Activism through public testimonial: Challenges and implications for sexual and gender communities
This article examines the experience of activism by individuals who use personal testimonials delivered in a public forum to advocate for the social inclusion of their sexual and gender communities. We describe the experience of activists from three social groups who are the target of stigma and discrimination due to their sexual identity, sexual practices, gender expression or the development of their bodies: people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer or intersex (LGBTQI), people living with HIV and people with sex work experience – and their intersections. A political, sensitive and intersectional conception of community is put forward in order to capture the transversal aspects of this militancy while highlighting the singularities of the multiple perspectives that compose it. We conclude by noting similarities between such community testimonials and twentieth century feminist interventions and the epistemic and mobilization challenges they raise.