On Tuesday, the Rhodes Must fall exhibition took place at UCT’s lower campus – and of course, as this movement is one that is still growing, disruptions took place. This time, however, there was no violence or destroying of property, but instead a little recognised group was taking a stand against the dominant members of the RMF.
You see, UCT’s Trans Collective – a group of transgender, gender non-conforming and intersex students and their allies at the University of Cape Town – stood up against the exhibition’s misuse of them as well as the low representation of the group. Also seeking a move away from the white male patriarchal society, the group has played a massive role in forming dialogue within the RMF and how they have moved forward. The exhibition, however, tells a different story.
Again, a movement is being carried forward and represented by cisheterosexual [Cisgender (born the gender you identify as) + heterosexual] males who do not care or consider the lesser gender roles – including females. In fact, one of the biggest concerns of the Trans Collective was the glorifying of a cisheterosexual who has known to sexually assault women. Hence, “Rapist”:
But I bet you wouldn’t have even heard of the Rhodes Must Fall exhibition if it weren’t for these UCT Trans Collective coming out to protest against the images used. The stand they took holds more truth than the exhibition itself.
However, the group is not saying that they want to leave RMF, instead, they want the people within to recognise the role of every type of person and include them and their issues when it comes to conservations on moving forward.
Here’s an excerpt from the Trans Collective’s statement, which you can read in full HERE.
We must, however, state unequivocally that our disruptive intervention at the RMF exhibition should not under any circumstances be construed as a rejection of RMF or a departure away from decolonisation. We maintain that decolonisation is necessary for a reclamation of our humanity as black queer trans people. Our intervention is an act of black love. It is a commitment towards making RMF the fallist space of our dreams. It forms part of the journey towards the ‘logical conclusion’ of the decolonisation project. There will be no Azania if black men simply fall into the throne of the white man without any comprehensive reorganisation of power along all axis of the white supremacist, imperialist, abliest, capitalist cisheteropatriarchy. To our minds this interpretation is line with this commitments that RMF has made in its mission statement to in March 2015:
The demonstration by the Trans Collective has received applause and apologies from members of RMF.
The exhibition has – for all above reasons – been closed and it is unsure whether it will be opened in the future.
[source: ewn]
