Outside Music - Music Fights HIV

This week at Outside In we’ve been taking a look at health - mental, physical and spiritual well being. Music is a medium that helps soothe a troubled soul and positively contributes to both physical and mental healing. There are many organisations who employ art as a means for social change, and one such organisation is the American based program Lifebeat - who promote the awareness and prevention of HIV/AIDS.

The stigma surrounding those who have been infected with HIV is astounding, and while preventing the spread of the virus is important, Lifebeat also work to support young people who are living with the disease through charity concerts to raise money toward HIV research with help from the likes of John Mayer, Scissor Sisters and Beyonce. Read more about Lifebeat here. 

Many artists are vocal about the HIV pandemic, and one of my personal favourites is Angelique Kidjo. Click here to read her sentiments on the music industry’s role in fighting HIV. Watch her glorious cover of Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’ below. 

Contributor Stories

Here at Outside In HQ we are thrilled to be receiving feedback from our community. Your opinions and stories are important to us and we are grateful to all of you have contributed to our magazine thus far. Today we’re featuring a poem that was written by Leanne M Williams who found us via our ABC Pool project. Enjoy. 

A WOMAN IN THE HUMAN CONDITION

When im sick

I smell.

I’m stale,

mouldy.

There is a mustiness to me

a stink

The drain of my bowel,

uncleared of shame and fear.

Bitterness on my breath,

my body- divided,

separated from itself, split, cut,

medicalized.

I bathe in the light of a northern sun,

I am dried by a warm summer breeze.

My feet draw the strength of a wet

forest floor

I swim in mother’s milk.

Scrub dead tissue with honey.

I am whole.

I have always been whole.

Indivisable, impenetrable,

soft.

I am strong.

Glorious.

I am sweet.

I glow.

A holder of wisdom.

A wielder of wrath,

source of love.

A whore

a vessel

a virgin.

I am the daughter.

I am the mother.

I am the crone.

I am innocent,

roses in the breeze.

The richness in compost.

I am humanity.

I am as I am

I am in the human condition.

I struggle.

I love.

I triumph.

Outside Music - Antony and the Johnsons

For those not in the know Antony Hegarty is a powerful creative force who is best known for his work as the front man of Antony and The Johnsons. The English singer-songwriter, composer, playwright, director and visual artist has developed a massive cult following since the release of his self-titled debut LP in 2000 and received masses of critical acclaim for his follow up record I am a Bird Now, a moving exploration of his life as a transgender individual. Hegarty has inspired people the world over to be accepting of gay, lesbian and transgender individuals and bought the issues surrounding their stigma and exclusion into the forefront. 

Listen to Spiralling taken from I am a Bird Now below. Be warned - the music of Antony is incredibly moving and pleasantly addictive. 

SOME HEALTHY DISCUSSION

Hi guys,

A new week is upon us, so we’ve got some new things to muse over.

As well as considering the huge topic that is sexuality, we’re keen to generate some healthy discussion - on health. Physical, mental, spiritual… you name it. Any issue, concern, experience, story or idea that comes to mind when you think about personal or communal wellbeing. We know there are so many of you who feel isolated, marginalised or displaced because of health-related differences (and they are differences, not defects!), so its time we all spoke up. 

The Outside In team

QUEER QUALMS

Are we really as easy going and open minded in Australia as we think we are?

So I attended a dinner party on the weekend. Yes I know, cliché way to bring up a hot topic, but the anecdote is fresh in my mind. I no longer live at home, so I ventured down to my parents place for one night, when they’d be entertaining some of their closest friends. Eventually the dinner conversation shifted towards family and relations, and we began discussing the dos and donts of handling sensitive situations with sons and daughters (especially impressionable teens).

I was horrified to find that as soon as the conversation turned to homosexuality, open mindedness went out the window for my dad’s friend Marcus. So uncomfortable with the whole notion of being gay, he could not even provide a hypothetical answer to how he might chat to one of his teenage sons if they were to approach him one day and officially come out. He couldn’t even acknowledge it as a possibility – to him it just wasn’t on the cards because surely something like that couldn’t happen to his family. I felt so sorry for his kids. Imagine how hard their process of self-discovery is going to be throughout life when their own father has limitations to what is and isn’t acceptable.

 Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t relay this story to bag out Marcus, or my parents’ choice in friends – but this did raise that incredibly significant reality for me that so many people still think this way. So many successful, family-oriented, well-educated men like Marcus share such feelings despite the fact that they should know better. I imagine its got a lot to do with the environment these men (and women of course, we’re not exempt from this issue) grew up, just as Julia Gillard acknowledges her own conservative childhood. 

 But that does not make it OK. How the hell do we communicate open mindedness, diversity and tolerance to our own kids in today’s society when we can’t acknowledge within family circles that being gay is a completely normal and acceptable sexuality? Those teen years are some of the most influential to one’s development. If our family structures are isolating individuals from the start, and making them think of themselves as outcasts, how can we expect them to maintain healthy self-esteem? You just can’t expect ridiculous societal misconceptions and stigmas to die in schools and workplaces when we’re not addressing them in the home.

 And don’t even get me started on the issue of Equal Marriage in Australia. Its appalling that in 2011, we still haven’t progressed from some seriously ancient policies. Gillard’s stance against equal marriage is incredibly disappointing, especially when you realise that 60% of Australians believe that same-sex couples  should have the right to marry. And from what we can gather (Rodney Croome does a great job of deconstructing the illogical government oppositions here), fear of unraveling ‘traditional’ concepts of marriage and trampling on religious toes really don’t cut it as justifications for the antiquated stance.

I could go on for hours on how behind Australia is here on their exclusion against same-sex couples. But is time we crossed to you - What are your thoughts on how sexuality is accepted in our communities? Have you struggled in work places, in schools/uni or within your family?

Finally, for any parents / siblings out there who still don’t feel so comfortable with the idea of homosexuality – keep an open mind, and remember that your support is crucial in eliminating exclusion in the long run in regards to sexuality. It starts with each and every one of us, and change in social perceptions must surely lead to policy changes too.  

LETS TALK ABOUT SEX[UALITY]

Hey there.

Here at Outside In we’re keen to explore all of the different situations and experiences that are causing us to feel like outcasts some (or all) of the time. This week we’re particularly interested in sexuality – the positives and the negatives, and what can be done to eliminate stigmas and exclusions. 

There are some big questions just waiting to be asked, not to mention some voices to be heard. And that’s where we come in.

Each day we’ll be sending things your way: photos, videos, stories, you name it. We’d love to also see your content (whether its sourced or newly created), and to hear your thoughts on it all.

 Come on in!

Outside In team