tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3638489422996007707.post2294077337467961314..comments2023-06-06T04:22:55.269-07:00Comments on this lesbian world: Mommy, Where Do Lesbians Come From?Jeanne Córdovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821638064024748117noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3638489422996007707.post-50494555355279115042009-06-09T19:21:26.824-07:002009-06-09T19:21:26.824-07:00This was really well said, Jeanne. The tribal aspe...This was really well said, Jeanne. The tribal aspects of queer culture mean a lot to me, and I think that's one of the reasons I haven't been able to fully commit myself to the marriage fight - I worry about assimilation and the loss of our distinct neighborhoods (more and more straight families moving into the Castro), language (Polari!), and the shared experiences of a subculture (you mentioned Alison Bechdel... her work alone was like a crash course in 20 years worth of cultural trends back when i was coming out!).<br /><br />But of course there are new queer subcultures forming too. I'd propose to you that one difference now is that all of these 'tribes' have had a lot of cross-fertilization in the past couple decades, and there's now much more overlap between various communities and movements. (A lot of this culture has moved online, too).<br /><br />As an example, you should check out strap-on.org sometime; it's one of the formative communities from my early twenties... it's not as popular as it once was, but back in the day it was a really unique intersection of young feminist/queer/anti-racist/trans kids. We had our own language and style of writing, our own grammars for talking about identity and sex, and a lot of the folks I met online have since become my real life network of friends in cities all over the place.<br /><br />I have also thought about how Camp Trans has created its own culture, which in some ways is very old-school, with consensus-based organizing and commune-style activities, but is also very new in the sense that it grew out of lesbian youth culture and is still very much grounded in lesbian culture, yet the constellation of identities that are now included in that culture has exploded. Or maybe it was always that way! But it feels new, and beautiful, to watch it unfold.<br /><br />- LaurenUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11242654836897123174noreply@blogger.com