A Recording of this Lavender Lunch is available here!
As a traditionally nomadic and Shamanistic society, Mongolia has never adhered to a system of dogmatic rule. There has long been an unspoken fluidity around gender and sexuality. Soviet laws in the 20th century introduced homophobic and transphobic rhetoric and ideologies. In the ‘90s Westernization perpetuated stereotypes and spread the concept that queerness was a foreign import, while also creating more space for varying identities to self-identity. In this Lavender Lunch, Brandt Miller will share his experience working with the Mongolian LGBTQI community for 14 years. He will track changing queer identities in the Mongolian context and discuss his experiences while immersed in the community as an artist, activist, and foreign gay man.
Brandt Miller is a writer, filmmaker, and storyteller currently pursuing his MDiv degree at Pacific School of Religion. His creative background is diverse: from a Fulbright Fellowship in Mongolia documenting the underground queer movement – to reporting for an English-language newspaper in Cambodia – to obtaining his MFA in Creative Writing at Columbia University. Most recently, he has been working as a producer in the documentary film world. Social transformation, storytelling, and divinity are interweaving threads that will continue to inform his professional and personal journey.
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