data: Sobota, 04.09.2021
godzina: 15:30-17:00
miejsce: Ada Puławska
fb: https://www.facebook.com/events/1029786824491543
opis: Here the self description of Needle n Bitch
soon with images!
Dear friends…
Through this letter, we’re trying to open wider networking and solidarity with you all there. In this letter you will find brief explanation about us and what we did, and links related. This is also a solidarity call for fund raise due to our next project and plan.
Right now we’re selling our crafts for this, but of course you can always support in other way as you please
Who are we?
Needle n Bitch is a safe space for wmyn/men/trans or what ever your sex and sex orientation is.
Not only a physical space, but also a place, situation, and condition we create to provide safe, secure, and comfort feeling for anyone who are not able to access it in this sexist, patriarchy, and homophobic society.
It is part of Institut-a- Infohouse and Community Center, an anarchist project. Needle n’ Bitch focuses more on wmyn, personal and sexuality issues.
Needle n’ Bitch is an effort, initiative, and spirit to create more friendly and safe space among our little ‘society’. We invite friends to support these issues and participate actively, together hand in hand building solidarity.
Needle n’ Bitch also the label of our DIY re-cycle handmade which we create to support our collective needs since we stand autonomously without support from NGO’s or other funding. We made hand made re-cycle crafts such as bags, pouch, note book, journal, bum bag, apron, patches, tees, etc with re-used materials (fabrics and papers).
We also use these crafts to campaign our issues and send information.
Why Needle n’ Bitch?
Some friends asked us about the word ‘bitch’ we use, most of them feel offended and un-comfort with the word because it contain negative meaning. But we have to say proudly “Yeah we’re those bitch”. In our society, wmyn with tattoo, smoking, dress what ever we like, not married, share house together with men, will directly and easily judge as BITCH. We try to deconstruct those perspectives by showing that these bitch has something more than you thought.
Why we need safe space?
It is obvious for us who’ve treated as ‘second’ sex in the middle of discriminative, patriarchy, and sexist society, every single word and act we take were harassed, ignored, mis-understood, discriminated, etc.
Generally we are facing constant, structural and systematical repression in our life which came in many forms and layers. We’re seen as unimportant being, helpless, powerless. It’s very difficult for us to express our self, to show our emotion, passion, feeling, and honest without feeling insecure, dominated, and repressed. We are forced to obey and follow the ‘standard’ and ‘normality’ which created by the society, culture, state, advertisement, religion, and capitalist.
Our space is not for wmyn only, who ever you are; men, women, transgender, what ever your sexual orientation and preference is; hetero, gay, bisexual, mono, poly, etc, you are welcome to share with us. You can express your mind and feeling freely and open, express your experiences, thoughts, opinion, ideas or what ever that you’ve kept inside and not able to deliberate in other place because you’ve been judge as immoral, sinner, not normal, freak.
We are using skill share as one medium to learn together such as sewing, craft, screen printing and anything with DIY culture. We talks and discuss various issues starting from feelings, politics, sexuality, anger, and bed…
We also held discussions, campaign, workshops, information distribution about gender awareness, health, sexuality, through various medium.
Why hand made and re-used?
Main material of our crafts come from re-used material that we collect from various sources such as sewing or tailor shop, photo copy and printing shop, friend’s offices, also from ‘waste shop’, and we do it all by our self. This is a critique and direct act upon the consumerism and instant world we live in today. We don’t want to contribute more in this capitalist system and don’t want to contribute more in environmental problems comes from products.
Activities:
- Crafts production and distribution with wmyn’s, sexuality, body authority, DIY culture, and politics issues
- Info sheet; in each craft we create, we include some information such as menstrual calendar, safe abortion hotline
- Bitching; skill shares together with discussion about sexuality, relationship, politic. Etc
- Tabling; selling our crafts and mobile library in various events or in public spaces
- Workshops; free skill share in events or communities
- Zine and flyers; we’ve made ‘Sister Be Strong’ zine, a compilation of personal stories from friends with sexual abusive and repression experiences, struggles to defend their rights on their body and autonomous decision.
- Translation of closed related issues into Indonesian language
- Street events and campaigns (film screening, workshop on sexuality issues, skill shares, discussion, exhibition, postering, etc)
Some experiences…
Along the way, our house become second house for some friends who dealt with serious domestic situation (physical and physiological violence), they came to get emotional support and empowerment through talks, information, also skill shares. We feel that this is very important situation and process for us here because most of friends who dealt with such situation were ashamed and afraid, feeling lonely and have no support.
What’s next?
After 3 years of our projects and activities, with it’s ups and down, dynamics, etc in Jakarta, West Java (capital city of Indonesia), we’ve decided to move our space to Jogyakarta, central Java. Some considerations such as the living and rent cost, more possitive environment in the activism and communities, etc.
In Jogya we hope to find better place and environment, with the same ammount of money we spent here in Jakarta for house rent, we can get bigger space in Jogya. This will help us to develop our project due to the small space we had before in Jakarta.
Important info related to our plan
Our old house rent will be finish on September, this means we have to move and organize everything (find new place and move our stuff) before or at least at September.
Transfer information:
Bank
Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), Daan Mogot branch
Account Number : 0189746145
Name : Nidya Paramita
Swift Code (IBAN) : BNINIDJA
Head Office address: Jl. Jendral Sudirman Kav. 1, Jakarta 10220, Indonesia
Paypal
haris-h@riseup.net
Thanks for your solidarity!!!
Needle n’ Bitch believe every individual is cool without gender stereotyping
Needle n’ Bitch believe every individual is sexy without consumptive
Needle n’ Bitch believe every individual have free autonomy over their own body
Needle n’ Bitch believes every individual is a rebel!
Get in touch with us
E: needleandbitch@riseup.net/instituta@alphabetthreat.co.uk
FB: needleandbitch@riseup.net
Web: needleandbitch.org (on progress)
