I am Creatrix Tiara.
In 2016, I seek freedom.
GET ME OUTTA HERE!

7 min readFeb 8, 2016

This is a repost of my GetTiaraOuttaHere site — since I acquired a ton of Medium followers in the past couple of days, I thought I’d try posting the content here to see what happens.

Who Am I?

Me at the White House LGBTQ in Tech & Innovation Summit in August 2015

I’m Creatrix Tiara. My life philosophy is to sign up for anything that looks interesting — mostly leading to writing, performing, producing, researching, presenting, volunteering, managing, and working with various projects and organizations on topics as diverse as intersectionality, arts & tech, media, race, gender, creative sexuality, LGBTQ issues, alternative education, and fandom.

Among other things, I have: debunked Ello’s privacy manifesto, proposed a viral headcanon about Beauxbatons as a Muslim-run school, created provocative anti-racist burlesque, factchecked MH370 misinformation, researched pop culture pagans, advocated for youth empowerment, made a popular quip about “the bastard child of Paris Hilton and Voldemort” at Slutwalk, got to the bottom of the mystery of butter cookie tins and sewing kits, pointed out that Donald Trump’s views aren’t particularly novel and that changing how names are displayed doesn’t need to be hard, explored the Willingness to Pay for porn and much more. I am also active on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, Medium, Metafilter, and all over the Web.

Where Am I?

Countries I’ve lived in (orange), countries I’ve visited (purple), country I’m currently in (red)

Currently: Johor Bahru, Malaysia — where I was born and raised. I’m back here because my US visa expired & I didn’t have enough to afford to return to Australia.

Aug 2012 — Aug 2015: San Francisco Bay Area, USA — 2 years of an MFA and then 1 year of OPT. Here I expanded my performance art practice, became more involved in anti-racism and LGBTQ rights, developed South Asian community for the first time, worked and trained as an academic tutor, and explored the tech world particularly through arts, writing, games, and Women/Girls in Tech efforts. I tried, but failed, to get an H1-B or other visa.

June 2006 — Aug 2012: Brisbane, Australia — 2.5 years of a Bachelors in Creative Industries followed by a few years of sparking and developing a career in the arts (particularly burlesque and community cultural development). Dove into queer community through arts and volunteering and became very vocal about the intersections of sexuality and gender with race. I applied for Australian permanent residency, which was granted in 2014.

February 2004 — June 2006: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — a year and a half of foundational/pre-university studies, then a semester off traveling with Up with People before working in television for a few months.

Elsewhere: Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Qatar, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Canada

I need to leave.

Why leave?

1. I’m stuck with no job or other opportunities nearby. While JB is the second-largest city here (behind the capital, Kuala Lumpur), there aren’t really a lot of opportunities for careers or artistic endeavours — people with my background tend to head to Singapore or KL, if not further. I have applied to jobs in my town but nothing’s come up yet.

2. I would like to regain my support systems. In the US and Australia, I had close access to various support systems, such as therapists that appreciate my non-normativeness as well as communities, social networks, and things to do that aren’t malls. I don’t have any of that here — the only activity spaces nearby are the malls, I have not had a therapist for months, and my nearest friends are in Singapore or KL. I’m doing the best I can, but it is not ideal.

3. This country is unfriendly and closed off to people like me — Bangladeshi, queer, female, artistic and activisty. (I fully recognize that I have significant class privilege that mitigates a lot of this.) I am frankly surprised that I have managed to avoid trouble for as long as I have, but the recent passing of the National Security Council Bill does not give me confidence.

4. I feel at my best when traveling. I have a family-inherited love for travel and wanderlust, having flown since I was a baby. As someone who always feels like the Other anywhere I go, traveling helps me be at peace within, and connects me to tons of people and communities and opportunities. Traveling makes sense in a way many other things in my life don’t.

While I’m here I’ve been doing my best to manage my isolation and keep myself busy, but it’s not sustainable in the long term and I need to head to a better situation.

I need your help.

I am currently looking for jobs, fellowships, gigs, education, or any other opportunities that will take me out of Malaysia long-term if not permanently.

What I Can Do

Writing and Editing — I have a diverse writing portfolio with publications in Model View Culture, Autostraddle, Racialicious, Matador Network, and many more. I’ve also edited for The Scavenger, Mission@Tenth and wrote scripts for Channel [V] International.
Performing and Presenting — I have a body of self-produced performance pieces (burlesque-based or spoken word) as well as acting credits with Yoni Ki Baat and The Vagina Monologues, amongst others. I have also presented for ABC Australia Network’s My Australia and 4zzzFM’s feminist radio show Megaherzzz.
Tech and Games — I am highly skilled in social media and developing skills in digital media, including Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud, and various CMSes such as Wordpress, Drupal, and Joomla. I’ve also founded and worked on project management, information architecture, design, user experience, research, and content for the apps Screet and ImmigrationTracker as well as the games Eleanor and Here’s Your Fuckin’ Papers, which won the Diplomacy Award at GaymerX’s GXDev Game Jam and was featured at GaymerX 2015.
Research — I really enjoy diving into research holes for all sorts of topics, from critical media analysis of MH370 and alternative education to women in STEM and planner decoration culture. I’ve also presented on racial diversity in sex-positive performance for the Erotic Screen and Sound academic conference in Brisbane.
Production, Organizing, and Admin — I built up the beginnings of sexual health startup Screet, gaining highly significant traction and interest from women and queer people worldwide, and organized SlutWalk Brisbane 2012. I’ve also worked with organizations such as the Center for Sex and Culture, Queensland University of Technology, Zen Zen Zo and many others on production management, strategic planning, administrative support, and others.
Education — I’ve worked as an academic tutor and editor for all education levels, from elementary/primary school all the way to undergraduates and (post)graduates, particularly with international students and students from English as Second Language backgrounds. I’ve also worked with youth and adults on creative writing and performance development.
Many More — Check out my LinkedIn or my website for more!

What I’m Working With and What I Need

Working With:

Currently studying Harvard Business School’s HBX CORe, providing the fundamentals of business analytics, financial accounting, and economics for managers — final exam is in April 2016
Submitted applications for multiple fellowships and educational opportunities, including UC Berkeley’s Digital Humanities Post-Doctoral Fellowship (awaiting decision); was rejected from Harvard Business School (read more about it) and The New York Times’s David Carr Fellowship
Job applications and interviews in Malaysia and Australia
An offer by a Melbourne theater to produce a local version of Yoni Ki Baat (though I will need resources to afford to do so)
Masters of Fine Arts, Creative Inquiry from California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco and Bachelors of Creative Industries, Interdisciplinary Studies (Creative & Professional Writing, Creative Industries Management) from Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
Australian permanent residency and Malaysian citizenship
Access to a computer and a pretty regular Internet connection (mobile and WiFi)

Need:

Visa Sponsorship for anything outside Malaysia or Australia
Opportunities that pay me or provides scholarships/stipends (if educational) rather than opportunities to work for free/spec
Appropriate healthcare coverage if outside Malaysia or Australia
Opportunities and places that do not require driving or cars (I can’t drive)

How Can You Help?

Make a personal introduction with someone you know is in a position to hire me or recommend me for a hire
Refer me to specific jobs or opportunities that you think would fit my skillset or what I’d be interested in
Tell people you know about me — share this page, share any of my work, tell them about my situation and how they can help
Drop me a dollar to cover costs from moving, application fees, and so on — you can use Square Cash, Stripe, PayPal USA, PayPal Australia or get in touch with me for details for Venmo, PayPal Malaysia, or Malaysian bank transfer. Note that except for the Malaysian bank transfer and the AU/MY PayPal accounts, all the others will send money to accounts that are linked to my U.S. bank account, which I access online.
Drop me a line of support — I’d love to hear from you!

Get In Touch / More Links

Thanks for your support!
Visit the Original Site: GetTiaraOuttaHere.Co

I am Creatrix Tiara. In 2016, I seek freedom. GET ME OUTTA HERE!