Gender & Genre : Africa & Afro-Diaspora

Jessica Marie Johnson posted a draft syllabus for a class on Black Womanhood. It made me think of what kind of class I'd design to accompany it. She issued a call. This is a response. Gender & Genre: Africa & Afro-Diaspora How can we approach gender and genre across Africa & Afro-diaspora? What possibilities emerge …

in despair

In 2000, my email signature was, “my heart to yours.” By 2005, it had changed to “best.” Now, I don’t have one. If I did, it might be, “in despair” or “from despair.” Rarely, with those dear to my heart, I write “love.” Perhaps I mean, “love in times of despair.” On Twitter, Prof Grace Musila …

Category is: Work!

Category is: Live! Work! Pose!—Pray Tell The second episode of Pose focused on work: the care work of being the mother of a house; the political work of challenging transphobic, misogynist, gay white publics; the have-to-eat work performed by Blanca in a nail salon and Angel in a peep shop; the freedom work of expanding …

Queer Returns

A point of departure: The advent of HIV/ AIDS is the moment that captures the real energies made possible by the outpouring of the carnal pleasures that Stonewall unleashed. Stonewall was queer sexual liberation, alongside heterosexual liberation, but HIV/ AIDS was citizen-making; the distinction is important. HIV/ AIDS worked to produce a very particular and …

heterocetera

A start: There are only four sisters in this whole conference [in Russia]. In the plane coming to Tashkent, I sat with the three other African women and we exchanged chitchat for 5 1/2 hours about our respective children, about our ex-old men, all very, very heterocetera. As far as I know, the word “heterocetera” …

April: Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Why deny it? I was afraid of freedom. I am no longer afraid! —Paulo Freire Fear of freedom, of which its possessor is not necessarily aware, makes him see ghosts. Such an individual is actually taking refuge in an attempt to achieve security, which he or she prefers to the risk of liberty. —Paulo Freire …

No Tea, No Shade

A peculiar anxiety marks E. Patrick Johnson’s introduction to No Tea, No Shade. It emerges as repeated assurances that younger scholars respect and follow the work of older scholars. Listen: The black queer “children” who came of age during the burgeoning stages of black queer studies also learned from the lessons of their foremothers and …