Just for Funzies

I made this piece last week in response to the readings and discussions we had centering on homosexual/trans/gay/queer/quare topics.

With this piece, which I call "Glitter Fuck," I express my anger and frustration over what little emphasis is placed on queer issues in this course, in this program, in this school, and in this society. 

I also attempt to answer the question "So what?" in regards to a critical analysis of our readings and discussions. "Queer" can mean a lot (or nothing) to different people, depending on how you define it. What it's really about, though, is queer bodies. By that I mean bodies that highlight differences and sameness in unconventional ways. Bodies that desire contact with other bodies in ways that are commonly deemed perverse and amoral. Bodies that don't easily fall into specific cultural categories. It has a lot to do with how a queer person sees their bodies fitting in (or not) with the bodies around them. 

So what? So we carry this queerness with us until we find other queer bodies and create our own culture. So we are read as gay or straight or butch or femme or male or female or odd or normal depending on the context and the other bodies around us. And we keep on loving the bodies we have and the bodies of other queer people. 

One way that queer bodies can disrupt the flow of social interactions is in the very way they blend, bend and "fuck with" gender cues and roles. Much like the GenderBread person Iu-Luen showed us last week, it can be difficult to understand the layers and ranges of gender expression, gender, and sexuality that are represented by queer bodies (not just for observers, but for the queer person themselves).

I feel that a lot of societal homo/trans/queer-phobia comes down to disapproval of the basic ways that queer people choose how they present themselves in public and who they have sex with and how. For a fundamentally conservative, religious and prudent society, a lot of Americans spend a LOT of time thinking about how queer people fuck. 

In a society that is supposedly about freedom of choice and pursuit of happiness, the very ways that queer people try to find that happiness is often demonized, tokenized, and misrepresented. And, more commonly and perhaps more dangerously, ignored.

I found this website that is a really good resource for social justice/lgbtq/identity/respect/etc. terms and issues, and it has a nice little (incomplete) glossary. It not only talks about queer, trans, gender, and sexual orientation themes, but also touches on issues of power, privilege, race, and general "otherness."

Also, please recognize that I do appreciate the time spent in this class talking about everyone's perspective on queer issues, and this little essay is mine. 



<------ please enjoy this rainbow chain (a response to the talk about layers of identity)