Short Summary
"...an amazing, in depth and much needed exploration into the lives of India’s marginalized communities…" --Gaysifamily.com
Although India and South Asia as a whole contains the largest (both literally and per capita) trans community, they are underrepresented in media and largely ignored by general society. As one of the most marginalized (if also revered and historically significant and often celebrated) communities in S. Asia, Project THEY hopes to help give trans individuals in South Asia an opportunity to have their voices touch a wider audience by offering a platform to express their own identities.
My husband is a film maker studying at Academy of Art in San Francisco, and I am an international development professional (graduated form the California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco in 2013 with a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies) , focused on creating social change and better opportunities globally. We have known for a long time the potential to collaborate, our skills overlapping in the realm of documentary film making. It wasn’t until recently however they we found our vision and gained the confidence that we can help tell this story and that others will receive it positively and support the project.
When I was in South Asia in 2008 and again with my husband in 2010, there was one thing I always wondered about, but found very difficult to explore. Whether on the bus, train, or walking in your neighborhood you are liable to meet one or more "hijras." Third-gendered? Trans-feminine? Eunuch? Specific gender identities were never mentioned to me, just that they were all hijras and you must give them money or they will curse you. Few people seem to wholeheartedly believe that hijras have the ability to curse or bless people(perhaps they do, we may be lucky enough to be able to explore this in the film), but all agreed you must give them money. Men seemed to give money because they were uncomfortable, women because they felt pity (this is MY perception, I cannot speak for anyone other than myself and my perceptions.) While the hijra community as a whole seemed accepted as a body, they are none the less marginalized, most often only being able to find employment in sex work, or alternatively performing Baasti (begging for money.) Besides the fact that conditions for sex workers are far from ideal in South Asia, hijra’s access to opportunities is far behind other groups.
After coming back from South Asia, I found the body of work on the trans communities of the region to be hideously lacking. A handful of documentaries and a great deal of queer theorists using hijras as an example. They are reduced to the fact that they have a long history of being sacred and revered, or that they are the largest community of trans-folk in the world (without including trans-masculine persons). This is true, but it does not speak to and rarely includes the voices of hijras themselves. We want to change that, by facilitating others to tell their own stories, not by creating our own narrative about what it means to be hijra.
What We Need & What You Get
Our total goal is $10,000, to meet the costs of shooting Project THEY for 60 days this summer.
Our costs may go down if we receive equipment donations, or offers/confirmations of places to stay for free. Typically cost of living would be a minute fraction of the costs; however because we will have a good amount of pretty expensive camera equipment and our laptops, we will need to be a little bit more concerned about safety than in the past. That dirty hotel in Cottonpet that cost 300rs a night, isn’t going to cut it this time around.
The largest portions of the cost will be flights and costs associated with filming (hiring a few extra pairs of hands if necessary, making donations to organizations/participants we visit during the filming, hiring translators when necessary.) We are also looking for volunteers who are either locally based or willing to pay their own way to come and help (or virtually!).
Because it is possible that we will receive some in-kind support, we do not know what precisely our final costs will be. As such we are trying to crowd fund to raise our modest budget of $10,000. We will also have personal funds, which we will not include in the fundraising process but will be there to make sure that we have additional resources to tap into when the funding inevitably runs out. If we end up raising more than our budget, it will just mean that we can purchase better equipment, or get more shooting time to make this the best film it can possibly be. Whether we do not raise enough or we raise more than we thought we would, this project is already rolling, and we will complete some form of the project. The length may change, or we may be shooting with less than ideal with equipment, but one way or another, we are doing this thang!
Very rough breakdown of costs:
Flights-$3000
Housing-$600-1500
Food-$800
Equipment-$500-$1000
Transportation- $500-$700
Donations to organizations for allowing us access and their time- $1000
Compensation for volunteer participants-$500
Extra hands/translators etc-$500-1000
Miscellaneous: $500 (visas, vaccine….)
PERKS-
We have some pretty great perks to offer, including film credits, DVDs with personalized cover art by Kayla Keller, and awesome Project THEY T-shirts!
The Impact
The recent over-turning of the repeal of the ban on homosexuality also effects hijras as much if not more than cisgender males. Because so many hijras are involved in sex work and often do not have the option of “passing” if they want to get by in their daily lives, they are most subject to being victimized by the police, unable to find other work etc. After the ban was repealed, many institutions were changing policies to better accommodate trans-gender women by including third gender categories on applications, registrations, and even passports. There is huge danger that the gains that have been made in the struggle for equal rights in India will be lost.
This isn’t just relevant in India right now, but all of the world. 2013 was a big year for feminists, for anti-choice legislation, for LBTQ rights, and for conservative law bodies. Trans-women sit in the middle of all this, and are rarely afforded the agency to speak for themselves or even be included passively in the discourse. None the less, there many trans-women with powerful things to say, and whose voices should be no less loud because the discussion of oppression is being had publicly by only the oppressors.
Other Ways You Can Help
Visibility is key to the success of the campaign and the more you share this project, the higher our 'gogo' factor. So spread the word! Sharing on social media, yelling about it on a soapbox, and passing out flyers are all ways to help us reach our goal!
In terms of in-kind support, we are really open to many kinds of donations. If you have used camera equipment that you would like to donate or lend us for the duration of the shoot, we are very interested.
We are also hoping to be able to accept flyer mile donations, although there are some difficulties around doing so. If you do have flyer miles you want to donate, contact me and we can see if it would be possible to use them.
If there is anything else you think we could use but you are not sure, just contact me! :)
