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1⃣ What do you think is the most important cause LGBTQ+ people should fight for in the coming years?
Two very important issues come to mind: first, trans rights. In between damaging debates on whether trans women are women and endless waiting lists for access to health and medical services stretching to infinity, we can and should remember that the T belongs firmly in the LGBTQ+ community, and that transphobia has no place both within our movement and more at large in any part of society. Second, homelessness among LGBTQ+ youths: the Albert Kennedy Trust, who does excellent work to tackle the issue, recently published a report detailing the harassment and discrimination experienced by young LGBTQ+ people. Once more, trans young people are disproportionately discriminated against. We should all support AKT and other organisations campaigning to end homelessness in our community.
2⃣ What is your favourite song/book/movie/art piece/performance/tv show with a plot, character or theme related to LGBTQ+ lives?
Last year I watched Limbo and I really liked it! It is a beautiful movie about the experience of refugees waiting to hear about their asylum claims in a remote island in Scotland. Half beautifully funny, half heartbreaking, it’s definitely one of my favourite movies of the past few years. Farhad, one of the refugees and a big fan of Freddie Mercury, conveys a small (and funny) queer version of the overreaching questions behind the whole movie around identity, origins, and where we are going. Endless landscapes, chickens and a bit of music bring it all together for a very enjoyable and touching watching experience.
3⃣ How does your LGBTQ+ identity influence your work/studies at UCL?
I lived my best queer life back in my days as a student at UCL doing a lot of activism with my friends from the UCLU LGBT+ forum (who I’m still very happily in touch with to this day!). My favourite thing we organised was a series of talks and easy discussions about really broad topics including coming out and identities. In many of these events we got to meet other LGBT+ students in London and grew stronger in our newfound friendships. I will never forget hearing from many people attending these events and saying they found the strength to live more freely and to be happier to be themselves. I still bring the queer to many things I do now as a researcher: from my research interest in understanding why humans “care” and help each other (which I truly believe comes from my experience as a member of the LGBTQ+ world), to my efforts to build a stronger LGBTQ+ community in our Department. The queer never stops.