Vulnerability and Resistance creating a contemporary power: #PrideMongolia 2021 and the strengthening of the collective power of LGBTQI+ movement in contemporary Mongolia
Often the two terms of vulnerability and resistance are constructed as the opposites where one provides protection to the other. However, the enactment of collective power can re-define “vulnerability” as a source to form the “contemporary power”. This blog is about the 9th annual celebration, a collective movement of the LGBTQI+ communities in Mongolia #PrideMongolia2021
It’s been 9 years since the LGBT Centre Mongolia started celebrating the annual Pride Week in Mongolia. Congratulations and Happy Pride Week my friends. I admire your bravery mixed with vulnerability and resistance- recreating the definition of how society may interpret the two terms and how we can establish the fundamentals of the “contemporary power”. Here with this blog, I am standing with equality as an individual after observing the viral scandal around this year’s Pride Week in Ulaanbaatar. I speak only for myself and the arguments I make here are of my own. I will not add to the flow of existing opinions without arguments there, but I will try my best to raise some concrete argument that may help some to reflect on their own implicit biases and hopefully that may take some people to dig deeper into their core as a “human being”.
There has been terrible public backlash this year. Influencers, politicians, powerful people somehow sent out homophobic messages. Bus stop PrideWeek signs were removed. And these are just few of the resistance we saw. But let me move on to my point with my blog.
Let me list down the arguments (not so good ones, terrible ones indeed- made me laugh out loud many times. Seriously, some are funny) that’s been coming from homophobic individuals and groups on social media throughout the PrideMongolia that’s taking place between August 27, 2021- September 10, 2021 virtually. Let’s not forget this year’s PrideWeek in fact was during Covid-19 and numerous amount of factors play as a trigger to anger, frustration, resistance- therefore creating a flow of vulnerability all around.
In Ulaanbaatar, we witnessed many movements, strikes (both in person and in a virtual settings) through the Covid19 times in one year. To look back, here are few:
The above are just a tip of the iceberg. Human beings are exhausted, excited, tired, energized, silenced, speaking up everywhere, simply because it’s the only “natural” or “innate” characteristics of ours. The binary definition of emotions of humans cannot simply mean one denies the other. Think again.
Arguments that blew social media and these arguments made the movement only stronger!
1. ‘Abnormal’ sexual behavior and ‘Impurity’- Yeah yeah, this is what we hear all the time. Nothing new. But this one has an interesting additional linkage of the LGBTQI+ flag colored Pop It and how the toy will perpetuate children to learn about abnormal behavior including learning about the G-spot :D (still laughing out loud, well I personally didn’t know when women climax, there’s a ‘Pop’ sound, or perhaps some sexologists he quoted for his arguments should educate him on women’s pleasure)
Hmmmm, where do I begin. Let me pull myself together, because the terms and words used in this one just cracks me up. “Buzar”- Impurity, “G-spot”- translation not needed, “Dur husel”- Desire (i would love to start a series of lecture beginning with “Eros”- the desire for life, i dont think the word desire is limited to someone’s way of narrowing it down to only sexual desire), “Sexologists”- you mean social science? you mean sexuality? because, sir, that’s a whole different field of research and science :D :D :D
Basically, what does a Pop It have to do with women’s desire, moreover- children’s sexuality? Misogyny right there if you allow me. The colors of LGBTQI+ flags were displayed on bus stops, on public transportations for the last few years and this year the Pride Week spelt everything out. Spelling everything out created a brand new wave to the movement this year.
Therefore, this is about the “censorship” rule. People are angry because this year’s PrideWeek broke that censorship rule where calling sex (used as a metaphor here) by its name became more difficult and costly (beginning with the Victorian era). The subjugation at the level of language, control of speech, extinguishment of words, therefore imposing silence! The core reason why such resistance occurred this year is simply this. Read it carefully, I am not interested in translating each posts, and sarcastically denying. These kind of arguments are stemming from breaking the censorship rules. A desperate need has risen heavily to collect every possible denial right there. But look at the core here. Mongolia has banned the “bang” for some time. Sodomy was banned throughout the history of the Mongol Empire (well if you dig deep in academia, sure you can find the breaking of these rules). Porn is banned in contemporary Mongolia. Prostitution is illegal. Think again, look into the roots where these denials stem from. Censorship!- Breaking the censorship rule puts one at a vulnerable state prone to being exposed to resistance but at the same time, such vulnerability becomes resistance itself.
In reality, nothing is un-natural, we are biologically all natural in reality! It’s not biology that produces normality or abnormality, it’s censorship that categorizes what can be seen as abnormal or normal.
2. Threat to the state of “nationality/nationalism” which forms the Mongolian masculinity
Masculinity! — Yes. Again, like mentioned in my previous blogs, masculinity and femininity co-exist building the flow of life. It is not a gender category. The term is not about men neither about women. It is an identity category where somehow we can be simply overruled by the limitations of our surroundings- cultural norms. Gender becomes a negotiation, a struggle, a way of dealing with historical constraints and making new realities. Social realities change, they do change. Gender is performative. Let me get back to Judith Butler again:
The right is seeking desperately to reclaim forms of identity that have been rightly challenged. At the same time, they tend to reduce movements for racial justice as “identity” politics, or to caricature movements for sexual freedom or against sexual violence as concerned only with “identity”. In fact, these movements are primarily concerned with redefining what justice, equality and freedom can and should mean. In this way, they are essential to any radical democratic movement, so we should reject those caricatures. — Judith Butler- Guardian, 2021
Movements do not form as a threat to an existing category, or a definition or against a subject. Movements aim to forming a revisit to the existing system. Movements form organically. Just look at the history of this world! Same thing applies to this year’s PrideMongolia. For 9 years, in different forms, the movement has been taking place in Ulaanbaatar. It was not magically funded from what most claim to be a “foreign” (of the West) tool to destroy a national characteristic, collective belief on nationalism or masculinity. The collective belief and cultural norms can also be questioned if you ask.
…the term stereotype is usually applied to someone else’s generalization. Brigham, 1971, p31
Generalization about a community, groups, an entire nation can not be made about the people. “People” are a difficult subject to generalize. Same thing applies to the generalization towards the LGBTIQ+ communities. Only assumptions. If your assumption about the Mongolian masculinity is denied by what is overtly different from your imagination, that doesn’t mean everybody needs to assume the same imagination. Sometimes, it’s better to challenge your own opinion. Where is it originated from? How was that constructed? And do not mix your culture with that and blame it on culture.
3. Threat to Mongolia’s population growth
Many arguments were raised about how there are only 3 million of us. I know, but I also know there are 6 million Mongols in China, 4 million Hazaran Mongols in Afghanistan, and more. I am a bit lost here and I will unconsciously point out many subjects that may not seem relevant to the point i am about to make, but these are worth mentioning.
Apparently, the narrativity of this argument seems to be pointing out that the LGBTIQ+ communities do not contribute to the population growth if two males are basically banging. Pronatalist state ideology still do rule our minds today, its embedded. Often these ideology focuses on the quantity and not the quality. We do indeed prioritize our population growth. But do we think about existing policies that conflicts with one another at all? For example, the Glory Mothers Awards and CEDAW for instance? The Constitution guarantees equal protection and rights for everyone but why would the silence treatment of overt discrimination be supported by policy makers? The unhappy marriage of existing policies seem like a marital affair where both partners know they are being cheated on but still choose to be play it dumb (Background music: Sam Smith- I’m not the only one). Back to my point, let me make a very short and valid point about population growth here to support my argument on why homosexuality has nothing to do with the population’s quality of life:
- If more children are born (survive), the population just increases right? NO, Completely WRONG. Delaying the escape from extreme poverty increases population. Therefore, increasing the number of your population does not guarantee the quality of life in a society!
Poverty is most prevalent among young children in Mongolia. Two in five poor people in Mongolia are children under the age of 15. Therefore, population concerns should be linked with poverty, NOT homosexuality. Period. Also, I’d like to add “Adoption” here. In 2019, around 270 Mongolian children were adopted abroad under intercountry adoption conventions that varies based on with which country. If you’re so concerned about the population, look deeper systematically on poverty, adoption, situations of the orphans, children’s rights, healthcare system, men’s health, women’s health before you start comparing oranges with apples.
4. They took it too far with the advocacy tools!
I kept hearing arguments below:
- “We’ve always been friendly towards the LGBT in Mongolia”
- “LGBT people always had rights in Mongolia, remember Buya, trans Solongo, Gambuush?, they were always there and they had rights, so stop asking for more rights, instead change your advocacy tools”
- “This is too much. Spelling everything out and putting up all these banners won’t change anything”
- “I don’t discriminate against the LGBTQI+ community members, but also at the same time, I will not support these messages”
Alright! Let’s talk about lived experiences and silence here. Unless you lived through discrimination (including its all forms), it is not a strong argument to make about the minority. Privilege is a powerful gift. And it is more powerful if you use that power for lifting others up. Then that’s privilege. Just because you played a role as an observer and an outsider, or you have friends with non-binary gender expression, does not make you an ally unless you try to reflect on others’ lived experiences. Taking a neutral stance perpetuates silence!
If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. — Desmond Tutu- Book of Joy
Now on silence, let me also quote from my previous blogs. I am getting a little tired here, but my passion to finish this blog is keeping me going.
…repression operated as sentence to disappear, but also as an injunction to silence, an affirmation to nonexistence, and by implication, an admission that there was nothing to say about such things, nothing to see and nothing to know. “ (Foucault)
Silence can be a sign of wisdom in the Mongolian society. However, as I mentioned earlier, “social realities change”. This year’s PrideMongolia clearly proved that. Many re-interpreted this change and collective movement as a starting point of war between the “western-ized” youth vs the real mongols. We all are Mongols. Let me say that again, our national characteristics change and we cannot avoid these changes ;)
To conclude, I saw this year’s PrideMongolia as a powerful movement that raised these not so nice resistance which only made the movement stronger putting the resistance back to vulnerable state. Because the two terms are not the opposites. End of binarism begins with our mindset. We have been trained to think in black and white, good or bad, right or wrong. And I witnessed the LGBT Centre Mongolia just challenged this with their so called “too much” advocacy tools. There is no such thing as a too much.
So, what implications did PrideMongolia 2021 have for thinking about vulnerability and resistance?
- Inter-relationship
Here’s a little heartwarming screenshot which clearly shows the unity of contemporary power that without further explanation shows the inter-relationship of what vulnerability and resistance were able to build on social media in few weeks:
