TEDGlobal 2017
Katlego Kolanyane-Kesupile: How I'm bringing queer pride to my rural village
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In a poetic, personal talk, TED Fellow Katlego Kolanyane-Kesupile examines the connection between her modern queer lifestyle and her childhood upbringing in a rural village in Botswana. "In a time where being brown, queer, African and seen as worthy of space means being everything but rural, I fear that we're erasing the very struggles that got us to where we are now," she says. "Indigenizing my queerness means bridging the many exceptional parts of myself."
Katlego Kolanyane-Kesupile - Artist, activist
Katlego Kolanyane-Kesupile is the founder of the Queer Shorts Showcase Festival, Botswana's first and only LGBT-themed theatre festival. Full bio
Katlego Kolanyane-Kesupile is the founder of the Queer Shorts Showcase Festival, Botswana's first and only LGBT-themed theatre festival. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
"You don't belong here"
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almost always means, "We can't find
a function or a role for you."
a function or a role for you."
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"You don't belong here" sometimes means,
"You're too queer to handle."
"You're too queer to handle."
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"You don't belong here"
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very rarely means,
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"There's no way for you to exist
and be happy here."
and be happy here."
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I went to university
in Johannesburg, South Africa,
in Johannesburg, South Africa,
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and I remember the first time
a white friend of mine
a white friend of mine
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heard me speaking Setswana,
the national language of Botswana.
the national language of Botswana.
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I was on the phone with my mother
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and the intrigue which painted itself
across her face was absolutely priceless.
across her face was absolutely priceless.
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As soon as I hung up,
she comes to me and says,
she comes to me and says,
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"I didn't know you could do that.
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After all these years of knowing you,
how did I not know you could do that?"
how did I not know you could do that?"
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What she was referring to was the fact
that I could switch off the twang
that I could switch off the twang
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01:02
and slip into a native tongue,
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and so I chose to let her in
on a few other things
on a few other things
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which locate me as a Motswana,
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not just by virtue of the fact
that I speak a language
that I speak a language
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or I have family there,
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but that a rural child lives
within this shiny visage of fabulosity.
within this shiny visage of fabulosity.
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01:19
(Laughter)
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01:22
(Applause)
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I invited the Motswana public
into the story, my story,
into the story, my story,
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as a transgender person years ago,
in English of course,
in English of course,
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because Setswana
is a gender-neutral language
is a gender-neutral language
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and the closest we get
is an approximation of "transgender."
is an approximation of "transgender."
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And an important part of my history
got left out of that story,
got left out of that story,
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by association rather than
out of any act of shame.
out of any act of shame.
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"Kat" was an international superstar,
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a fashion and lifestyle writer,
a musician, theater producer
a musician, theater producer
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and performer --
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all the things that qualify me
to be a mainstream, whitewashed,
to be a mainstream, whitewashed,
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new age digestible queer.
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02:01
Kat.
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Kat had a degree from one
of the best universities in Africa,
of the best universities in Africa,
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oh no, the world.
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By association, what Kat wasn't
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was just like the little
brown-skinned children
brown-skinned children
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frolicking through the streets
of some incidental railway settlement
of some incidental railway settlement
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like Tati Siding,
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or an off-the-grid village like Kgagodi,
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legs clad in dust stockings
whose knees had blackened
whose knees had blackened
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from years of kneeling
and wax-polishing floors,
and wax-polishing floors,
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whose shins were marked
with lessons from climbing trees,
with lessons from climbing trees,
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who played until dusk,
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went in for supper by a paraffin lamp
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and returned to play hide-and-seek
amongst centipedes and owls
amongst centipedes and owls
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until finally someone's mother
would call the whole thing to an end.
would call the whole thing to an end.
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That got lost both in translation
and in transition,
and in transition,
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and when I realized this,
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I decided it was time for me to start
building bridges between myselves.
building bridges between myselves.
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For me and for others to access me,
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I had to start indigenizing my queerness.
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03:01
What I mean by indigenizing
is stripping away the city life film
is stripping away the city life film
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that stops you from seeing
the villager within.
the villager within.
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In a time where being brown, queer,
African and seen as worthy of space
African and seen as worthy of space
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means being everything but rural,
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I fear that we're erasing
the very struggles
the very struggles
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that got us to where we are now.
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The very first time I queered
being out in a village,
being out in a village,
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I was in my early 20s,
and I wore a kaftan.
and I wore a kaftan.
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I was ridiculed by some of my family
and by strangers for wearing a dress.
and by strangers for wearing a dress.
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My defense against their comments
was the default that we who don't belong,
was the default that we who don't belong,
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the ones who are better than, get taught,
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we shrug them off and say,
"They just don't know enough."
"They just don't know enough."
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And of course I was wrong,
because my idea of wealth of knowledge
because my idea of wealth of knowledge
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was based in removing yourself
from Third World thinking and living.
from Third World thinking and living.
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But it took time for me to realize
that my acts of pride
that my acts of pride
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weren't most alive in
the global cities I traipsed through,
the global cities I traipsed through,
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but in the villages where I speak
the languages and play the games
the languages and play the games
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and feel most at home and I can say,
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"I have seen the world,
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and I know that people like me
aren't alone here, we are everywhere."
aren't alone here, we are everywhere."
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And so I used these village homes
for self-reflection
for self-reflection
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and to give hope
to the others who don't belong.
to the others who don't belong.
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04:17
Indigenizing my queerness
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means bridging the many
exceptional parts of myself.
exceptional parts of myself.
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It means honoring the fact
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that my tongue can contort itself
to speak the romance languages
to speak the romance languages
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without denying or exoticizing the fact
that when I am moved, it can do this:
that when I am moved, it can do this:
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04:35
(Ululating)
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It means --
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(Cheers)
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(Applause)
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04:48
It means branding cattle with my mother
or chopping firewood with my cousins
or chopping firewood with my cousins
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doesn't make me
any less fabulous or queer,
any less fabulous or queer,
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even though I'm now accustomed
to rooftop shindigs, wine-paired menus
to rooftop shindigs, wine-paired menus
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and VIP lounges.
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05:00
(Laughter)
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05:02
It means wearing my pride
through my grandmother's tongue,
through my grandmother's tongue,
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my mother's food, my grandfather's song,
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my skin etched with stories
of falling off donkeys
of falling off donkeys
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05:13
and years and years and years
of sleeping under a blanket of stars.
of sleeping under a blanket of stars.
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If there's any place I don't belong,
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it's in a mind where the story of me
starts with the branch of me being queer
starts with the branch of me being queer
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and not with my rural roots.
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Indigenizing my queerness
means understanding
means understanding
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that the rural is a part of me,
and I am an indelible part of it.
and I am an indelible part of it.
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Thank you.
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05:38
(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Katlego Kolanyane-Kesupile - Artist, activistKatlego Kolanyane-Kesupile is the founder of the Queer Shorts Showcase Festival, Botswana's first and only LGBT-themed theatre festival.
Why you should listen
Katlego Kolanyane-Kesupile is an ARTivist, communications specialist and human rights practitioner from Botswana. She is the founder and artistic director of the Queer Shorts Showcase Festival, author of "…on about the same old things" and a globally performed playwright with a vested interest in the development of LGBT+ inclusive cultures in Africa. She holds a Masters in Human Rights, Culture and Social Justice.
More profile about the speakerKatlego Kolanyane-Kesupile | Speaker | TED.com