Megan Behrent's article “‘We Cannot Live Without Our Lives’: Art-Activism and the Struggle for Black Women’s Lives in Boston, 1979" dissects art “challenging the invisibility & silence around the lives and deaths of Black women” & political movements. #BHM www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/signs/cu...
Amazing! Almost there!
Two Women kissing in front of a line of police officers during a gay rights demonstration in Staten Island in New York in 1990. (Photo by Thomas McGovern.) Taken from "Making Out, Making Change: The History of Queer Kiss-Ins by Stef Rubino on Autostraddle
Hot for Revolution Caleb Ward Abstract Activists for feminist, queer, and disability justice commonly describe their work as motivated by an erotic desire to build a different world. This chapter argues that this is not merely a metaphor. Drawing on activist case studies and the work of Audre Lorde, the chapter shows that erotic desire and pleasure in social movements can foster political agency for people targeted by sexual oppression. It traces three political benefits of erotic passion in this context: personal empowerment, communal moral resistance against oppressive norms and justifications, and enhanced political imagination toward a world that supports sexual agency. However, because intimate relationships within movements are often distorted by dominant, pernicious ideologies around sex, these political benefits are only realizable when a movement is organized internally around a relational infrastructure – an ethos – that supports sexual agency and equality, responsive to the needs of those targeted by sexual oppression. Keywords: political agency, sexual oppression, social movements, sexual agency, Audre Lorde, feminism, disability, queer politics, moral resistance, political imagination
Members of the Lesbian and Gay community stage a Valentine‘s Day “Kiss-In” 14 February 1988 outside St Patrick’s Cathedral in New York to present a message of their unity and love in the face of the “church condoning anti-gay and anti-lesbian violence”. (Photo by MARIA BASTONE / AFP)
What does it mean to be hot for revolution—to feel a desire to transform the world in your belly and your bones?
Here's my latest, on how erotic desire feeds political agency. I draw on AIDS activism, disability justice & other movements against sexual oppression.
philpapers.org/archive/WARH...
Had such a wonderful time at this gathering and deeply moved by Sandi Cooper's words! Congratulations to the always fabulous Julia Rossi on her well-deserved award, and to the amazing @ria4983.bsky.social and @sarahoiland.bsky.social for putting on such an inspiring event!
And, many thanks to @ria4983.bsky.social and my amazing writing group without whom I would never get anything done at all!
“'We Cannot Live Without Our Lives': Art-Activism and the Struggle for Black Women’s Lives in Boston, 1979" is now available online in @signsjournal.org. Honored to be able to share some thoughts on the poets and activists who inspire and sustain me.
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Thank you! And, thank you for being there and for your comments!
Thanks so much for coming to the event and for your comments in the discussion!
Hi, if you are limiting the amount of news you consume, maybe you have an hour to spend with me and Jean Mills? We talk about drafty houses, literary modernism, pacifism, bookstores, Jane Harrison, Hope Mirlees, and things our students said that stick with us
indoorvoicespodcast.com/2025/03/03/e...
You can find the zoom link here: www.eventbrite.com/e/binding-fr...
Join us on Friday for this discussion! Immense gratitude to Ju Ly Ban for organizing!
