Ayahuasca and LGBTQIA+: Anthropologist Shares Insights in Beneva Live

On April 13th, Beneva hosted an Instagram Live with anthropologist Lígia Platero, who studies plant teachers and shamanism. Platero is affiliated with the education program at the Chacruna Institute, an organization that is hosting Queering Psychedelics II with support from Beneva on April 22nd and 23rd in San Francisco, California.

During the conversation, Platero commented on the growing use of natural psychedelics such as ayahuasca in urban contexts. “There are more and more people in the city seeking this type of ritual experience, not only with ayahuasca, but also with other substances such as rapé, sananga, and kambô,” she pointed out.

“And there is a great demand from foreign people (…) who want to learn other knowledge from indigenous populations, in order to translate and bring it to the clinic. Indigenous knowledge has been there for millennia, and many people think that it needs a Western science endorsement to validate whether what they do really works.”

Platero, who identifies as queer, also commented on her marriage to sociologist Klarissa Platero, which was performed in a ceremony in Santo Daime. As she stated in the text that detailed the subject (read here), there is still a lot of prejudice within circles considered progressive. This is why events like Queering Psychedelics II are essential to prevent stigmas common in society from reproducing in the field of psychedelics.

The voice of LGBTQIA+ people

With over 40 speakers, the idea behind Queering Psychedelics II is to give voice to LGBTQIA+ people, reflecting on the direction of psychedelic substances in our society. Among the most anticipated talks are those of psychologist Clancy Cavnar, who will discuss the experiences of gay and lesbian people in the ayahuasca community and the effect of the psychedelic on identity perception.

Names such as Courtney Waston and Taylor Dahlia Bolinger will discuss the use of ketamine by queer people and trans activism in psychedelic spaces. Participants will also attend discussions on topics such as queer eroticism and psychedelic harm reduction for the LGBTQIA+ community.

“It will certainly be very exciting, and the two days will be quite intense,” declared Platero. “With this, the Chacruna Institute seeks to break down privileges and power relationships.”

Not everyone is the same

The discussions will follow Queering Psychedelics I, held in 2018, and whose talks gave rise to the 38 essays in the book “Queering Psychedelics: From Oppression to Liberation in Psychedelic Medicine.” The book covers topics such as privilege, intersectionality, and stigmatization of bodies outside the norm, as well as addressing the need to reflect on how to deal with traumas suffered specifically by the LGBTQIA+ population, which faces issues of social exclusion, pathologization, criminalization, and stigmatization.

“In the world of psychedelic medicine, efforts to make treatments more effective need to include an understanding of gay culture; how experiences of being ‘in the closet’ and shame and rejection influence feelings of safety,” explained Cavnar in an interview with the Psicodelicamente website. “In the world of psychedelics, there is this belief that everyone will be the same, that one day our eyes will be opened and we will no longer see differences. Clearly, this is not true.”

To learn more about Queering Psychedelics II, supported by Beneva, visit the Chacruna Institute’s website.

To watch the full Instagram Live with anthropologist Lígia Platero, click here.