Sacha Kridelka is so Amicalement Gouine

With her Instagram account and her podcast Amicalement Gouine, Sacha shares her thoughts and educates on lesbian and queer experiences. 

Tell us a bit about yourself. What has been your journey? 

My name is Sacha Kridelka and I’m the creator of the Instagram account and podcast Amicalement Gouine. I realized early on that I was a lesbian and initially felt very comfortable with my identity. When I was 14, I started a relationship with my current girlfriend and, without ever really coming out, I was openly queer in the environment in which I evolved. But over the years, I was confronted with lesbophobia from some of my family, friends, teachers, and health professionals, who really pushed me to reject my lesbian identity. It then took me a long time and a lot of energy to accept myself fully, and I wanted to find a way of sharing with others the things that had helped me to do so.  

What are your current or future projects?  

Currently, I’m developing educational, cultural and entertainment content related to the lesbian community on my Instagram account. I’m about to launch the second season of the podcast Amicalement Gouine, which talks about the reflections, doubts, and particularities of lesbian and queer experiences. I’m also developing an exhibition on lesbian archiving in partnership with the Liège collective Lesbiches. 

What does being a part of the Brussels queer community mean to you? 

I love the Brussels queer community! From what I’ve seen of it, I think it’s rich in audacious people, innovative projects and kindness. I’m also very proud of Liège’s queer community, which I’ve been discovering over the past few years thanks to the TransPédéGouines collective, which organizes numerous events, including the first Liège Pride. Attending all these initiatives gives me great hope for the future of queer people in Belgium.  

What are your queer influences? 

I particularly admire the work of Joëlle Sambi and Sara Machine, whom I saw live at Crazy Circle’s Back To The Roots event at last year’s Pride. A mix of queer slam and electro that I won’t soon forget! Although I wasn’t touched by all the themes they addressed, and therefore don’t realize the full scope of their performance, I have the feeling that Joëlle and Sara’s appearance on stage plunges queer people into a cloud of love and comfort. In a completely different register, I aspire to make the community interested in my work feel the same way. 

What Brussels queer initiatives are you fond of? 

I’m a big fan of Crazy Circle, the city’s lesbian queer and feminist bar, and especially of the Back To The Roots event. I think the organizing team has a real understanding of the history of prides, which allows everyone to have fun while truly honoring our heritage through authentic spoken words and queer performances.