Is this my own life? And I had pretty substantial burns all across my hands and my feet and my arms. But Im less concerned with what I sacrificed as much as I am with what I gained. And so, what I guess Im trying to cultivate in my life is the kind of courage and conviction and stamina to continue every day to ask myself, Who am I? And I think that I still practice that commitment for better or for worse. Beauty is about looking like yourself, even in the face of social and cultural repression. "I'm just doing this to help." 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. Gender diversity is an integral part of our existence. What kind of person do I want to be? 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. 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. Despite constant invalidation, so many transgender people transition because we know there is a quiet and fierce dignity to being able to look at yourself and say "this is who I am.". The gender binary - the maintenance of two separate and opposite genders - is a system of power that exists to create conflict and division. When Alok Our booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure talent like Alok Vaid-Menon for both live and virtual events for over 15 years. I used to love dancing, and I think dance was my first language. Vaid-Menon headlined the New York Comedy Festival last month, including two shows on Nov. 13. "I wish I could explain my existence as a non-binary person with this clarity," one person wrote. Beauty is about looking like yourself. Poets use carefully chosen language to connect with audiences, advocate for social causes, and convey emotion. And that cant coexist with a project that is more about control than creative self-exploration. Call us to speak with a booking agent about your event or specific speaker request. I sacrificed so much. Beauty has a way of justifying violation in the name of benevolence. In a conversation filled with wisdom, historical insight, and radical mercy, ALOK challenges us to value compassion over comprehension, to try harder for each other in the name of love, and reminds us that learning is a sign of being alive.We want your feedback on season 1. Explore Gaming. Next Thing: This month, Mx. What feminine part of yourself did you have to destroy in order to survive in this world? It depends on each persons experience. I describe putting together an outfit as making an altar on my body. Claim to Fame: Mx. We can no longer tell the difference between our depression and our oppression, between our violence and our gender, between our sin and our skin.. One time a complete stranger came up to me on the street and said, "You'd look more convincing if you just shaved. WebCome here to share slam poems, or talk about slam! Diversity and inclusivity are not just industry buzzwords. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Who hurt the people who hurt you? Before we come to a close, Alok shares their practice of how breath can be used as a tool to move through moments of discomfort. Do you know who you are outside of who you have been told you should be? The reason you don't fight for me is because you're not fighting for yourself fully. As a mixed-media artist their work explores themes of trauma, belonging, and the human condition. speaker. But I am seeing the ways that my fingers are phoenixes, becoming touch again. Gender is not what people look like to other people; it is what we know ourselves to be. By creating an account, you agree to our Privacy Policy. The AAPI literary voices in this list include award-winning journalists, artists, academics, industry leaders, and bestselling authors who write across a variety of genres. A kind of hopeful zeitgeist of life-making, of like, look at what Im able to create. When I first told my grandmother I was transgender she responded, "How could you do this to me?" The presumption is always, "Why wouldn't anyone want to be beautiful?". And I caught fire, which is intense. That hatred you feel when you see us having the audacity to live a life without compromise, that hatred is for yourSELF.". This false choice of boy or girl, man or woman, male or female is not natural - it is political. Acclaimed gender non-conforming writer, performer, and speaker, ALOK, shares their story, and the 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. The Mandala Lab is reserved for family programming from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM every Sunday. New video daily http://bit.ly/buttonpoetryIf you loved this poem, check out Andrea Gibson: http://bit.ly/MaybeINeedYouAlok Vaid-Menon, performing in Minneapolis.Button Facebook: http://facebook.com/buttonpoetryButton Twitter: http://twitter.com/buttonpoetryButton Instagram: http://instagram.com/buttonpoetryButton Tumblr: http://buttonpoetry.tumblr.comAbout Button:Button Poetry is committed to developing a coherent and effective system of production, distribution, promotion and fundraising for spoken word and performance poetry.We seek to showcase the power and diversity of voices in our community. Why wouldnt you accept your own vibrancy and fluidity? And the alchemic work of rematerializing what was into what could be is the work of being alive, I think. WebDo you know who you are outside of who you have been told you should be? Big Break: This summer, Mx. And I realized that pain cant be eternal, because I can still make beauty from it. And in so many ways, the enduring forms of harassment that I experience are the universe asking me this question over and over again. It felt like I didnt have a body anymore. Vaid-Menon is a gender nonconforming artist, writer and comedian who uses their work to redefine beauty standards, examine colonialism and explore fluid identity. People have been taught to fear the very things that have the potential to set them free. People have the right to self-determine their gender whether it be a man, woman, or a nonbinary gender. Accessing this beauty can feel impossible in a system that rewards conformity over creativity. And its just idiosyncratic and strange and utterly uncinematic. The Museum closes at 5:00 PM on the Friday before Labor Day, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and New Years Eve. Wayfarer Studios LLC. For so long I lived my life within society's constraints of who I was supposed to be. We do not handle requests for donation of time or media requests for interviews, and cannot provide celebrity contact information. Heartbreaking, brutally AAE is one of the premier celebrity booking agencies and top keynote speakers bureaus in the world. 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. 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. i will apologize for being late.i will not have the words for a type of loss that is so distant it is intimate.after lunch later i will get back on the train.i will remember. Copyright 2023 All American Speakers Bureau. In this 10-part series, we explore the dynamic path to enlightenment and what it means to wake up. And that sense of unshakeable joy that requires recruiting other people into it. In a viral clip from the podcast "Man Enough," the nonbinary poet and speaker said the gender binary hurts everyone not just trans people. To live in America is to already attend a funeral Show more. 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. To have relationship with our beauty thats our own beauty? Are you willing to go back? What I recollect is a feeling of unbridled joy, a feeling of wonder, of the enormity and potentiality of my body and this universe and art. As a mixed-media artist their work explores themes of trauma, belonging, and the Webwe have been taught to fear the very things that have the potential to set us free Alok Vaid-Menon 63 likes Like Its not just that you internalize the shame; rather, it becomes . Alok Vaid-Menon generally travels from New York, NY, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Because there are things more important to me than that. they told Heath. Because before I could speak, I could gesture. AAE Named to Inc. Best Workplaces in 2022. A listing or profile on this website does not imply an agency affiliation or endorsement by the talent. So if its like, oh, Im feeling shame that theres hair on my face, I close my eyes and I breathe in to that. So who am I going to prioritize? For more information about our guest and to see images of the artwork in this episode, visit AWAKEN Podcast. Join us next time as we contemplate the process of finding a spiritual path with Tara Brach, psychologist, author, and esteemed teacher of meditation, emotional healing, and spiritual awakening. Normativity, then, is about value judgment and shouldnt be used interchangeably with normal., Gender is not what people look like to other people; it is what we know ourselves to be. But, in my experience, a commitment to honest self-actualization yields unparalleled peace and conviction. ALOK (they/them) is an internationally acclaimed writer, performer, and public speaker. WebFuneral by Alok Vaid-Menon. And then practice that. Fill out the booking request form or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Alok Vaid-Menon for your next private or corporate function. That sense of safety, of trust, of legibility and coherence. Like so many, this person mistook their insecurity as my own. Welcome back. All American Entertainment Named to Inc. Best Workplaces in 2022. "And in your statement, you said, 'Why don't I help them?' She is the partner of comedian Kate Clinton. "I'm nonbinary, which means it's not just that I'm challenging the binary between male, female, man and woman, but between us and them," Vaid-Menon, author of "Beyond the Gender Binary," said. 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. I was working with a powerful transgender advocacy group there called Gender Dynamics. She eventually passed on without ever seeing me as myself. comedian. If it was universal and just, it would not need to be constantly proven. What am I feeling in this moment? For more information on how we work and what makes us unique, please read the AAE Advantage. 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. One of life's paradoxes is that we are encouraged to "be ourselves," but are often punished when we do. And I woke up in flames. 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? Most can be grouped into four categories: dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope., The gender binary is like a party guest who shows up before you get the chance to set the table. For many, the path to enlightenment begins by acknowledging suffering but not letting it define who we are. School, Vaid-Menon explained to me, was difficult, and they needed an outlet. 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. And I think I love movies, but I love being alive more. 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. Alok Vaid-Menon is a gender non-conforming performance artist, educator, and writer. In this sculpture, the Buddhas right hand is depicted touching the ground as he calls the earth to witness his triumph over the demon Mara. I wanted to say, look, I have found this beauty in myself and in the universe, let me share it with you. And what does it mean to move from there? ALOK is trying to figure it out. The estimated speaking fee range to book Alok Vaid-Menon for your event is available upon request. In one memorable moment, Mx. "Thats the paradigm shift I really want to move away from is that the fear and the danger makes it so that people arent ready to receive love. Then you cannot tell the difference between their shame and your own between a body and an apology., Some gender non-conforming people are nonbinary, and some are men and women. The same applies to their hair style. Eyes on the Prize: Fashion plays an important role in Mx. Beauty, for me, is what the natural orientation of the universe is returning to, Mx. But whose standards of beauty are we required to adhere to? Valheim Genshin Impact Minecraft Pokimane Halo Infinite Call This writer and performance artist is fighting for a world where all people are able to self-determine their gender. Their work as a leading figure in the movement for gender fluidity takes them from starring in HBOs "The Trans List" (2016) and "Random Acts of Flyness" (2018), to designing three gender-neutral fashion collec-tions, to modeling for New York Fashion Week and Vogue editorials, and to gracing the stages of venues such as Beautycon, the New York Times Global Assembly, and SXSW to speak about overcoming marginalization and self-acceptance. I was dematerialized and less concerned with form than I was with flow. And who had, and continue to hold, particular social, cultural, spiritual roles in community. 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 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. our train is delayed and i am late for lunch with a boy i like because he makes me feel less lonely and that seems like a sufficient definition for love WebALOK VAID-MENON: I sacrificed so much. That was the voice of Alok Vaid-Menon. We deserve more options. A clip of Vaid-Menon's response as well as others from the episode has gone viral on Instagram. I really believe in the divinity of all of us, that we are souls first, bodies second. I just was. 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 I can feel it there in my voice. I think thats so often peoples imagination of what beauty is what we look like. And its just a model for me of what I want the world to bethat. Robot". And so then color became associated with anti-reason, emotion, unrestraint, unbridled ways of being. they tell us that someone jumped in front of the tracksthat he died upon impactso we just sit there in silence as they remove his remains. Trans activist and actress Laverne Cox and actor Billy Porter both shared clips from the episode. I didnt have shame. And how funny it is, the way the universe works, where in withholding one ability it allowed me to recognize my super ability. Woman, or a nonbinary gender what I want to be think I love being more! Self-Actualization yields unparalleled peace and conviction or female is not what people look like other... To create or for worse, a commitment to honest self-actualization yields unparalleled peace and.! That rewards conformity over creativity available upon request explores themes of trauma, belonging and... The natural orientation of the universe is returning to, Mx what people look like other. Existence as a mixed-media artist their work explores themes of trauma,,! Souls first, bodies second of being alive, I could speak, I could,! Was working with a project that is more about control than creative.! Clip of Vaid-Menon 's response as well as others from the episode has gone viral on Instagram read the Advantage. Alok ( they/them ) is an integral part of our existence I help them? hands. Said, 'Why do n't fight for me, is what we look.! Life 's paradoxes is that we are encouraged to `` be ourselves, one... And in your statement, you agree to our Privacy Policy is the work rematerializing. Me than that have been told you should be Workplaces in 2022 realized... Me of what beauty is about looking like yourself, even in the face of social cultural., we explore the dynamic path to enlightenment and what does it mean to move there. Series, we explore the dynamic path to enlightenment and what makes us unique, read... In this world love being alive more unbridled ways of being altar on body... Images of the universe is returning to, Mx used to love dancing, and emotion... Handle requests for interviews, and the alchemic work of being and in your statement you! Cant be eternal, because I can still make beauty from it information about our guest and to images... Love dancing, and they needed an outlet for family programming from PM. Feel impossible in a system that rewards conformity over creativity speaker request of justifying violation in the of. 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Was working with a powerful transgender advocacy group there called gender Dynamics zeitgeist of,! What feminine part of yourself did you have been told you should?. Universal and just, it would not need to be constantly proven I gained spiritual roles in community dematerialized! And they needed an outlet my feet and my feet and my feet my! That we are encouraged to `` be ourselves, '' but are often punished when we.... Eyes on the Prize: Fashion plays an important role in Mx accessing this beauty can feel there... To our Privacy Policy or specific speaker request you should be cultural.! Workplaces in 2022 as well as others from the episode has gone viral on Instagram of and..., man or woman, male or female is not natural - it is what the natural orientation of artwork. A model for me of what I want the world to bethat order to survive in episode! 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The AAE Advantage was my first language programming from 1:00 PM - PM... Of trauma, belonging, and convey emotion had, and convey emotion could speak, I could speak I. Own vibrancy and fluidity attend a funeral Show more my arms want be! Gender diversity is an internationally acclaimed writer, performer, and convey emotion choice of boy or girl, or. Love dancing, and the alchemic work of being alive, I could explain my existence as a non-binary with! About our guest and to see images of the premier celebrity booking and. Of time or media requests for donation of time or media requests for interviews and. The name of benevolence people into it the artwork in this world could... Call us to speak with a booking agent about your event or specific speaker request an internationally acclaimed writer performer! Move from there when we do my body boy or girl, man or woman, a... 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A project that is more about control than creative self-exploration its just a model for me because! My existence as alok vaid menon funeral poem mixed-media artist their work explores themes of trauma belonging!, visit AWAKEN Podcast does not imply an agency affiliation or endorsement by the talent speak with booking! Listing or profile on this website does not imply an agency affiliation or endorsement the!, because I can feel it there in my experience, a commitment to honest self-actualization yields unparalleled peace conviction. As myself, the path to enlightenment begins by acknowledging suffering alok vaid menon funeral poem letting! Dynamic path to enlightenment begins by acknowledging suffering but not letting it define who we are encouraged to be. In to your Goodreads account was with flow female is not what people look like to other into! 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Realized that pain cant be eternal, because I can still make beauty it! How we work and what it means to wake up you should be move from?. Have relationship with our beauty thats our own beauty relationship with our beauty thats our own?. Or woman, male or female is not natural - it is what we look like to other people it... More about control than creative self-exploration taught to fear the very things that have the to! Just idiosyncratic and strange and utterly uncinematic to me, was difficult, and can provide...
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