If queerness is that which pushes back against the status quo, it’s necessarily anti-capitalist and anti-white supremacist. It’s abolitionist. By Namrata Verghese A photo of last year’s Austin Pride Parade popped up on my Instagram feed recently, paired with the caption: “back before Pride was canceled.” The people in the picture wore rainbow Converse and...
Tag: desirability politics
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To Love and To Be Loved From The Fat Perspective
This is my personal reckoning with the idea that I may never see love in the way that I want to, but also that anyone who reads this has the ability to change that. By Da’Shaun Harrison I lay awake at night thinking deeply about love. What it means to love someone romantically and how...
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Leaning Into Insecurity and Ugliness As An Essential Politic
I want us to know Insecurity as intimately as we know the marginalized pieces of ourselves: as valid, as identities, and as political. insecure[ in-si-kyoor ] adjective subject to fears, doubts, etc.; not self-confident or assured: not confident or certain; uneasy; anxious: not secure; exposed or liable to risk, loss, or danger: insecurity[ in-si-kyooredē ]...
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Fat Studies, Body and Desirability Politics: A Reading List
It’s crucial for us to understand the effects of anti-fatness on our bodies. These authors and their books are shaping fat studies in essential ways. In recent years, with the help of social media, there has been an uptick in conversations around fatness, “body positivity,” and general body politics. You may have run into words...
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Netflix’s ‘The Witcher’ Exploited Yennefer’s Disability
Yennefer’s disability was exploited as a plot-point to further her emotional and physical journey as the writers saw fit. This essay mentions r/pe, suicide, and contains spoilers for The Witcher television series and books. By Laila Manack With The Witcher on its way to becoming Netflix’s biggest original series debut, there is no doubt the...
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Video: Fatphobia Is Not a Sexual Preference by Sonalee Rashatwar
Sexual preferences are not hardwired, they are socially ingrained ideas that we ingest and rarely question. By Sonalee Rashatwar TW/CW: The following video transcript and audio contain mentions of fatphobia, dieting, and trauma. Transcript: Hi! My name is Sonalee Rashatwar, I use she and they pronouns because I identify as non-binary and I’m popularly known...
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Desirability: Do You Really Love Fat People When You Can’t Even See Us Beyond The Political?
The reality is that our bodies take up more space than the world ever makes for us, yet somehow desirability finds a way to keep us out. I am fat. I have been fat my entire life. And for most of my life, I have also been a fairly popular person. Befriending and being surrounded...
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Fat Black Women Deserve Fulfilling, Enjoyable Sex Without Compromise
I want other fat, Black women to feel like they don’t have to settle as many of us are taught to. I want dignity during my dicking, quality in my quivering, and consideration in my cumming. This essay contains mention of sexual assault By Ashleigh Nicole Tribble “When I get a boyfriend, I’m going to...
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Five Ways to Redistribute Social Capital in Activist Spaces
As people who are committed to the collective liberation of the oppressed, here are some explicit ways that we can try to disrupt the flows of social capital within our QT/BIPOC activist spaces. “Social capital” is a term that’s been getting thrown around a lot these days within QT/BIPOC activist spaces. What is this term, and...