Engaging all genders in an open dialogue
The rise of social media has enabled people to connect on an unprecedented global scale – where ideas, opinions and observations can be shared and discussed and no topic is left unexplored.
Locally, however, talking about ‘taboo’ subjects is still frowned upon by a conservative segment. However, BENDR is here to change that.
BENDR is a social media-based dialogue platform based in Sri Lanka that aims to actively engage both men and women in an open dialogue on gender and related topics.
Battling against archaic gender stereotypes, conditioning and academic gatekeeping that prevents open conversation, this platform is making strides towards getting people talking about issues that have yet to be broached but affect everyone in intersecting ways.
The BENDR community was started by a core team of four, namely Nadine Croos, Natalie Soysa, Chadini Fernando and Nalindra Godakanda. It initially began as a conversation among friends about these issues. But the team soon wanted to share the platform with the public.
“Why should there be an age or social class specification on gender? We are all affected by it in intersecting ways and we all need to work together to change that.”
Today the community has blossomed into 500+ Facebook group members, 350+ Instagram followers and more in just over 3 months.
The topics covered by BENDR are boundless, according to the team, as gender has “filtered itself into just about everything around us.” This can include anything from Gender Stereotypes to Gender and Sexuality, Sexual & Reproductive Health (SRH), Gender Identity and more.
Content is sourced by looking at “what’s going on around us both locally and internationally, how the media frames the dialogue and what academic dialogue is taking place around these topics,” according to the team.
Currently, BENDR operates through their Facebook group, Instagram account and website.
However, the team plans to expand into a trilingual online and on-ground space for open dialogue on all things gender, as well as a space for activism, campaigning and raising awareness on gender issues and gender based crimes. The team reveals that they also plan to put forward merchandise BENDR to fund further work.
The response has been overwhelming, especially with friends and strangers alike finding meaning and purpose through an all-inclusive community that encourages exploring subjects beyond themselves and “all that we have been told,” the team shares.
They feel that as Sri Lankans, how we respond to things are determined by many external stimuli.
This includes upbringing, learned behaviours, the media and even the histories of the people we interact with which determine our opinions to a great extent. “When a point of dialogue that challenges all that is brought forward, you’re bound to hit a brick wall. Or even aggression.”
By opening up a respectful dialogue and challenging things that have never been questioned or have been taken for granted, BENDR encourages self-reflection and learning from each other — with the belief that there are no wrong answers, only different opinions.
At present, the team sees more opportunities as opposed to challenges when it comes to promoting the platform. In this sense, they hope to continue to expand, and this also includes their team.
“We need more resources, more artists and activists working together. BENDR has become something meaningful to us and our ever growing community. So we will continue to give it meaning and purpose.”
You can find BENDR on their blog https://bendr.home.blog, their Facebook group www.facebook.com/groups/543582402801999 and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/bendr.lk