Queer Care Conversation
23 March 2024
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Conversation on the transgender community in relation to the healthcare system.
This month, we are celebrating Queer History Month. As part of this, on 23rd March, we are hosting a conversation with moderator and curator Julia Visser and researcher Youssef Mahmoud. Together, they will delve into the issues faced by the transgender community in relation to the Dutch healthcare system. For centuries, the Oude Kerk has been a place where various forms of social care for vulnerable groups have been organized.
Visser will engage in a conversation with Mahmoud about their thesis research titled 'Empty Promises: The Dutch healthcare system failing the Trans-Community'.
Who is considered in need of care and why? And who has the proper access to healthcare services without humiliating procedures? Healthcare is highly political and exposes our interdependence and vulnerability. Together with Mahmoud, Julia will delve deeper into the history of gender-affirming healthcare, trans clinics, and the institutional obstacles that make it difficult for queer people to access appropriate healthcare. Youssef also emphasizes the importance of solidarity within the community, such as 'Dont Go Will Fund Them' - an innovative fundraising initiative led by transgender individuals.
About Youssef Mahmoud (they/them)
Mahmoud is a multidisciplinary artist born in Cairo and based in Amsterdam, as well as a graduate in political science, specializing in Public Policy and Governance, from the University of Amsterdam. Next year, they will begin their MS in Gender and Sexuality in Political Science. Their professional research covers topics such as gender performativity, transgender healthcare policy, and queer safety during military interventions. Additionally, they blend their artistic essence and performance elements from their background in music theater with club-kid drag, dance, and punk, challenging elements of gender with their aesthetic. They have performed at major events such as Drift Festival, Boiler Room Amsterdam, and Pornceptual, aiming to push the boundaries of identity, the body, sexuality, and drag.
About Julia Visser (they/them)
Visser is a curator and moderator from Amsterdam. Julia studied Religious Studies (BA), specializing in gender and sexuality, and Artistic Research (ReMa). Ritual history, heritage, form research, and activism form the core of their interests. Their ongoing research project, Red Light Heritage, aims to explore heritage as a strategy to preserve sex worker networks and workplaces in the neighborhood.