Dancing Gender: Gesture and Identity among Native American Two Spirits
This presentation explores how Native American gay, lesbian, and transgender people (Two-Spirits or GLBT) find culturally acceptable ways of conveying their gender and sexual identity through dance and performance. Using photographs, clips and over 10 years of research, the presentation shows how ethnicity, gender and sexuality, converge through performed gestures and movement amongst the Native American Two-Spirit Community.
Presentation and Q&A with Max Carocci
Dr. Max Carocci has conducted research among Two Spirits since 1991 in several US cities. On the subject he published in 2010: ‘Textiles of Healing: Native American AIDS Memorial Quilts’ Textile: the Journal of Cloth and Culture; in 2009: ‘Visualizing Gender in Plains Indian Pictographic Art’ American Indian Culture and Research Journal; and in 2004: ‘Reconfiguring Gender in Contemporary Urban Pow-wows’ in The Challenges of Native American Studies B. Saunders and L. Zuyderhoudt (eds.), Leuven: Leuven University Press. His forthcoming publications on the subject are: ‘Native Americans, Europeans, and the Gay Imagination’ in Tribal Fantasies D. Stirrup (Ed.), Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press (2013), and ‘Sodomy, Ambiguity, and Feminisation: Homosexual Meanings and the Male Native American Body’ in Indigenous Bodies J. Fear-Segal and R. Tillett (eds.) SUNY Press (2013).
Tonight’s event includes a photo and art exhibition illustrating sport, dance and play in diverse landscapes from concrete jungles to remote highlands where people come together to celebrate movement.
Book your ticket here: http://bodiesinmotiontwospirits.eventbrite.com
Tickets: Free for RAI Members and Fellows, £3 Students/Concessions, £5 General Admission
* Tickets include a glass of wine, refreshments, cheese and crackers.
The Royal Anthropological Institute Presents:
BODIES IN MOTION
A series of evening events and exhibitions that explores the relationship between human movement, space and expression
Place: The RAI, 50 Fitzroy St, London W1T-5BT
Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm
Dates: Friday 13th April, Tuesday 17th April, Wednesday 18th April, Thursday 26th April and Monday 30th April
The way in which we move our bodies can express our multiple identities as well as our social and cultural backgrounds. Whether dancing, walking or playing sports, movement can be an affirmation of society’s norms, a celebration of community cohesion and a vehicle for expressing national and international affiliations. Equally, human movement can be a means of resistance demonstrating social and political unrest or an avenue for innovation and cultural change.
Bodies in Motion, is an initiative that explores the relationship between human movement, space and expression. Using photography, ethnographic film, art and presentations, the project aims to engage the public in exploring the meaning of movement in urban, digital and natural landscapes.
Book your ticket for all events and receive a 20% discount- http://bodiesinmotion.eventbrite.com
