I recently saw a post with Fran Lebowitz saying, “a book isn’t supposed to be a mirror. It’s supposed to be a door,” and it made me think about the state of “representation” discourse online. I thought back to an anon I once received from someone who claims to get “secondhand embarrassment” from “drag queens, leather daddies, and kinksters with pup hoods acting like they represent all gays.” Many thought my response was too harsh, that I ought to show more sympathy to people who do not “relate” to nor feel “represented” by these modes of queer being. Blame it on online fandom, blame it on heteronormativity, but we are too concerned with “relatability.” It is the sort of “relatability” advertising executives concern themselves with, or “relatability” of people who treat their online presence as a “brand.” It is a notion I find alien to queer art and culture.
I have never done drag, nor do I consider myself a part of the leather community beyond befriending others who do and owning some gear. I do not “relate” to these expressions in any vulgar, literal sense, but they are still deeply resonant. And how many of these individuals truly “relate” to the images they peform? Drag artists and leatherfolk are purveyors of fantasy. In their daily lives, they might not be bikers, rockstars, pop divas, or mythical beasts, but they reinvent themselves through metaphors and performances. These theatrical performances are no more absurd than the quotidian performances expected by cis straight society. Larry Mitchell writes, “The faggots act out their fantasies without believing them to be real. The men act out their fantasies always proclaiming that they are real.“
This could explain why literal attempts at relatability are often less resonant than campy extravogant fantasies. I once wrote a rant about how Taylor Swift is not a gay icon, and an anon smugly told me, "Taylor makes music for everyone and not just gays.” Yes, I suppose she does make music for “everyone,” in the same way that the Midwestern weather reporter voice is the universal accent of the English speaking world. But diva worship was never about “relating;” rather, it’s about survival through the evocation of patron saints of strength and glamor. Most celebrity or mass media attempts at “relatability” are at best clueless or at worst insulting. I would much rather participate in a campy fantasy, which is in its own right more “real.” Susan Sontag describes camp as the “farthest extension, in sensibility, of the metaphor of life as theater.”
I am not telling anyone to stop pushing for the recognition of diverse stories. This is crucial! But the recognition of queer stories should also come with an understanding of queer modes of resonance. When has John Waters ever produced something "relatable?” Who cares? His work resonates, in fact, more than a lot of “safe” gay media that should be all accounts be more “relatable.” The “average” listener would not necessarily relate to SOPHIE. They may find her work otherwordly or downright unsettling. But she did not produce music for the “average” listener, at least not before the rest of the musical landscape dragged to catch up with her. Adam Zmith writes: “Inside SOPHIE’s words, performances and final act is the queer utopia of always grasping, always dreaming of a freer life.” We are living the wildest dreams of our former, closeted selves, but we are still always grasping, never quite satiated. Queer art is not just autobiographical but aspirational. Let art be a door.
(link is to a series of tweets, which include the original poster of the screenshot directly asking SAG-AFTRA what the rules are for cosplayers who want to support the strike)
Y'all sorry for not clearing it up in the original post (frankly I thought more people would read the link) but this applies to influencers, professional cosplayers, content creators, and the like. Basically, people who make money off cosplays or otherwise promoting the
There is an official FAQ on the SAG-AFTRA site that details it better than the email (which came out probably right after the email did, hence why I missed it. I’d have just posted that link if I’d seen it).
Please be aware that although this strike might be of great inconvenience to you, that’s the point. This isn’t convenient for anyone. This isn’t easy for anyone. That’s the point. Between WGA and SAG-AFTRA, thousands and thousands of people are not working, and it’s going to keep being like that until AMPTP wakes up and pays these people their fair share. Rather than complain, find ways to support the strikers (the link’s final question offers ways influencers can support the strike, although frankly some of their suggestions aren’t limited to just influencers).
Reblog to assess who is a friend and who is an enemy
There is no secret fourth. If you like all of them, pick one. If you like none of them, pick one. If you dont know what pizza is look at the pictures. No none of the above. Fight. Kill
NEW YORK FUCKING SWEEP BABY GET THOSE SOUPS OUT OF HERE !!!!!!!
don’t forget during the WGA strike that animation is not covered under the WGA deals and as a result animation has gotten the shortest possible end of the stick in under-staffing, under-paying, and generally turning the field into gig employment.
please sign the petition here for Disney to recognize animation production workers as a union and reblog this post!
As of July 15, they are looking for about 9,000 more signatures. It takes less than one minute
ALT
