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Lara talks about how the experiences of being Queer are distinct across cultures, identities, ethnicities and races. When she brings up the erasure of Indigenous Queer folk (64-65) in particular, it made me think about how Indigenous Queer folk are erased in Ecuador, which came up in my own work. I was interviewing someone about health access, and I asked about racism in the area. They proceeded to tell me about how Indigenous people in the area experience racism, but luckily, there in the highlands, they didn’t have to deal with any of the discrimination that comes with being gay. When I asked why, the person told me that it was because there were no gay people in the highlands, only on the coast of Ecuador. There were no “gays” in the highlands because it was all Indigenous people. The idea that someone could be both Indigenous and queer was completely foreign to them. This ties into Lara’s continuing points about how Indigenous peoples are not allowed to “exist in time,” they are relegated to a colonial, premodern, traditional past (65). This past does not allow them technology, rights, queerness, or any other intersectionality of identities. I also really liked Lara’s point where she says “To love being queer: Black and to love being queer: Indigenous and to know what it is to be either and both” (66). To know what it is to be either and both–how is one supposed to know what it is to be either OR both, in the context of Indigeneity, when your existence as a queer: Indigenous person is not allowed, or even further, unimaginable. This calls attention to the fact that the identity-seeking project for a queer: Indigenous person is long and arduous with the path intentionally hidden.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lara talks about how the experiences of being Queer are distinct across cultures, identities, ethnicities and races. When she brings up the erasure of Indigenous Queer folk (64-65) in particular, it made me think about how Indigenous Queer folk are … Continue reading