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Wednesday 25 February 2009 Gender DynamiX presented a panel discussion as part of the Pride celebrations in Cape Town. The topic of discussion was about how do we as LGBTI people discriminate and have prejudice against the more marginalised members of the LGBTI community who are disabled, transgendered, bisexual or elderly. A diverse cross section of the LGBTI community was represented by gay men, lesbian women, members from the disabled community, bisexual and heterosexual people from a variety of cultures. The event started with the screening of a short movie, produced by Shelly Barry which addresses mainly ‘spaces of discomfort’ between a mother and her transgender child who is wheelchair bound. Pam Dlungwana spoke about the challenges of being bisexual in lesbian spaces. A very constructive discussion was held around the reasons for the prejudices people have for marginalised people. It was realised that we need to first accept ourselves for who we are before others can accept us. It was also agreed that we need to engage with the rest of the LGBTI community, integrate our agenda’s into ‘mainstream’ LGBTI agendas and educate at each and every opportunity which presents itself. “An event like this needs to be repeated... definitely” – Vincent Daniels, Chair person of the Western Cape Network for Disability. Andre Carl, author of Moffie commented: “I’ve learned one helluva lot last night... and I was deeply, deeply touched”
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