Chris,
I found what you had to say very inspiring and life affirming:
To remain on this list, which expresses
> hostility to queers, often snide and defensive, I have little choice but
> to adopt the attitude that the list is a war zone. This means
> negotiating alliances of friendship which create a temporary safe space
> for a queer body in order to engage in combat in the time of my own
> choosing.
Thank you.
Sarah
> [Original Message]
> From: Chris Jones <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 4/13/2003 10:18:47 PM
> Subject: Re: Gender and the List(s)
>
> On Sun, 2003-04-13 at 00:33, Robin Hamilton wrote:
>
> > Language and safe (?) zones.
>
>
> Gender studies in the academy all too often glosses over and attempts to
> hide queer, gay, lesbian.
>
> It of course saddens me greatly to say that I have experienced
> homophobia on this list and often I have thought to leave because of the
> pain I experience on this list. On thinking more about this issue I
> decided against this option because this is precisely how homophobia
> functions in terms of cutting queer bodies off from what queer bodies
> can do. In the final analysis this is an accumulation of little deaths
> which if allowed to proceed would result in the absolute death of the
> queer body (and I am referring both to the lesbian and gay male body,
> here.) The term body I use is a Spinozan body and as such my queer body
> is also precisely on this list. To remain on this list, which expresses
> hostility to queers, often snide and defensive, I have little choice but
> to adopt the attitude that the list is a war zone. This means
> negotiating alliances of friendship which create a temporary safe space
> for a queer body in order to engage in combat in the time of my own
> choosing.
>
> Don't even dare think to demand examples of homophobia since this sets
> those making such demands up as the judge and jury of a tribunal in
> which both judge and jury are homophobes. Don't even dare to offer
> platitudes of denial. Both actions are homophobic and will be refused
> and lead to further combat, again in a time and space of my own
> choosing. In the final analysis, such demands and platitudes through the
> process of those making the demands, and denial is a demand made from
> the position of homophobia, will be a fight to the death, since the very
> lived experiences queer bodies face death threats every day, every hour,
> every minute, every second, every micro-second, and queers will always
> seek to fight back until homophobia is totally destroyed in whatever way
> they can. This does not preclude the possibility that a truce is
> possible, but again these are on the grounds and choosing of queer
> bodies in so far as these bodies are able to consider the space to be
> queer friendly and feel free to operate as queer bodies in this space.
>
> If you want to know more about what I mean by combat, Deleuze has an
> essay on Artaud's radio play, "To be Done with the Judgment of God" and
> Liz Grosz has a very good introductory Nietzschean analysis of the
> relation of reactive and active forces operating in homophobia and more
> fully explains how homophobia attempts to cut queer bodies off from what
> a queer body can do.
>
> I'm here, I'm queer, get use to it. Best wishes and may there be many
> joyous times.
>
> Chris Jones.
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