Tag Archives: lgbt noise

Y-Lead?: Young Female Leaders in Irish Society

Posted on by corkfeminista

Y-Lead?: Young Female Leaders in Irish Society is  a film series  organised by the Irish Feminist Network with support from the National Women’s Council of Ireland and made possible by the Women’s Fund at the Community Foundation of Ireland.Videos were filmed and edited by Sam Whelan-Curtin and directed by Madeline Hawke.

Over the next few weeks we will be posting all videos (there are 6) here on the blog to highlight the wonderful, inspiring work being done by young women across the country! One video even features two CF supporters (Laura Harmon & Audrey Ellard Walsh)! I am so proud to be able to call all of these young women my peers and look forward to seeing what we all achieve over the coming years.

First up: Áine Ní Choisdealbha has been skating with the Dublin Roller Girls, Ireland’s first roller derby league, since March 2010 and is a member of their travel team as well as having duties on the league’s PR and marketing committee. Neither athletic nor much of a sports fan before roller derby, Peppy’s involvement with her league and passion for derby illustrate the power of sport in helping young women engage with their communities and with each other, preparing them for leadership roles both on and off the track.

For more information on Dublin Roller Girls and to
get involved check out:

http://dublinrollergirls.wordpress.com

Second Up: Gillian McInerney heard about BeLonG To at age 19 and came out as gay soon after joining. Wanting to give back to the group which gave her the confidence to embrace her sexuality, she became a youth leader and got involved in the The Ladybirds a BeLonG To group for young Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender women in Dublin. She also
participated in a postcard campaign promoting LBT womens mental and sexual health. She is currently training to be a youth worker.

For more information on BeLonG To and to get involved check out:
www.belongto.org

Next up: Orla Tinsley is a 24 year old campaigner and journalist from Newbridge, Co.Kildare. She started campaigning for the rights of people with Cystic Fibrosis, an illness which she also has, in 2005. She has written numerous pieces on the topics of facilities and transplants in The Irish Times and her Memoir : Salty Baby is out September 2011.

For more information on Cystic Fibrosis in Ireland and to get involved check out:
www.cfireland.ie

To read some of Orla’s articles check out: www.irishtimes.com and search ‘Orla Tinsley’.

Number Four on the list: Anna Cosgrave is a 21 year old student and aspiring
entrepreneur who is currently attending Trinity College Dublin. She has been involved in a number of college initiatives including being the Speakers Convenor for the Trinity Entreprenerual society, Events Coordinator for the Trinity Arts Festival as well as being on the CSC Executive board. In addition to her college pursuits Anna has been active in other community events including interning with the Dublin Web Summit and organising a mini-monthly festival at the Bernard Shaw in Dublin.

For more information on social entrepreneurship and to get involved check out:
www.socialentrepreneurs.ie

Fifth video: Vilma Barbosa is the current Miss Africa Ireland. Born in
Portugal, Vilma moved to Ireland when she was 14. For as long as she can remember, Vilma has always had an interest in being a model, musician and actress. In following her dream of becoming a model, Vilma entered the Miss Africa Ireland contest in 2010 wanting to challenge traditional perceptions of beauty. In winning the contest Vilma has been able to perform as an ambassador and role model for young African and migrant women in Ireland.

For more information on issues relating to African and Migrant women in Ireland and to get involved check out: www.akidwa.ie

Last but not least: Laura Harmon gained her interest in activism after attending the LGBT Noise March for Marriage in 2009. Following this, she ran for and was elected as Campaigns Officer and Auditor for UCC LGBT Society. In addition to becoming further involved in the LGBT society, Laura got elected as the first LGBT Rights Officer for UCC Students’ Union. Her interest in activism soon spread to other social justice issues and inspired her to restart UCC Amnesty International Society last January. Laura has been awarded numerous awards for her work in student activism.

For more information on student campaigns in your college and to get involved check out: www.usi.ie

‘LGBT Love – Why Civil Marriage is a Feminist Issue’

Posted on by corkfeminista

Cork Feminista

‘LGBT Love – Why Civil Marriage is a Feminist Issue’

Meeting Notes, 5th March 2010

 

Cork Feminista hosted a 2-hour discussion on same-sex marriage and why it’s a feminist issue on Saturday 19th February 2011 from 2pm– 4pm in 8 North Mall.  We had been receiving feedback from Cork Feminista members asking us to look at LGBT issues, and we thought Valentine’s Day – the ultimate day symbolising heterosexual love – would be the perfect opportunity to look at the issue of love and commitment from an LGBT perspective and why feminists – especially straight feminists – should be campaigning around the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Ireland.

 

Our speakers were Hazel Cullen of LGBT Noise, Moninne Griffith of Marriage Equality, and Dr. Angela O’Connoll, Researcher.  Our other scheduled speaker, Toddy Hogan of LINC (Lesbians in Cork), sent her apologies.  Each speaker had about 20 minutes to present some personal and professional reflections on the issue of marriage for same-sex couples.  Hazel Cullen began her talk with a personal anecdote, about a man coming up to her in the street at the end of a night out, and when she told him she wasn’t interested and was gay, his response was, ‘But you’ll never have a family’.  She then spoke about the limitations of civil partnership, and why we must continue to push for marriage.  Moninne Griffith spoke about Marriage Equality’s work on the KAL case (Zappone and Gilligan v Revenue) and campaigning for full and equal rights for same-sex families, and also related a personal anecdote about issues relating to the assumption of parental rights in heterosexual marriage – i.e. that even if you are separated from your spouse, they are deemed to be the parent of any child you have while still married.  Dr. Angela O’Connell, who conducted her Ph.D. research on ten lesbian couples and their families, spoke about how marriage – though important in promoting fairness – will not ensure that same-sex families get many of the rights and privileges they want and need.  She emphasised that although the push for marriage equality is important, we must continue to push for rights of families and children – in or out of marriage – to be protected.

 

We had a respectable crowd, who had very thought-provoking comments and questions, allowing for an engaging and even critically challenging discussion of the issue of marriage. Issues relating to ‘family’ framed the entire discussion, because the rights of same-sex couples pertaining to their children has remained entirely unprotected in the current Civil Partnership legislation.  The issue of why feminists were often critical of the fight for marriage equality – because marriage is considered a patriarchal institution – came up.  One person commented afterwards that it was an amazing experience to be able to speak about same-sex marriage in a ‘safe space’, where campaigning for the right to equality didn’t equate a full-fledged embrace of the patriarchal institution of marriage.

 

We were delighted with meeting, and thought many incredibly important points came out about the need to continue fighting, and why feminists need to be involved in the campaign to promote and protect the needs and rights of non-normative families, no matter whether they promote ‘marriage’ as an institution or not.  Cork Feminista are hoping to schedule a follow-up meeting on these issues sometime in the late Spring/early Summer, as Katherine Zappone and Ann-Louise Gilligan have expressed their interest in coming down to Cork to talk about the results of their Supreme Court case.