ community, challenging the societal shame and erasure they faced.
- 🌍 The speaker was part of an international group of lesbians working with the United Nations on global human rights and women's rights issues.
- 📖 The group participated in the NGO forum in Beijing, discussing the 'platform for action'—a document addressing various forms of discrimination against women, particularly in marginalized countries.
- 🔍 The conference was not solely for women but included a majority of male representatives from African countries, highlighting the irony of men discussing women's rights.
- 🗣️ The speaker volunteered to speak for five minutes at the plenary to advocate for lesbian rights as human rights, influenced by South Africa's first black president's stance on sexual orientation inclusion.
- 🎤 The impact of the speech was profound, with a room full of men in shock, indicating a shift in perception and awareness about LGBTQ+ rights.
- 🌐 The speaker now lives in a country where freedom is not fully realized, with high unemployment and poverty, contrasting the initial hope and vision for the future.
- 👥 The speaker emphasizes the strength in numbers and diversity of the LGBTQ+ community, and the importance of resilience in the face of adversity.
- 🚫 There is a concern for the mental health and substance abuse within the LGBTQ+ community, reflecting the ongoing struggles despite progress in rights.
- 💔 The speaker expresses concern over judgment and discrimination within the LGBTQ+ community itself, highlighting the need for internal unity and support.
- 🏠 The importance of family and inner circle acceptance is underscored as the most crucial factor for an individual's well-being in the LGBTQ+ community.
Q & A
What was the significance of the first pride march according to the speaker?
-The first pride march was significant because it was the first time many people realized that their existence was legitimate and could not be erased or shamed away.
Why did the speaker feel that pride marches were initially exciting and frightening?
-The speaker felt that pride marches were exciting and frightening because they were a new and unknown outcome, and many participants, including those hiding their identities, did not know what the consequences would be.
What role did the international group of lesbians play in the speaker's involvement with the United Nations?
-The international group of lesbians, which the speaker was a part of, worked with the United Nations on a global human rights and women's rights level, preparing for the NGO forum in Beijing.
What was the purpose of the NGO forum in Beijing mentioned in the script?
-The NGO forum in Beijing was a precursor to the governmental discussions where various clauses on women's discrimination, particularly in marginalized countries, were discussed before the heads of states met to finalize the platform for action.
Why was the conference in Beijing not just a women's conference according to the speaker?
-The conference was not just a women's conference because it included a predominance of men, including African heads of states and representatives, discussing women's rights and issues.
What was the platform for action and why was it significant?
-The platform for action was a document under discussion that included various terms and clauses on women's discrimination. It was significant because it aimed to address and rectify these issues globally.
Why was the speaker chosen to speak at the plenary session about lesbian rights?
-The speaker was chosen because they were one of the few non-white, non-European individuals present, and they could leverage the support of their country's first black president, who advocated for the inclusion of sexual orientation in human rights.
What impact did the speaker's speech at the plenary session have on the audience?
-The speaker's speech had a profound impact, causing a shift in the room's atmosphere from being packed and noisy to dead quiet, indicating that something significant had happened.
How does the speaker describe the current state of their country?
-The speaker describes their country as being in a bad place, with people realizing that the freedom they have is cosmetic, and they are facing issues like unemployment and dire poverty.
What concerns does the speaker have about the LGBTQ community's mental health?
-The speaker is concerned about substance abuse, including drug and alcohol use, and the judgment and discrimination within the LGBTQ community, emphasizing the importance of love, acceptance, and support from one's inner circle.
What message does the speaker convey about the importance of family and community support within the LGBTQ community?
-The speaker emphasizes that if one's family and inner circle love, accept, and defend who they are, the opinions of others matter less, highlighting the importance of a supportive environment for mental well-being.
Outlines
🏳️🌈 The Birth of Pride and the Fight for Legitimacy
This paragraph recounts the significance of the first pride march, highlighting its impact on the LGBTQ+ community's self-perception and the broader society's understanding of their legitimacy. It emphasizes the initial fear and shame many felt due to societal pressures, and how the pride movement helped to dispel these feelings. The speaker also discusses their involvement with an international group of lesbians working on global human rights at the United Nations, particularly focusing on the 'platform for action' document and the challenges faced in advocating for LGBTQ+ rights within a predominantly male-dominated conference setting.
🗣️ Advocacy and the Power of Speech at a Pivotal Conference
The speaker reflects on their unexpected role in advocating for lesbian rights at a crucial conference, where they were one of the few non-white, non-European representatives present. They describe the tension and shock in the room as they made their case, and how this moment signified a shift in perception. The paragraph also touches on the current state of their home country, expressing concern for the people's mental health and the issues of substance abuse and discrimination within the LGBTQ+ community. The speaker stresses the importance of love, acceptance, and support from one's inner circle as a means to withstand external judgment.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Pride March
💡Legitimacy
💡Discrimination
💡Global Human Rights
💡NGO Forum
💡Platform for Action
💡Lesbian Rights
💡Inclusion
💡Mental Health
💡Substance Abuse
💡Diversity
Highlights
The first pride march was a momentous occasion, marking a shift in the fight for legitimacy and acceptance of LGBTQ+ existence.
Before the pride movement, many LGBTQ+ individuals lived in shame, internalizing the message that their existence was wrong.
The pride march was both exciting and frightening, as it was the first time many people publicly asserted their identities.
The speaker was part of an international group of lesbians working with the United Nations on global human rights and women's rights issues.
The group spent two weeks in Beijing at the NGO forum discussing the platform for action, a document addressing discrimination against women.
The conference was not solely a women's conference, but included 90% men discussing women's rights and issues.
The speaker volunteered to speak at the plenary to convince the audience that lesbian rights are human rights.
The speaker's speech had a significant impact, as evidenced by the reactions of the audience, including shock and excitement.
The speaker did not initially realize the historical significance of their speech, but later recognized the shift it represented.
The speaker now lives in a country facing unemployment and poverty, realizing that the freedom they fought for was cosmetic.
Despite the current challenges, the speaker remains hopeful, emphasizing the strength found in diversity and resilience.
The speaker expresses concern for mental health, substance abuse, and discrimination within the LGBTQ+ community.
The importance of family acceptance and support is highlighted as a key factor in overcoming external discrimination.
The speaker calls for unity and love within the LGBTQ+ community, recognizing the shared struggle against discrimination.
The transcript provides a personal account of the speaker's experiences and insights on the LGBTQ+ rights movement and its challenges.
Transcripts
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
the first pride march was a momentous
occasion for for all of us I think
because it was the first time that a lot
of where people realize that there is
actually a legitimate fight and that our
existence is a legitimate existence that
cannot be erased or shamed away because
before then people were living in shape
you know people we've been told so much
and for so long that we are wrong to
exist that we were okay to live in shame
but in actual fact you know when pride
happened and a lot of us were marching
down the street for the first time
including those who had paper bags on
their heads you know and there were not
a lot of people were like trying to hide
their identities but it was a first and
we didn't know what was going to be the
outcome of that so it was as exciting as
it was frightening
[Music]
okay so the process was not as simple as
me just deciding to speak I was with a
international group of lesbians that had
been working with the United Nations on
a kind of a global Human Rights level
right and a global feminists and women's
rights level and so we'd spent two weeks
before then in the NGO forum in Beijing
before the government's and the heads of
states met to discuss what was then
called the platform for action and a
platform for action was a document that
had all these different clauses on the
different ways in which women are
discriminated against particularly in
Africa and in other marginalized
countries including the toggle Western
minute over North as well so the
platform for action was a document under
discussion and in the platform for
action they had records on every clause
in every term in every word that was a
in dispute
[Music]
that conference was not a woman's
conference it was a conference
it has a very big big big difference to
just being a woman's conference because
had it been a woman's conference it
would have been a predominance of women
having conversation about women's issues
but it was a conference only women and
what that meant is that a lot of the
African heads of states for example and
a lot of the representatives from
African countries were mostly men so we
had 90 percent men sitting in one big
conference room discussing women's
rights and women's issues and saying
these are the rights we were given these
are the rights we won't
[Music]
when we found out that we could have
five minutes to try and convince the
plenary that
lesbian rights a woman's rights and
women's rights are human rights new
technology and now the question was who
was good
who was going to do
and around that time a lot of your black
your African your non-white and
non-european and then Americans had
already left I was one of the few that
was still there during that time and so
then the question was who would make a
bigger impact one it was 1995 so the
context is that we have a first black
president who is loved worldwide who is
seen as a saint who then also speaks of
the inclusion of sexual orientation in
our own bill of rights move speaks of
non discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation so already that was a
in so it was very easy for me to say
look we already have a president that
supports us so it was very easy to then
volunteer
[Music]
I did not know what impact it is going
to have I did not know
I didn't even know that I was first I
didn't know with me yesterday I think if
I'd known I probably would have done or
maybe I would I don't know I didn't know
all I knew was that somebody's got to
make a speech and I woke up and then I
remember you know seeing one of the ANC
members as I looked up while I was
making a speech
Cheryl careless and I remember looking
up and having somebody cheering and let
being very excited and then I scanned
the rest of the room and there were all
these men in particular who was sitting
there in shock and it is in that moment
that I think I knew that sometimes
there's a shift something's happening
because also it was a it was packed in
the plenary but then it went dead quiet
probably not I live in a different
country now I live in a country where we
are not so joyous about the fact that we
are free because now we realize actually
the freedom was cosmetic people are just
as unemployed if not more people are
living in dire poverty we are in a
really radically um it's we're in a bad
place
you know I can English the size in
English science but we are not in a very
nice condition right now in our country
and so I suppose I would be speaking
from a place of not so much of the
positives I was speaking from a positive
space or speaking from a space of a
country and a precedent that had hoped
we had a vision of the future and the
vision of the future is not what it is
[Music]
look we have the strength in numbers our
diversity is a strength our resilience
is a strong to me that
it's a beautiful thing that that is so I
see self away
the ok-ish to be out and about
need to be quick and I say ish because
we are not necessarily
and some clouds
[Music]
I am concerned about our our health our
mental health in particular I am
concerned about the drug and alcohol
abuse and substance abuse I am concerned
about how we are abusive
how we judge and discriminate each other
I am because those things concern me
because we are after all one family of
people that are discriminated against or
enough of everybody else you know I love
and care for the entire spectrum of
LGBTQ I and I meet that but people don't
realize is that if your family if your
inner circle loves accepts and
acknowledges who you are and defends you
other people out there can go back in
they cannot show because if you are
loved and accepted weight matters to you
the most what does what does the world
matter
[Music]
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