“As you already my name is Jorge Kizzy and I’m a Ugandan queer makeup artist. I come from a country where Queer people are criminalized for being LGBTQ+. Last year the Ugandan president signed the Anti-Homosexual bill into law and this is one of the worst laws ever to be put in place because it has a death sentence as one of its punishments if found engaging in homosexual activities. Hundreds of proposed bills and laws like that one restricts Queer people from accessing proper health care, employment and housing. Its laws like these that are put in place to eradicate us. Often people will say gender issues are so complicated to understand, but I think people will choose what they want to care about.

Growing up in Uganda I never knew people like me existed at all and I thought maybe I was broken because there were no Queer people documented anywhere and not even in the media. In it would always be something negative making news about Queer people. The more I grew my feelings for the same gender developed I had to find the strength to accept myself and find other people like me. The first community people in Uganda I met were Trans women and I realized we were facing the same issues as a community in Uganda. I volunteered to work with a Transgender Organization in Uganda to spread awareness about LGBTQ+ rights and issues and I felt a gap between us the activists and the locals because all the organization’s activities were directed towards policy change. Policy makers make the policies that affect the LGBTQ+ communities and engaging policy makers wasn’t enough for me.

In order for us to see change I decided to create empathy within the locals with the use of social media and my makeup artistry. With the help of TikTok and Instagram I gained a big following and as Beauty Influencer and I was the first out and proud Queer person to be invited to one of the most recognized red-carpet events which is covered by the press. I used my platforms to sensitize Ugandan society about different gender expressions and also worked with a local brands and international brands like Smirnoff. I have a passion for makeup and through my artistry express myself which is quite fulfilling because I get to communicate to my audience through my work. It’s been seven years of me doing this and I have only three words for it; ‘I LOVE IT’.

Last year February 16 I got arrested from my home in Uganda on the reasons of being Queer. And after paying for my bail to be released my life was never the same. The law was incriminating anyone who knew about someone being gay and not calling the police on them. This included your family, your friends, co-workers, even your landlord. So,I got evicted from my house, I got dropped by brands that I was working with and Ididn’t get any more makeup bookings from my clients. Online people used to send me threatening messages and threats and I stayed at a hotel for three months until I got someone that would rent me a house. This law did not only affect me but it affected to whole entire LGBTQ+ community in Uganda and the people that used to work with us.

With everyone’s life at risk I was among the lucky ones that could afford to purchase a visa and leave the country. And in August last year my visa was approved and in December I bought a ticket and came to Canada for a fresh start. Coming here I hoped to work and help people from my community to leave the country and move to safer places. My life in Canada I still do my social media content as before and I work for Shoppers the Glebe as a Beauty Specialist / Social Media manager and Mac Cosmetics as a makeup artist.I am perusing a degree in property management and administration. I love Interior Designing too so I’m looking forward to add that to my courses too.”

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