During the Secretions #3 DJ set, an incident of anti-Black racism occurred: in the second part of the set, the performer ReveRso appeared dancing and in drag – and, in this appearance, wore a wig with braids. Concretely, this was an act of cultural appropriation.

Before we go into further detail, we would like to apologize for the harm caused by this incident and thank Yezenia Léon Mezu for alerting us to the situation. We recognize the value of the educational labour rendered structurally by people who are affected by anti-Black racism themselves and know that it is part of our role and our responsibility to prevent such situations from occurring in the first place. Because our goal is to create events in which people in all marginalised positions can participate without experiencing harm. As the curators of PUGS IN LOVE – Queer Week 2021, we – Yunus Ersoy, Monica Marotta, Frederika Tsai – take responsibility for this. As the curators of the Secretions series, we – Kathryn Fischer and Adrienne Teicher – apologize as well, because we also bear responsibility.

In the second part of the DJ set, following the performance part, a non-Black person appeared again, dancing and in drag – and, during this performance, wore a wig with braids.

The performance, in which the wig supplemented a dress and white makeup, was not contextualised: the wig was a mere aesthetic device – which, after the performance, can simply be taken off again. At this juncture a specific point has already been reached, because a Black person can wear braids for various reasons and experience different consequences because of them. This means that, for Black people, this hairstyle is not merely a practical hairstyle or decorative, but also, at the same time, a way to “please” the dominant white gaze, which directly refers to the situation of oppression – as both a cause and a problem. Furthermore, braids often go hand in hand with a “lower class” connotation – the racist system thereby produces a situation from which there is no escape. 
Using this hairstyle as a mere aesthetic device conceals the far more ramified system of self-determination, oppression, aesthetic and culture. 

As part of our response, this statement has been added to the text description of the video of the performance, and the video has been cut before the appearance with the wig. 

The curators of PUGS IN LOVE – Queer Week 2021

Yunus Ersoy, Monica Marotta, Frederika Tsai


The curators of Secretions

Kathryn Fischer, Adrienne Teicher