Aiteach Zine #4
Accessible version beneath the issuu slides
When Did Star Trek Become So Woke? Part 2
Also fiction, art, poetry, health, and so much more!
Wexford Pride committee report inside.
Contribution Veronica Victor (she/her), John Cunningham-Ryan (he/him), Vic Kelly (they/them), Dee Dodebier (she/they), Declan Flynn (he/him), Niamhana Ryan (she/they), Dorn Simon (she/her), Mx. Adam Khan (they/them).
CONTENTS
Report - Vic Kelly-Victor
Lit - Vic Kelly-Victor
Entertainment - John Cunningham-Ryan
Bi - Dorn Simon
Health - Declan Flynn
Book Review - John Cunningham-Ryan
Poetry - Mx Adam Khan
Art - Dee Dodebier
Comics - Niamhana Ryan
Ongoing Events
Proudly LGBT+
Please send all inquiries to Aiteach.wexford.pride@gmail.com
COMMITTEE REPORT
VIC KELLY-VICTOR
July was a busy month for your committee! We started the month participating in the Trans and Intersex Pride march on July 8. It was the largest the march has ever been: there was a powerful mix of protest chants and joyful energy as the participants went from the Garden of Remembrance to the Dáil, where speeches from several trans rights and other human rights organisations spoke to a crowd that filled the street. Congratulations to Trans and Intersex Pride Dublin on this hugely successful event.
John and Vic were back in Dublin to stand with the trans community on July 22 for the Transgress the NGS protest outside St. Columcille's in Loughlinstown — that's the hospital where the National Gender Service (NGS) provides inadequate and unnecessarily pathologising healthcare that has been decried by the majority of Irish trans people. Vic was allowed to speak on behalf of a trans person who couldn't risk being there for fear of losing their healthcare, as the NGS frequently refuses service to their critics. Transgress the NGS was well attended, with people having travelled to Dublin from Leitrim, Cork, Wicklow, Kilkenny, Meath, and more, and every speech was powerful and heartbreaking. Ireland needs to do better by the trans and intersex community.
After Transgress the NGS, we wrote to our Wexford TDs, the HSE, the Office of the Taoiseach, pushing for questions to be asked about the state of trans healthcare in Ireland. I'll update you on that when we get responses.
As always, we had our fortnightly Tea on the Quay social event in Wexford town and the fortnightly LGBTQIA+ Peer Support Group at the IFA Centre in Enniscorthy. The Book Club also met to discuss Dean Atta's important and lyrical YA book, The Black Flamingo. We highly recommend the audiobook version to hearing readers, as it is beautifully read by the author.
August is promising to be another busy month, but we'll get to that next time. We hope you're all feeling safe and supported through the summer — remember to reach out if we can help.
Your committee members are: John Cunningham-Ryan (he/him, Secretary), Rían Browne (he/him, Public Relations Officer), Veronica Victor (she/her, Community Liaison), and me, Vic Kelly-Victor (they/them, Treasurer).
– Vic Kelly-Victor
LIT
VIC KELLY-VICTOR
Nie ma, że boli
“Right, come on, Młody! Nie ma, że boli.”
I give Skuter a dirty look that makes no impression on him whatsoever, and try moving my wheelchair further on down the Baltic shore. My front wheels are dug in deep, so I’m making no headway. Tilting his wheelchair backwards, he rolls easily over the wet sand, and again shouts out that Polish phrase: "There is no ‘it hurts’."
Right then. Here I go, ready to fall again.
I had first met Skuter at a birthday party. I’d been bullied into going. I’d much rather have lain on the bed and felt sorry for myself all evening — it was a very time-consuming hobby, but on the plus side, I had become perfectly acquainted with my ceiling, every crack and line. Going out meant spasms and cold knees and back pain. And stares and questions.
But Marcin (my boyfriend of five years) had persuaded me out of bed and into the chair, saying I could come home whenever I wanted. He'd literally pushed me all the way there: the party was in a hall in the middle of some allotment gardens, and there was no way I’d have managed it across cobblestones and grassy pathways.
There was also no way I was leaving earlier than they decided to leave.
Inside was a small area with a few tables and a cloakroom and the toilets, and then down a few steps was the main floor where people were dancing and drinking. Marcin offered to carry me down, but I said I’d stay up where it was quieter. Too many people down there.
Besides, getting carried is so undignified.
I backed the chair into a corner and sat, nursing a beer, and giving the smile and the nod to the partying people I knew from before the incident.
The incident had happened about ten months earlier. I don’t remember it. One summer morning, I’d left the house, and then I was in hospital with a broken skull and a fractured spine. The time in between didn’t even have the decency to be a black hole or a gray mist in my memory. It’s simply gone. Leaving the house became lying in a six-bed ward. Walking became using a wheelchair. Being spontaneous became carefully planning everything about an outing. Steps and cobblestones became the enemy.
The party was a big one, what I think of as typically Polish. Two hundred people in a space meant for eighty. Marcin had stayed nearby, as always, keeping an eye on me, seeing if I needed anything. I had been about to tell him that I wanted to leave, and then Skuter came in.
I didn’t know his name at that point. I just saw this bear of a guy wheel himself in, straight across the little space, and, with a practice and balance I'd never seen, straight down those steps onto the dancefloor. He had two friends with him, a mate and his girlfriend. He’d a sporty, low-backed light wheelchair and broad shoulders and a barrel chest, and he was loud. The centre of attention. Handsome, too.
“No, dawaj!”
He’s taunting me, rolling backwards on the sand, stopping and supporting himself in that position one-handed.
I give an angry jerk of the wheels and lift my wheelchair’s front out of the sand. It lurches and starts tipping over backwards, so I lean hard forwards, smacking it back down. It’s too hard, and as the front wheels bury themselves in the sand, I slide right out the front.
Skuter laughs.
He'd been laughing when he'd come up to me at the party. He’d crashed into someone and their beer had gone all over him, so he was up looking for paper towels to dry off.
He asked why I was sitting up there and not dancing, and I must’ve given him quite a dirty look, because he just laughed louder. His Polish was tough for me to understand back then, but I remember him saying “First year? Still bitter? Give it up. Nie ma, że boli.”
He rounded someone up to get beers and get paper towels, and came back, and didn’t ask any questions about anything. He didn’t ask why I didn’t want another beer, or how long I’d been in Poland, or why I was in a wheelchair. He talked about his girlfriend, and a pub he thought I’d like, and about the music. He looked at Marcin looking at me and smiled. Later on in the evening, he grabbed me and planted a kiss on my lips, winked, and rolled off back onto the dance floor.
Six months later, we're friends, we game together, he teases me, he teaches me wheelchair techniques, he gives me a hard time, sometimes there's a hint of physical attraction from his side — another kiss, a lingering hug. Marcin and Ania (Skuter's girlfriend) have both seen it and are both fine with it. I asked him once if he is bisexual, but he just laughed and punched my shoulder, saying "A kto to obchodzi?" — "Whose business is that?"
He rolls back up the beach towards me, waving to Marcin and Ania to sit back down.
“He doesn’t need help,” he calls. Then, to me: “You gonna get back up?”
“No, I thought I’d sunbathe for a while.”
He laughs. I roll and shuffle back around to be in the right position to get back into the chair. I still need help, and I get it from Skuter.
“Do you still resent him for worrying and watching?” Skuter asks, cocking his head at Marcin.
“No. I understand it now.”
“There’s hope for you yet, Młody. Now get your wheels up.”
“I don’t think I can. It’s my balance.”
“It’s my balance,” he mimics.
“Okay. Fine. One last try?” I suggest.
“Last try’s the one when you get it right.”
I sigh, and grip the wheels again.
And as I land on my back on the sand with his laughter in my ears, I know I’ll keep trying as long as I’m able.
Dignity’s overrated, and there is no ‘It hurts’.
– Vic Kelly-Victor
WHEN DID STAR TREK BECOME SO WOKE? (PART 2)
JOHN CUNNINGHAM-RYAN
The next instalment of Star Trek technically started all the way back in 1987 but for us in Ireland we didn’t get to see it until 1990.
Star Trek, The Next Generation (TNG) promised so much, Roddenberry had already confirmed there would be gay characters on the USS Enterprise but with his death in 1991
Paramount didn’t have the guts to follow through. It is important to bear in mind the traditional, “family values” oriented television landscape of the early 1990’s. It was during the conservative George H.W. Bush administration and at the height of America’s “gay panic” caused by the AIDS epidemic. BBC were also dealing with Section 28. I’m not making excuses for Paramount just pointing out the reality of the times.
Whilst lots of fans disliked the stories about Data “finding himself” and the common theme of whether he was sentient; and therefore should be treated with respect, afforded equality and given self-autonomy. For me this was an analogy for slavery (Apartheid was abolished in 1991) and the rights of those individuals who are different. Many of us in the Queer community can relate to feeling marginalized and ostracized for simply being who we are. Couple that recurring theme with the episode “The Offspring” (S03E16) and we got a great story.
In this episode, Data creates an android child based on his “electronic DNA”. For our community our “found family” and the people we surround ourselves with is integral to our wellbeing & Lal/Data represents that desire for a family and grapples with the discrimination she faces from others. Data allows Lal to choose their own gender and appearance, and while this idea was executed in a somewhat binary clumsy way it was still a leap to tackle the idea of gender being assigned at birth.
Of course the villain of the story, the Admiral wanted to separate Lal from Data; questioning why Data wanted to create life (even though the straights are never questioned). Lal begins to feel actual emotions, beginning when she realizes some strange man who doesn’t care for her wants to take her away from her family and ensure she grows up ‘the right way’. I think her developing emotions shows she was “more human” that Data and really isn’t that what any parent wants … for their offspring to be more than them and accomplish more than them.
In the episode, “The Host” (S04E23) Dr. Crusher falls in love with a Trill ambassador named Odan; The Trill are a fascinating species, they can transfer their consciousness between hosts. During the episode Odan dies and their consciousness is transferred into a new host, temporarily Commander Will Riker – and that’s where the drama begins.
The Trill’s gender-neutral culture challenges our preconceived notions of gender and identity. It reminds us that gender is not binary and that love can transcend labels.
A great line from this episode; when Crusher confronts Odan about not telling her he was a symbiote, he says “Did you ever have to tell someone you were only a single being? Of course not!” Wonderful echos of the double standard of being expected to come out as Queer, but not as cis-het. Ok, I see you Starfleet. All this in 1990! On a sidenote I cannot wait to tell you all about Gray & Adira from Discovery … Trill & Non-binary relationship played by … wait for it … Ian Alexander (Trans) & Blu del Barrio (NB). That’s a whole article all on it’s own.
For another challenging story check out identity (and the erasing of it) in Conundrum S05E14
But we cannot forget the most important episode “The Outcast” (S05E17)
*CW: Conversion Therapy, anti-trans rhetoric
In this episode, the Enterprise crew encounters the J’naii, a society where gender neutrality is strictly enforced, and the character of Soren, a member of this society, begins questioning her gender identity. The J’naii reject any concept of male or female, reminding us that gender is a construct and that we can be whoever we want, regardless of societal norms. The concept/topic was dealt with very poorly but I still give Star Trek props for trying, nobody else was.
Soren is called “sick” and “deviant”, and society wants to cure her from her “perversion”, and the psychotactic therapy they suggest for her is an apt metaphor for conversion therapy. By the end of the episode she agrees to undergo the therapy which did (and still) angers our community but it pointed out the sad reality of conversion therapy and, again, for its time, nobody outside of our community was even aware of it’s existence. Sad to say of course that we still haven’t banned it in Ireland.
Soren’s desire to love who she wants challenges the J’naii’s strict adherence to their cultural norms. It reminds us of the struggle we face in our community & Soren’s bleak end is a powerful warning: we have to fight for equality, or we will be silenced.
So, The Next Generation was for the next generation of viewer, not perfect by any means but was making strides. Should it have gone further; Hell Yes; but it was still a beacon for a young Irish teen who didn’t know where their place was in their little town, but could escape into the wonderful World of the Star Trek universe for 42 minutes once per week. It was Star Trek Jim, but not as we knew it.
Note: I haven’t skipped the original animated series (1973-1975), I’ll be putting together an article including it, Lower Decks & Prodigy later on.
– John Cunningham-Ryan
BISEXUALS IN HETERONORMATIVE RELATIONSHIPS/MARRIAGES: DOES IT MAKE US ANY LESS BI?
DORN SIMON
Bisexual, according to Wikipedia: “Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behaviour toward both males and females or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, which is also known as pansexuality.”
So, let us speak generally whilst inclusive of the nomenclature Pansexual. You can be attracted in all manner of ways, to both Females (if you are male/female), and to Males (if you are male/female). Yet, some Bi’s are also attracted to non-binary, trans, genderfluid, and so on…ergo, fall into the Bisexual-Pansexual paradox.
So, what happens when you fall for a Straight opposite-sex potential partner? First, you have that conversation of revealing your bisexuality, oftentimes, requiring to explain the meaning of such, and what it entails in a relational/sexual manner; when, (at times ‘IF’) the straight potential partner has mulled this over and accepted it for what it is, they may then delve deeper into the how this may work aspects, in other words, things such as monogamy, jealousy, insecurities, and sharing may be brought up.
The questions or statements I have experienced are, “So you do threesomes?” or “If we get together, don’t go running off and leave me for a Woman/Man,” (depending on the person speaking), and “Can I join in?” etcetera etcetera etcetera.
Obviously, some of the above have also been queried when starting a relationship with another bisexual.
So, now, say a bisexual female is now embarking on a relationship with a straight male, does this switch her into a hetero? Certainly not!
It simply means that this bisexual female has either fallen for a straight dude or decided to have, a relationship in a heteronormative fashion.
Each relationship has its own stipulations, some may be poly, meaning they will have more than their relationship in a romantic or sexual coupling, others may decide on having an open relationship so that the bisexual feels they are not losing half of themselves, and that if the occasion arose they could partake, however, more oft than not, or in my personal experience, you are now in a monogamous relationship with a person of the opposite sex.
Can this be difficult given one's bisexuality?
At times perhaps, yet, monogamy and relationships are what they are, some are harmonious, loving, caring and suited…whilst others turn out not to be, even when seemingly a match in the beginning.
When you are with someone that is secure in themselves, and happy to compromise, or dares to offer all they can to fulfil their partner's needs or desires, it can potentially be wonderful, not lacking, even adventurous -a straight dude allowing fantasy, or play that involves an element of the bisexuals views and likes, this can be during play, stimulus, video, imagery, toys, and role-play, all of which can aid in a relationships growth and activities, for both male and female or ‘insert other’, pun not intended!
For bisexuals, it is not so much about having both, wanting both, but merely being attracted to both without a defined line or conformity to societal norms.
It could run into difficulty if the straight partner is not secure, does not fully understand or accept, is not open to the experience, or worse harbours an underlying unacceptance yet holds tightly to their ‘property’ believing they can change them.
Living in a Catholic country where being queer was illegal for so long, and a straight church marriage with umpteen kids was the standard, it has been harder for some reared under this conformity, almost tyranny.
So, how we view this is less about labels and more about feelings/love, if we can all see the union as love regardless of sexuality, or gender, then we can find more of it, as it is only a matter of time and place or circumstance that will bring us to that harmonious partner, regardless of what they present as, and more about Who They Are.
I know more than one couple who have one bisexual and one straight, living happily in a heteronormative union -it can be beautiful, yet it takes not away the bisexuality of one, nor makes the straight less straight, it just focuses on the love, and the individuals each for who they are.
How about the marriage between bisexual and straight? Can one believe this to be a satisfying, sustainable option when one is bi?
I believe that would depend upon the relationship between those individuals, the compromises laid down and agreed to, and if they are happy why would there be any compromise at all?
I know it is hard to put all the eggs into one basket, to believe that one person can be the all and end all, but this is where security is put to the test, and loving yourself first, in that mental frameset, if you are not loving and compassionate to yourself, then you will not be with another, and with the complexity of this type of union, it has potential for cracks and fracturing.
A well-balanced individual, with a healthy ratio of work life, social life, and intimate/family life, can be fully satisfied, and happy, and sexuality or desires need not be a concern, as their needs are being met from a variety of threads within their woven life.
If one was unable to satiate their need for the same sex when in a heteronormative relationship, then this must delicately be discussed, not harboured into a dark place, nor flying off to cheat secretly, neither of those will be beneficial in the end.
Ideally, you would have a partner who is loving enough to allow the odd raunchy flick with boobies say, or is willing to play in a certain way, and as mentioned above in some circumstances, these relationships may allow a guest at times.
Being bisexual and in a heteronormative relationship or marriage will never, can never make you any less bisexual.
I hope you meet the right kind of partner, whichever they are, and have that fulfilling loving connection.
From one Bi to the others,
– Dorn Simon
HABIT STACKING
DECLAN FLYNN
It's confusing enough to work through all different postings and styles of training, it can be a big barrier to getting started, so this month I thought of giving you a very simple routine to try and do and see what happens. It can take a month minimum to develop a new habit, but a method known as habit stacking, doing more than one new habit together to make eventually a routine that becomes second nature.
So with this in mind here's three things to do while doing something else
When you get up do 8 to 10 lunges either side while stretching out your arms in front of you and raising them over your head.
When you walk into the kitchen 6 to 8 push ups either off the wall or kitchen worktop for easier method or from the floor for more standard one.
While the kettle boils aim to do 20 to 30 air squats
Another three habits for daily use
When picking anything off the floor, instead of bending your back do a lunge.
If you work at a desk for long periods just get a power band or resistance band and do some pull aparts and dislocates to open up the back and shoulders and release tension from the upper back.
You could also use a stretch called the world's greatest stretch to get a fuller body movement and help strengthen your whole back and release tension.
Don't make things complicated for yourself, don't feel I'm not getting this, it's all practice and experience and the hardest part is getting started but once you do, I would be very confident that you will enjoy it and eventually see benefits.
Sporting Pride Ireland have teamed up with me to do an Online LGBTQ+ Fitness bootcamp program for 8 weeks from the end of sept if you'd like any information on this just let me know.
– Declan Flynn
BOOK REVIEW: SWIMMING IN THE DARK BY TOMASZ JEDROWSKI
JOHN CUNNINGHAM-RYAN
A fantastic debut novel with beautiful intimate writing that will envelope you.
It depicts two young men over the course of a summer of 1980 in Soviet-governed Poland & embark on a passionate affair while reading James Baldwin's “Giovanni's Room”. It's described in highly romantic terms where the pair are able to form a world of their own:
”we lay facing each other, the tip of your nose on the bridge of mine. Nothing else mattered in the dark.”
Written in the second person ... rather like a series of letters to the authors past lover ... the style works perfectly in portraying a personal & intimate coming-of-age story in communist Poland during the 1980's. It was poignant and melancholic as you know the story isn't going to end well, but, yet it's such a page turner ... you want to get to the end, but you don't. (You know what I mean). The book took many years to write and hone and you can tell as it's well polished.
”I was paralysed by possibility, caught between the vertigo of fulfilment and the abyss of uncertainty.”
I will most certainly be rereading it & give this amazing debut novel a nine out of ten planets. The pressure is on Jedrowski now to write his next novel!
– John Cunningham-Ryan
POETRY
MX. ADAM KHAN
On Demisexuality
A proud part of the acearo community
Erased by wider society
And oft described as broken
Because of unconformity to the societal norms spoken
Apart from developing that emotional bond
Our community is as diverse as diamonds
The variability of the human experience
Means we take the time to be gregarious
Understanding it brings us serenity
As this journey settles into grace
Demisexuality finally has its place
As a valid part of our identity
– Mx Adam Khan
ART
DEE DODEBIER
Alexandra and Her Face
Painting of a person looking into a mirror with an ominous smiling figure standing behind them and various figures also reflected in the mirror.
POSITION AVAILABLE
LGBTQIA+ HISTORIAN
We’re looking for a volunteer to help with the special project of creating the first-ever record of the history of the LGBTQIA+ community in County Wexford. Passion for the project is more important than past experiences. Contact wexfordpride@gmail.com
TWO NEW EVENTS!
Wexford Pride presents Art Club
Mountain Gremlin Games in Castlebridge.
Wexford Pride presents Board Game Night
Mountain Gremlin Games in Castlebridge.
RECLAIMED
AN FOCL’OIR AITEACH / THE QUEER DICTIONARY
LGBTQQIPA/LADTACIPE
Lesbian - Leispiach
Gay - Aerach
Bisexual - Déghnéasach
Transgender - Trasinscneach
Queer - Aiteach
Questioning - Ceisteach
Intersex - Idirghnéas
Pansexual - Painghnéasach
Asexual - Gan-ghnéasach
EVENTS
County Wexford LGBTQIA+ Community Support Group
Fortnightly Mondays 7pm
July 2, 16, 30
August 13, 27
IFA Centre Enniscorthy
There’s always a place for you here.
A confidential, contracted space for offering and receiving peer support. Facilitated by an in-community student therapist.
Wexford Pride Montly Bookclub
Contact wexfordpride@gmail.com
Last month: Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski
Tea on the Quay
at the Trough on Cressent quay
Fortnightly Sundays 2pm
June 4, 18
Funds available for those in need of a cuppa.
PROUDLY LGBT+
Free LGBT+ advertising: Aiteach.wexford.pride@gmail.com
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QUOTE:
Tomasz Jedrowski
Swimming in the Dark, 2020
“No matter what happens in the world, however brutal or dystopian a thing, not all is lost if there are people out there risking themselves to document it. Little sparks cause fires, too.”
GET INVOLVED
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