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MALTATODAY 10 September 2023

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15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 SEPTEMBER 2023 NEWS WHILE often overlooked, the Gozitan queer culture boasts a vibrant and important scene. Gayyaġni aims to pull this covert community out of the shadows and shed light on their contri- butions. To do this, we met with three members of LGBTI+ Gozo. We first met Catherine Camill- eri at the offices of LGBTI+ Gozo in Rabat. Catherine grew up in New York but moved to Gozo right before the COVID-19 pan- demic hit. However, she feels like she's found a new family in Gozo and still seeks to empower other queer people who don't feel able to live their authentic selves. Later, we met with Eman Borg to hear more about how Gozo has been changing over the years, and how people need to "wake up and smell the coffee" and understand that the Gozo demographic will continue to change. Our last stop was at Wied tal-Lunzjata to meet Antonella. She talked us through her child- hood in Gozo and what it was like to explore her sexuality against a conservative backdrop. IN the final episode of Gayyaġni, the focus shifts to the transgender and non-binary community. This seg- ment explores the complexities of gender and gender expression, high- lighting the challenges, prejudice, and beauty found within the journey of transgender individuals. We first met with Romeo 'Roxman' Gatt, the co-founder of Rosa Kwir. Rosa Kwir is a queer archive project that aims to allow queer people to document their own lives accord- ing to their own narrative. Roxman spoke to us about exploring his gen- der identity and the importance of queer people telling their stories. We also met with Noah Fabri, a mu- sical performer and founder of the pop-up library Geġwiġija. He spoke to us about the colonial aspects of gender and how he feels more aligned with the Maltese idea of a 'mararaġel' than most other gender expressions. Our last guest was Neville, or Ve- nus, a Gozitan drag queen. We spoke about femininity and what it means to be a woman – and how subjective the experience of womanhood can be. Episode 5: Unveiling the Gozitan queer culture Episode 6: Transgender journeys Celebrating the resilience, diversity, and contributions of various individuals and communities within the queer community, Gayyaġni aims to create awareness, educate, and foster acceptance Catherine, Eman and Antonella Clockwise from top left: Roxman, Neville and Noah

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