In more recent times they were adopted by the American Occupy Movement, and became a common occurrence in most parts of the West. The modern standard, which is now-recognised by many social campaigns, uses a number of hand signals based on simplified American sign language to facilitate communication in public gatherings.

If you find that your meetings and public events sometimes struggle with multiple people talking at once, or if you find that they can be difficult to access for some groups, then you might want to consider implementing hand signals into your next event.

For more information on these hand signals and how to use them, please visit this Wikipedia page.

If you want more advice on actions for IDAHOT 2016 then consider joining our creative protest group on Facebook.

Safer spaces policies are the rules by which a community agrees to operate. They help make sure that marginalised individuals are free to be themselves, and help prevent some of the problems common in mainstream society (such as racism, sexism or transphobia) from becoming a part of the community. In preparation for IDAHOT 2016 we’re sharing a few short tips that you should know before creating an official safer spaces policy for your event or community space.

Understand your community

Before starting to create a safer spaces policy it’s good to know which members of your community would benefit most from it. Within LGBTQ circles women, trans and non-binary people, and people with disabilities are often marginalised and excluded from the conversation more than other groups. (In Western countries also people of colour face similar issues).

A safer spaces policy should exist to ensure that those voices within your community can still thrive and contribute. Looking at your community and understanding who would benefit is the best way to start making a policy that tackles these important issues.

Preempt problems

Before even starting a policy it’s also important to understand the problems that are common. Do men dominate conversations and action? Do people with disabilities struggle to engage? Is the language you use accessible and easy for everyone?

Look at some of the common problems your community faces, both in mainstream society and in your own spaces, and attempt to identity some ways in which they could be avoided. Every community in every country is different, so there is never a one-size-fits-all solution to these issues.

Promote cooperation

Rather than making a set of rules that bans some people from acting in certain ways it’s always much more useful to promote cooperation instead. If one group, for example, tends to talk while another listens then you should try to promote behaviour in which these roles are reversed. You should always try to encourage others to voluntarily give up their typical role rather than try to take it away from them.

By making everyone aware of their own behaviour, and how it effects others, you can also foster cooperation that can be hugely powerful in mainstream society too.

Avoid alienating and generalisations

In a similar way, it’s also important to remember that your policy does not help to further alienate certain people from the community, even if they do typically hold a position of power within it. Bad safer spaces policies from the past typically relied on rules that excluded those individuals from participating instead.

Although it may seem like this is an easy way of addressing power imbalances, it often only helps to exclude individuals from your community entirely. Remember that the primary aim should be to prevent issues common in the mainstream and to build a community that is entirely inclusive in ways that mainstream society is not.

An important part of this effort is not making assumptions about anyone’s background or identity. Although it can be easier to generalize this can lead to many problems, which within the LGBTQ community should always be avoided.

Get feedback

If you’re writing the policy on your own, or as part of a small team, make sure you get feedback from the rest of the community. If a rule or suggestion isn’t working you might want to remove it. If something is missing you might want to add it.

It’s difficult sometimes to address the needs of everyone on your own, which is why it’s important to take feedback and criticisms from those individuals themselves. Encourage your community to share input on their own needs and wishes, and try whenever possible to include these within your policy.

Know your legal rights

Sometimes a community will be forced to exclude individuals or groups that make it difficult or impossible to operate. If someone breaks your rules, either on purpose or through continued ignorance, then you may wish to exclude them from your space. In these cases it’s important to know where you stand legally. Every country will have different laws around removing someone from a property or event, so make sure you check in advance to know where you stand in case a worst-case scenario occurs.

In some cases legal standards will make it easier to enforce the rules you’ve set. In some countries these laws may make it difficult to operate freely. It’s always important to make sure your policy operates within legal parameters, so that everyone within the community is safe from further issues.

Make your policy known

Publish your policy online and in-person whenever possible. If you are in a shared or public space make sure you have physical copies, or a display, at entrances and in key areas. This will ensure that everyone understands the policy and can operate by its standards.

At the same time make sure people know how, and to whom, to give feedback. The policy should also make it clear where to report other concerns, and what to do in certain situations.

A policy is only useful if it’s known and agreed upon!

Learn from others

Although every safe spaces policy is different a lot of them follow similar lines. If you’re still unsure on what to include then try researching groups in your area that might have their own policies. It’s also important to learn from the mistakes of others that you might have encountered, so you ensure you don’t repeat them!

Safer spaces policies fro several groups can easily be found online in many cases. Using these as a template or jumping off point is a good way to start. However, make sure not to simply copy-and-paste the policy of another community, as your own issues may not be fully addressed within!

Make sure to check out our website in the next few days for more information and ideas for action. For updates, news and more also make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. 

In celebration of International Dance Day we’ve gathered seven great tips to help you incorporate dance into your actions for IDAHOT 2016. Whether it’s a small individual performance, or a group event, dance can be used in many creative ways – either as the main focus, or as a smaller part of a big event!

1 – Hold a flashmob!

Originally designed in response to rules against public gatherings, flashmobs are now a popular tactic across the world. The idea is simple: A group gathers secretly in a public location, using text or social media to coordinate their meeting. The activists blend into the crowd until signaled to begin a special pre-planned performance.

It could be a highly-rehearsed, coordinated routine, or something much more amateur. Whatever it is, flashmobs can be a great way of engaging younger people and raising public awareness of an important specific issue.

For more ideas, check out some of the past events which have used flashmobs for IDAHOT.

2 – Use traditional elements

All across the world LGBTI individuals have existed as long as humans have, yet in many countries the idea that LGBTI identities are a recent invention still remains. Whether it’s traditional music, traditional dance, or both, incorporating traditional elements into a performance can help bridge the perceived gap between the LGBTI community and a culture’s traditional elements.

Traditional elements also help attract sections of the public that might not normally engage with LGBTI issues to your campaign, but is perhaps most useful in the way it can shift public perceptions.

For more inspiration check out Gay Gordan’s traditional Scottish dance group, or the London Gay Men’s Choir.

3 – Get a live band

If you want your event to draw lots of members of the public then one of the best ways is through live music! Not only is it a great way to put on a show, but can always be a great way of supporting local musicians, especially LGBTI musicians who might not often get a platform!

Search your local community for bands that can perform alongside your dance. It might seem like a daunting task, but it’s usually not too difficult to find talented and enthusiastic musicians who are happy to support a good cause.

4 – Busk or hold a street performance

If your group is very small, or even if you’re only an individual, then a street performance (known as busking in some parts of the world) is a great way to draw attention to your cause, or to raise important funds through donations.

In theory, all you need is a sound system and public space, but its good to make sure that your performance is well-rehearsed too. If you’re raising awareness make sure you also bring along information such as signs or leaflets too. In many cities you may need a permit or special permission, so check in advance with local authorities before you hold a performance.

5 – Contact schools and community groups

If performance isn’t your thing then consider working with a local group who are willing to support your event. Schools, community groups and dance groups are often eager to put on a show, and contacting them might be a great way to build links with the local community.

6 – Build a mobile sound system

If you have the time or resources then a mobile sound system is great for making sure your performance doesn’t have to remain static. Whether it’s a car or van with speakers, a bicycle trailer, or even a person-carried system, having a system that moves with you is ideal for parades, protests and marches.

Have a look online at other people’s systems, look around your community and see what you have available. You might find you have the perfect components for a mobile system already to hand!

7 – Make it loud!

Although dancing is a fun and creative outlet for communities, the most important aspect is its ability to draw attention. Bring colors, loud music, exciting costumes and other visual and aural aspects can ensure that your performance draws as much attention as possible.

When it comes to IDAHOT there’s no such thing as TOO VISIBLE! When you’re planning your performance you should always make sure you’re doing your best to ensure it’s as visible, loud and attractive as possible!

So, it is no wonder that radio programmes still play an important role for activism all over the world, also on May 17.

FemLINKPACIFIC is a community media initiative that aims to empower women and under-served communities in Fiji. In recognition of IDAHOT last year they launched the radio program “Rainbow Connections”, together with SOGI activists, in which they addressed issues ranging from Gender Equality in Disaster Risk Management and Responses, Economic security and equality in decision making, access to services, and disability rights.

We asked Sharon Bhagwan Rolls from FemLINKPACIFIC to tell us about the radio programmes and the experiences they made. We thank Sharon for taking the time to respond to the questions and share their amazing action with us. Here is the mini-interview.

We think it is great that you highlighted the link between the struggle for women’s and LGBTI rights. Can you tell us what the process of that decision was? And was that the first time?

No it definitely was not the first time to be involved with or supporting IDAHOT but definitely a first event we jointly hosted outside of the capital city and linked to rural women leaders; In fact this is a reflection of FemLINKPACIFIC’s foundation or the her’story of our management collective which included leading activists in particular Peter Sipeli who was in 2000 the volunteer coordinator of a gay rights network based at Women’s Action for Change. Our philosophy also as a feminist media network is to provide the platform to enable women of all diversities to have a safe space to communicate and community radio in particular is a place where the “Rainbow Connections” broadcast team was able to both collaborate but also have their own organisational voice – so it is truly about diversity and plurality in and through the media.

Do you have other collaborations with LGBTI activists and how did the communication work?

As mentioned before, it stems from our foundation and has continued being to support and work in solidarity in whatever way possible and we had the first member of the Rainbow Women’s Network – Uha – join our team of community radio volunteers several years ago. So it has been in terms of our broadcast partners deciding the time, space and content. We provide the skills and the media platform and share the technology and training initiatives and so it is about a community (media) of practice which is truly diverse!

Can you tell us about the programmes, what was the content?

The programme was truly powerful and celebratory because it also linked to FemLINKPACIFIC’s 10TH Anniversary of Fiji and the Pacific’s first women-led community radio station FemTALK 89FM on May 5, 2004. Our theme for the 10th anniversary campaign “Communicating Peace, Development, Diversity, Security and Freedom” connected with the theme for World Press Freedom Day 2014 as well as the Freedom of Expression theme for IDAHOT 2014.

The process in Nadi enabled Miki Wali (Haus of Khameleon), Uha Fifita (Rainbow Women’s Network) and Jasmine Kaur (Oceania Pride) to invite members of their local networks to our Nadi consultation. We then set the scene for the discussion through personal introductions and also reaffirming the safe space and on the first day it was Miki, Jasmine and Uha sharing their stories. On day 2 we started with reflections as I also wanted the older women from our network to share the impact of these presentations and once again it was very powerful indeed! The collaborative approach was amazing – I was impressed by the LGBT participants who asserted themselves into the process (rather than asking for special spaces) and that basically reaffirmed that women of all diversities in rural communities experience violence, have a collective vision for peace and leadership and collective priorities for development.

What was your aim and do you have the feeling that your expectation in terms of outcome were met?

I personally wanted to demonstrate the inclusivity of our work, as well as that we were also ready as an organisation to proactively be more inclusive of women of all diversities in our own network meetings and that has continued ! In terms of the media as the producer I wanted to ensure that ALL the women, regardless of the sexual orientation or identity, supported to communicate their issues on radio and on television.

Are you in connection with other radio station that do something similar and did you receive any support?

It was our own campaign.

Were there any risks involved for you as an organisation, for the radio program or the people involved?

No risks

How much time did it take to prepare?

We worked together from about February when we launched the “Rainbow Connections” radio shows but had already made a decision in late 2013 to commit to supporting IDAHOT with a rural event

How did you analyse/rate the impact of this action?

The event worked as planned – we are also reminding our rural women leaders that leadership for equality, justice and peace is about speaking out and supporting / working in solidarity with all women – and we are seeing this through the ongoing solidarity and collaboration especially in our rural activities in Nadi (we had a follow up broadcast in December and this involved reps from the SAN network) and within our Suva network as well; members of the LGBT community felt confident and safe to participate, not just in a radio broadcast but a television programme produced by FemLINKPACIFIC so I feel professionally that we are able to be a media organisation for women of all diversities and in 2015 we continue to have the Rainbow Connections shows and there are more young people from the LGBT community connecting with our media initiatives;

There has also been collaboration between the young people of FemLINKPACIFIC and the Haus of Khameleon such as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIbeaLYMjEg&feature=youtu.be and also the Fiji Young Women’s Forum

What kind of difficulties did you face and what advice would you give to other people who’d like to undertake a similar activity?

As mentioned we brought together 3 groups of the rainbow coalition and we had to take into account and respect their own experiences and relationships with each other – but the way to manage that is to bring the focus back to the event – ultimately we collaborated to host a consultation, organise and stage “Radio with Pictures”!

Are the programmes still available somewhere online and can they be used by others?

Yes, please “like” our You Tube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goHJk72PYFk

Would you do it again and if so, what would you do differently?

Take it up a notch with a divisional consultation

Do you already have plans for this year’s IDAHOT?

Yes indeed – the focus will be back in Suva tied in with our technical expansion of FemTALK 89FM Suva and I have asked the “Rainbow Connections” broadcast team to develop a concept and we will be discussing on how we can implement together.

However, how does one choose which brand or which cause to support amidst the expansive sea of competing brands and causes — all of which could very well be equally important and worthy of our support and time?

Usually the answer to that would most likely be a personal one — a person would support the issue that is closest to them or the issue that aligns most with their own personal values and beliefs.

As many would take a humanistic approach in their decision-making, one of the best ways to appeal to people and garner support for your cause (even brands and products), is to put a human face to it.

All causes would have the figures and reasons on why their cause is important, however, one must not forget the most essential element in all of the statistics, evidences, and reports behind all those reasons — the human beings affected by the issue.

Below are two examples of social media campaigns that focused on issues of race and racism. The approach taken by their creators was to simply humanize the often complex and contentious issues presented.

I, Too, Am Harvard

I, Too, Am Harvard was a campaign expressed through a collection of photos that had been posted on Tumblr to illustrate the personal experiences of black students at Harvard University. The multimedia project was the result of interviews with over 60 Harvard undergraduate students holding signs and bearing messages about their experiences as Black students of Harvard.

The campaign, as well as the concept spread to other universities including the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and McGill University, and eventually reached to over 32 universities worldwide, with minority students, presenting their experiences as Asian/Indian/Muslim/etc. in their universities.

The purpose of this campaign is to simply provide the voice and the human face of the marginalization, the stereotyping, and the racial microaggresions these Black (and other minority) students experienced. As long as complex issues are being addressed in discussions and debates, these issues will only remain abstract or theoretical notions, rather than actually being applied to living experiences and realities as human beings. The daily effects of marginalization, systemic discrimination, and oppression experienced by this group will be rendered into academic terms without any actual consideration nor concern.

Hopefully, by presenting a more personal statement, especially to those that illustrate the emotional weight and mental impacts of those daily effects, it will help others truly realize that apart from “I, Too, Am Harvard”, the most important aspect of the campaign is:

“I, Too, Am a Human Being; Deserving of His/Her Rights and Respect, Equally as You.”

http://itooamharvard.tumblr.com/

#HeIsNotASuspect

The next anti-racism campaign was launched in response to the George Zimmerman not guilty verdict of the death of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year old African-American, who was fatally shot by Zimmerman.

Launched by Essence magazine, a monthly magazine for African-American women, #HeIsNotASuspect, was organized as a counter-stereotyping social media campaign to stop racial profiling.

The following was their statement on the campaign:

“We launched our first-ever counter-stereotyping social media campaign to stop racial profiling, #HeIsNotASuspect. We were determined to alter mindsets and present positive images that prove our Black boys and men are so much more than a stereotype.”

Also, the magazine invited their readers — the mothers, sisters, daughters, and grandmothers — the African-American women (who are often the unacknowledged victims of violence against African-American men) to post images of the men in their families/lives accompanied with a few words about them and the hashtag, #HeIsNotASuspect across various social media platforms, especially Twitter and Instagram.

So, similarly like the “I, Too, Am Harvard” campaign, this action also tries to humanize a minority racial group in America, and most importantly, to raise awareness of the most deadly impact of racial stereotyping — the loss of lives of African-American men.

Below are a couple of the tweets from the community response in support of the campaign.

Especially in the context of the European elections, LGBTI organisation in various parts of Europe addressed the importance of including the situation of LGBTI people in Europe and worldwide in the political agenda of the parties and pushed for commitments to Human Rights with regards to SOGI (sexual orientation and gender identity).

We have picked out some examples below, to show a few ideas on how to push and advocate for LGBTI Human Rights during elections.

ILGA Europe launched the campaign Come Out – European Elections 2014, targeting and engaging voters, as well as MEP’s. The focus’ of the campaign were: To inform and push for enhancement of LGBTI equality and Human Rights, to strengthen EU’s position in the struggle against homophobic and transphobic backlash in Europe and to raise awareness of the importance of voting for all defenders of LGBTI Human Rights.
The organisation, together with their members, wrote a pledge which they presented to the candidates standing for the European elections.

ILGA-Europe and its members approached the candidates and inviting them to sign our 10 points Come Out 2014 European Election Pledge. The Pledge summarises the key issues that ILGA-Europe wants to see advanced at the European Union level over the next five years.

Furthermore, ILGA Europe reached out to their members and individuals and encouraged them firstly, to inform themselves about the political agenda of the various parliamentarians and candidates, and secondly to address the candidates who have not signed the pledge and ask them why they have not done so. And thirdly, to raise awareness of the elections and the candidates’ position amongst their friends, family and colleagues.

ILGA Europe also held a panel discussion with representatives of various political parties prior to the elections where activists, journalists and members of the public were able to ask questions and discuss their demands with the politicians. Additionally, ILGA Europe published a video in which MEP’s, activists and opinion leaders stated their vision and view on LGBTI Rights and the European elections.

In Greece, the groups Athens Pride and Colour Youth – LGBTQ Community of Athens launched the ʺVote for your rightsʺ awareness raising campaign. Prior to the elections, they asked their supporters to send in their statements which were then carried on placards around the historic city centre of Athens on May 17.

In Bulgaria, Bilitis and the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee had also organised a discussion round with MEP candidate from Reformatorski Block (Reform Block Coalition) and Genady Kondarev, one of the founders of Zelenite Political Party (the Greens), on a broad range of issues concerning LGBTI people. Other candidates sent letters of commitment to the issues.

The organisation Kapul Champions (KC) marked IDAHOT for the first time in Papua New Guinea in 2014, in a country where same-sex practices are still criminalized. With their campaign Walk With Me – Together We Are PNG they reached out to members of society to talk about issues of sexual orientation and gender identity; and advocated for law reform, supporting community mobilization and promoted increased access to health and HIV services.

With a poster promoting the campaign they approached regular people on the street, officials, regional and international supporters and even law enforcement to discuss the still existing stigma and discrimination against men of diverse sexual orientation and transgender people. Over 300 people participated and posed in pictures with the poster, adding their message to support the campaign, such as ‘We are walking with you’; ‘We don’t hate, We Love’; ‘I do not discriminate’; and ‘A great initiative from Kapul Champions, I support #WalkWithMePNG’. These picture were then posted on Facebook and by May 17 the FB page had 130 members.

We want to thank Nick Morea-Evera, the Senior Program Officer at Kapul Champions for taking time to share their experience and offering more insights into the campaign. Below is the interview with Nick.

Tell us a bit about the campaign and how you came up with the idea? Did you see it somewhere else or did you come up with the idea by yourselves?

It starts with the Poster which is called WalkWithMe. It is very inspiring, it says walk with me and we address stigma and discrimination for men of diverse sexual orientation and transgender in PNG (Papua New Guinea). Initial ideas for some poster campaigns including the Walk With Me poster were discussed among 40 young men of diverse sexualities and transgender people who were participating in a Leadership Development Group program that was led by AFAO (Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations) and Poros Sapot with Australian DFAT (formerly AusAID) funding.

Taxi Driver stating “I transported all kinds of people, I do not discriminate” Source: WalkWithMe

Previously, there were some organisations who had done something similar. It is new to us, so we said we approach and meet people and get their feedback on how they would support homosexual people in PNG. We asked the people’s consent if they would be OK to be in a picture on our Facebook wall. And they said: ‘Go ahead.’ We were taking shots with people standing with the posters. And we asked them what they would like to say to that.

How many people were involved in the campaign, aside from you?

We had our board members to help. They are based in other parts of PNG. We have 5 regions here and the other board members also used the poster back in the provinces, in the highlands, Momase and in the Southern regions. So we were promoting the poster everywhere. We also had support from our friends who are members of other organisations. We sent the posters to our friends in Sydney who work with AFAO, and in Bangkok. And also to the guys who work with the MSM/TG, they also helped us to put posters on the block. So there was a good combination of posters.

It is really interesting to see how the poster spoke to the people about the idea of accepting men of diverse sexuality and transgender people. I also did an approach to the parliamentarians. One time, they had a meeting and I walked in there to talk to them about it. I asked them if I could put the picture with them on the wall of our Facebook page and they were OK with that.

What were the risks and the threats you feared and/or faced and how did you cope with them?

The fear that I had was that they would ask me about illegality but actually nobody asked me that. All they did was to look at the poster and that was the most interesting thing for me.

We are an organisation for men of diverse sexual orientation in PNG. I think our country is a very good country when you approach people to talk to them about what you are doing. They tend to accept anything if you explain it in a nice way, on a face-to-face level and I never had any negative responses from anybody. They were just happy to take their pictures and have it on Facebook. They were happy when I told them where they can find the picture and they said they would check.

I also had support from AFAO who support our organisation for the last three years. They are really supportive of what we are doing and they helped us throughout this campaign. For us, it was something really new and I also had the fear that there would be stigma or discrimination towards me if I walk through the streets with that poster. But I think everything worked out pretty well.

Did people also hang up the posters in their stores or offices?

When we took the shots with them and the poster we told them that this was their poster. We asked them if they would hang it in their houses or on the wall in their office space. That was their decision.

I also went down to the police station and took a shot with two police officers. I explained who we were and that we are trying to reduce stigma and discrimination against men of diverse sexual orientation and transgender people. So I offered the poster to them and said they could give it to anyone at the police station or whoever walks into the police station. When I went back I could not see the poster but maybe they gave it away (laughs).

How much time did you spend with preparing and conducting the campaign? And also how much did the whole campaign cost you?

Going out on the street is cheap. Cabs and buses here in PNG are really cheap. It is really not that much, and the helpers did it for free at their own hours. The main cost was printing the posters. We also received support through funding from Australian Aid.

We sat down in a meeting to discuss ideas for May 17. In February we opened the Facebook page and told everyone in their provinces about the poster and that they would promote it. So in less than 5 months we reaches out to over 300 people. It was in a very short time.

And in May we launched the article which was written between KC and AFAO to summarise the poster campaign activities and achievements. It was then distributed to KC stakeholders to profile the campaign and increase KC accountability and reporting on its activities to key partners.

How would you rate the impact of your campaign? Do you think it had an effect on society in PNG?

The KC membership has grown through this campaign which strengthens the network of men of diverse sexualities and transgender in PNG. I think it is slowly getting to the mindset of people, the diversity of sexual orientation and identity.

I would say there is more that needs to be done, with different messages to reach out to people. The approach in PNG has shifted to the key populations here. If I would do it next time there will be more information about what the key populations are doing. KC along with other CSOs, were invited to join parliamentarians from the Committee who focus on the HIV response, and in this meeting I spoke with them about the work of KC, freedom from discrimination and how that links with the HIV response.

After the poster we also had some media things, so people begin to understand that this is about men of diverse sexual orientation and transgender people. It worked out well but there is more to be done. People have different attitudes and different mindsets, so stigma and discrimination is always there but we need to keep on being out there to educate people and tell them about identity, gender and all these things. And explain what we really want.

The last question would be if you have any advice for people who are starting to plan for IDAHOT and who might want to do something similar to your campaign?

I would say: Have the confidence to go out there and talk to people.

And don’t forget to work with the people who are already working in the field, like NGO’s who are working with the key populations. Always ask for their advice and they will give their input. That actually helped me to be motivated for days and helped to move out there to do something better. Make a list of people, reach out to them and ask them if they will be there.

One thing I did not talk about with people was same-sex practices because in PNG the laws says that same-sex acts are illegal. We can say we are doing this campaign for men with diverse sexuality to reduce stigma and discrimination against transgender people and MSM. Sometimes they ask me about the terms and I have to explain these things really carefully. I also say we are doing this to reduce the negative impact of HIV on all the homosexuals, sex workers and transgender people. So they have an idea of what we are doing and why.

Poster of the campaign WalkWithMe – Together We Are PNG

Our expressions is what makes us visible, what makes us liked or disliked, what brings us enemies and allies.

Expressions come in many forms, and each campaigner will be faced with an early crucial choice : whose expression are we considering?

and under what form?

The answer to the first question is very often “Everyone’s”: while many campaigns chose to have celebrities, moral authorities or selected individuals carry a standard message, many others increasingly chose to call for public expression.

Public expression campaigns have the combined benefit of generating original content, which can serve as basis for advocacy (for example when the campaign aims at collecting powerful stories, which will then be brought to decision makers), and of reinforcing the community by drawing more people into the action.

But inviting the public to express themselves is not necessarily easy.

The answer to the second question is often “Selfies”. Many campaigns indeed are based on people sending selfies, which arguably is the easiest form of participation, both for those who contribute and for those who are in charge of validating the content (a split second tells you if a photo is OK to be posted, or to remain on a FB page or a Tumblr account, whereas written contributions take often very long to read and it might in addition be difficult to determine at times if some writings are OK).

Most selfie campaigns will be based on people sending a picture of themselves holding a sign with their message.

But as time goes by, selfie-campaigns have become quite worn-out, and campaigners need fresh ideas for public expression campaigns;

In a previous article, we documented the ‘Kiss the Pride’ initiative which invited the public to send ‘Rainbow lips’ selfies.

We also documented how nudity and sexuality are being used in selfie campaigns

There are many ways in which a selfie campaign can be tailored to the campaign’s message.

A feminist campaign once asked the public to deconstruct images of masculinity/patriarchy.

A campaign from an LGBT organisation, which wanted to make the point that legal and social obstacles to expressing your full sexuality left people incomplete, asked the public to send half portraits of themselves and created a giant display of these submissions.

In some contexts, coming out as LGBT is just too risky to allow for a selfie campaign. BUT there are creative ways around it. This incapacity to show your face publicly can become the very message of your campaign. French photographer Philippe Castetbon created a campaign by which people sent creative shoots of themselves where they remained unidentifiable. The campaign message was clearly that repressive legislations and social climates deprive people of the very basis of their identity: their image.  In places where criminal laws are in place, selfies can feature people’s faces masked by bars, featuring prison bars.

Holding a mirror in front of your face when you take the selfie is also a powerful way to demonstrate how the person looking at you (and maybe condemning you) could easily be in your place.

Need more ideas to inspire your next selfie campaign ? Check out

Buzzfeed

Improvephotography

If you feel your public needs advice to take good selfies, check out these and also see below a nice infographic from the postplanner site

One cool contribution, which comes from China, is where LGBT activists were staging a mock same-sex wedding ceremony in public, as part of a campaign for marriage equality. But handing out pamphlets is not allowed in China, so activists feared that they would clash with police, with serious consequences for their safety. So they had the very clever idea of handing out red roses to people who were watching their ‘ceremony’.

The red roses were wrapped in a piece of paper containing the demands for marriage equality. By the time the police forces were able to make their minds up whether this amounted to handing out pamphlets or not, the protest action was over.

Fortune cookies could make for a nice alternative – treats wrapped in a message explaining the point of the protest, or pointing passers-by to further information.

——— 0 ———

From the Netherlands, country of flowers amongst all, we bring you a lovely creative idea that will stun your audience:

Women’s movement have been at the forefront of this since the 60’s and up to today, with prominent anti-patriarchy group FEMEN or campaigns such as #FreeTheNipple campaign

There is even a specific global day for denouncing how women are expected to be perfect sex objects, and at the same time are pumped full of body shame from childhood. GoTopless Day always falls at the Sunday closest to Women’s Equality Day, Aug 26.

For LGBT people too, nudity is highly symbolic and LGBT groups have also used their bodies as a vehicle for expression, either to depict their oppression, as when the FEMEN protested in front of the Vatican in 2013,  or their liberation, as is the case when naked bodies march in Pride parades. As a matter of fact,  the recent crackdown of authorities on nudity during Pride marches has indeed been widely recognized as an attempt de de-politizice the LGBT liberation agenda.

For Trans organisations, the body is particularly both a vehicle for expression and an end in itself. The perfect example comes from  a transgender US woman who in 2011 removed her top at the public authority which refused to alter the gender designation on her driver’s license from male to female, despite the fact that the U.S. federal government Social Security office already had. As it is legal for a man to go topless in public and since the Tennessee Department of Public Safety refused to recognise her as female, Ms Jones decided to protest her treatment by going topless, stating “if I was a male, I had the right to, when I stepped out the door, take off my shirt… It’s not right for the state to ask me to be both male and female. A choice needs to be made. They cannot hold me to both standards.”

But nudity can also be used as a vector for other messages. In which case, nudity is taken in its symbolic meaning.

A good example of nudity as a message is the animal welfare group PETA, whose activists strip to “go naked instead of wearing fur”.
The message is very clear: Be comfortable in your own skin so the animals can keep theirs!

Generally, being naked in the world today is associated with exposure — vulnerability to the elements as well as to other people’s desires. Every June, for instance, the World Naked Bike Ride expresses the extreme vulnerability of bicyclists in our car-addicted culture.

And when 600 Greenpeace protesters went without their clothes on a glacier in the Swiss Alps to highlight global warming, nudity served to depict warming.

Nudity is also an easy symbol for poverty. Students in Quebec took their fight against tuition increases and threat of future debt to the streets with naked marches to highlight their economic vulnerability.

Ways of making nudity a part of the message obviously depends on contexts, languages, etc. In English, the vocabulary around “being stripped of one’s rights” “exposing” or “the naked truth” allow many connections.

Nudity can also be used indirectly as part of a wider message. An interesting example is the HIV Shower selfie challenge, created by Housing Works.

The campaign is based around the idea that asking “are you clean”, referring to HIV status, is offensive, and implies that anyone who is HIV positive is somehow “dirty”. The campaign invites people to take a photo of themselves in the shower using the hashtag ‘#weareALLclean’.

 Nudity here serves its purpose of being an eye catcher and making the whole action nicely kinky without being provocative. Submissions were screened by the hosting website, to avoid offensive content and pornography. That is something to take into account, as it takes a lot of resources, especially if the campaign if very successful and you end up with hundreds of posts to go through and approve before they go up on your site.

Another creative campaign that uses the hint to sexuality is the UK #cockinasock campaign (Get Your Sock Out), an initiative working to raise awareness and funds for testicular and prostate cancer. After the first “cock in a sock” selfies were posted, the campaign went immediately viral worldwide, with national and international media coverage. The campaign succeeded in walking the thin line between provocation and humour.

Even when nudity is not part of the message, it creates one of the most powerful ways to attract attention. Straight allies stripping naked against homophobia is arguably one of the most potent ways of support, given that the underlying (or unconscious) assumption is that straight men should be afraid to be naked with gay men for fear of sexual abuse.

One very powerful initiative in this area is the initiative of the Nottingham UK) Hockey Team which raised awareness for an anti-homophobia campaign by playing a hockey match – completely naked.

When nudity is not an option, either because of strict enforcement of decency laws, or because it would alienate parts of the public that the campaign aims for win over, it can still be used, through suggestion, or through its sheer absence : Wrapping bodies up in symbols of women’s alienation to domestic work like wash-up sponges, is a way to use ‘nudity’ while not exposing a piece of flesh!

Clearly, nudity and hints to sexuality are in fashion, provided that the limits of decency are respected. These limits are obviously very dependent on collective cultural standards (remember the fuss about Janet Jackson’s boob?) but also individual attitudes. Provoking your opponents (traditionally more conservative fringes of the public) while amusing your supporters is a double win, if done correctly.

Aware of the power of humour, and the attraction of young people to a more liberated version of sexuality,  some conservative groups have lately been trying to also walk this line. In France, the opposition to same-sex marriage in 2013 was funded in large parts by the church, but was led by a rather provocative woman going with the very ‘second degree humor’ official pseudonym of ‘Frigid’. The demonstrations included slogans hostile to feminists like “give me sex, not gender”. Sexuality is clearly being used not only by “progressives”. A good analysis of how it has played out in national contexts, including how it has been used in advertisement, is absolutely necessary before engaging into action.

In any case, be mindful that most social media have a very strict nudity policy, and posting content deemed offensive can get your account to be suspended.

 For more insights into nudity as a form of protest:

Wikipedia on nudity and protest

The Mirror: Naked protests: From topless bike rides to nude hikes and animal rights campaigns

 Waging nonviolence