africologneFESTIVAL: VOM BEGEHREN BEGEHRT ZU WERDEN von JOSEPHINE PAPKE

Gespräch und Lesung - Eine Veranstaltung von "African Futures - All Around"

"For a long time I thought it hurt me that I didn't fit into the ideals. Then I understood: the norms of this violent society are not made for me. They are the ones that hurt me. But how much of the normative violence have I already internalized? And how much work do I have to do to resist them?" -Josephine Papke

Maya struggles with the duality of her desires: she wants to be respected, valued, and loved. But sometimes also desired. For the person she is. Yet this feels impossible. Because in this racist society, the Black female body becomes a projection screen for hypersexualized patriarchal fantasies. What is to be done when she refuses to give in to this and yet is so affected by it? Does she only resist when she embodies the opposite of all the ideals? And when is the so-called self-empowerment only a pretext to win the competitive race for attention and recognition?

Josephine Papke studied theater and film studies and works as an author, cultural journalist, editor, poet, dramaturg and performer. Her art often negotiates the intersections of queerness, BIPoC identities, and pop culture.

To be desired by desire is a piece commissioned by africologneFESTIVAL to Josephine Papke on the thematic focus of violence and resistance. SUPPORTED BY the German Translator Fund within the framework of the Neustart Kultur program of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the Kunststiftung NRW.