iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

Picked my favorites 💐 ✨ Tulips ✨ Dalton Farms, NJ

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

July 2015 Former President Barack Obama’s visit sparked a widespread rumor that his visit aimed to discuss decriminalization of homosexuality. Comments on Dr Tedros Adhanom’s post speak volume about that time.

110

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

December 2011 During the 16th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) held in Addis Ababa, messages of protest spread, claiming that the conference’s objective was to promote homosexuality & pressure the Eth govt to pass supportive legislation. globalvoices.org/2011/12/01/e...

110

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Key dates on the evolution of anti homosexuality advocacy and online violence against LGBTQIA+ communities in Ethiopia: 1/

1114

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

In the face of relentless disinformation and the shattering weight of systemic denial, queer Africans continue to create safe spaces for themselves. Every quiet search for connection and every hidden gathering is an act of defiance — a refusal to be erased.

151

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

🤩 Ethiopian and Eritrean queer stories to the streets. To be seen. To be heard. A song of resistance ✨ Billboard from Exposure Photography Festival. (📸 Mitra Samavaki) Calgary, Alberta

141

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

My photography project Wonderfully Made, which highlights the Ethiopian and Eritrean queer community in the US, is featured in this year’s Exposure Photography Festival and opened last night ✨ If you are in Calgary don’t miss it - at Contemporary Calgary.

020

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

Today, I have a home where anyone who has been mistreated because of their sexuality, or who can’t be queer, Habesha, Eritrean, Ethiopian, Oromo—whatever their identity—in their own home, can come and be themselves.” 3/end From a conversation with an Ethiopian American queer woman.

000

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

…When I turned 18, a family member outed me by sharing personal social media posts of me and the girl I was dating. My parents threatened me and even threatened to out her to her family, even though she wasn’t out—and as far as I know, she still isn’t. That’s when they essentially disowned me… 2/

100

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

“I grew up in a very religious household where my parents often expressed that they didn’t believe the LGBTQ+ community deserved equal rights. Yet one of God’s commandments is “love your neighbor as yourself.” Why would you deny your neighbor the same rights you have? 1/

100

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

Even decolonization would need to borrow decolonization just to decolonize academic spaces smh

000

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Dan Ware, the founder of Toto Tours, issued a press release, and I often think about the message he received from a gay Ethiopian man v v v Since then, digital violence has worsened, leading to unsafe streets, and countless individuals fleeing the country.

000

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

She faced the night sky and the forest alone, driven by her convictions. After one particularly cruel incident with her stepmother, she went into the forest, took thorns, and tattooed her hands. When I asked her what those tattoos meant, she said, ‘The wilderness is safer than home.’ …. 3/ -

040

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

At around 10 yrs old, she ran away from her rural Ethiopian home to escape an abusive stepmother & an arranged marriage. She trusted her instincts, knowing she deserved better, even though no one guided or supported her decision. Her bravery inspires me. 2/

150

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Excerpt from a conversation with a queer Ethiopian American woman: “My entire family knows I’m queer.The most challenging relationship is with my mom, who is homophobic, likely influenced by her culture & religion. I’ve been searching for ways to help her understand because my mom is my beacon. 1/

191

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Reminded me of “…& when we contend that the primary concern for sex workers is the sex involved in sex work and not the criminalized & stigmatized nature of their work, not the material conditions of their labor, we fail to acknowledge & address the actual abuses many sex worker communities face.”

010

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

6th cataract of the Nile. Sabaloga area /North of Khartoum, Sudan April, 2017

061

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

He said he is from France. I asked him if he knewTobias from Austria. #AfricanInWhiteFields

120

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

The way delivery guy rang the door 😭 I almost met my ancestors. He could’ve just left the package for the thieves smh

010

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

Sharing a portrait of Reverend Nokuthula Dhladhla, a queer Rev from South Africa who, after being excommunicated from her church in her early 20s due to her sexuality, opened a church for queer individuals. When they don’t let you sit at the table, build your own! Soweto, SA Nov, 2023

050

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

Picked up running a few weeks back. And preparing my first half marathon ✨ Did 7.2mi this morning 10:51/mi

120

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Excited to share that my photo project, Wonderfully Made, highlighting the stories of Ethiopian and Eritrean LGBTQ+ individuals across the U.S., will be featured at the Exposure Photography Festival 2025! ✨