More Voices
Having the opportunity to speak as a queer person would mean nothing if I did not also share the voices of others within the community. And though I am linking mainly to media of a similar or tangential focus to my own, please do engage with the ideas they propose and branch out into your own further research.
Video Essays
Alexander Avila
Discussing a similar conundrum of self-identification though through the particular lens of an Autism diagnosis, Alexander Avila offers really insightful dive into the struggles and general (un)certainty when it comes to knowing one's own body and. In case it wasn't obvious, it was very much the inspiration for the topic of this blog. It was also what allowed me to feel comfortable interrogating and expressing such personal struggles with self-identification, even if my particular focus has remained with matters of gender and sexuality as opposed to neurodivergence.
Rowan Ellis
A vast discussion within the LGBTQ+ community is how much we should trust the corporate advertising and rainbow-washing of their products and behaviour - particularly during Pride Month. In Rowan Ellis' video she guides us through the destructive and dismissive world of 'corporate queerbaiting' and how, unsurprisingly though still upsettingly, many companies care very little for the queer communities they report to be engaging with, providing little support during partnerships with queer creators, and care much more for the profitability of their products during the promotional campaigns.
La'Ron Readus
Offering an overview of heteronormativity in media, La'ron Readus picks out three different examples - The Quarry, The Mitchells vs. The Machines, and Q-force - showcasing the LGBTQ+ representation within them and the influence that such social norms has on said representation. Particularly in relation to The Quarry, given its directly interactive medium, Readus highlights how heteronormative consumers can be oblivious to the - to queer consumer - very clear queercoding of characters and engage with them as if their queerness is 'out of character' or simply not there.
Abigail Thorn (Philosophy Tube)
Highlighting the very real and severe struggle of being trans in the UK, Abigail Thorn details her experience of transitioning under the jurisdiction of the UK's National Health Service. From not being taken seriously by GPs and other medical professionals, to sitting on extensive waiting lists just to simply start treatment, to even having to go through the entire NHS 'chain of command' just to understand what was going on with the delays, she showcases the overbearing level of effort and 'proof' required of trans people to be granted legitimacy for their lived experience.
Literature Recommendations
Whilst I was not able to include these in the Literature & Reflections portion of this blog, I do still find these a worthwhile read for those interested in topics of anthropology, queer theory, and intersectional study. Apologies in advance for the pricing - yay academia!!
Kate Bornstein's (1994) Gender outlaw : on men, women, and the rest of us.
Judith Butler's (1988) "Performative acts and gender constitution: an essay in phenomenology and feminist theory".
George Chauncey's (1994) Gay New York : gender, urban culture, and the makings of the gay male world, 1890-1940.
Andrea Ford (ed), et al's (2024) Hormonal Theory : A Rebellious Glossary.
Emily Horgan (ed), et al.'s (2020) So Hormonal : A Collection of Essays on Hormones.
Julia Serano's (2013) Excluded : making feminist and queer movements more inclusive.