Canon Fodder, Or Screw You And The Top 10 List You Rode In On
by TOM LEGER
Autostraddle’s Top 100 ist of Hot Queer Women came out today, and maybe that is kind of sad. Is another world of queer culture possible?
“These types of lists are created as much out of cheapness of production and the ‘viral marketing’ value of the article. In this way, growth of the list from 10 to 100 Hot Queer Women is done as much for marketing purposes as it is the facade of inclusion. Instead of 10 people, there are 100 people sharing the article with their friends, who share it with their friends, etc. (This reminds me of an old East Village theater adage attributed to playwright Madeline Olnek, ;If you want your play to be a hit, get a big cast and put the word ‘lesbian’ in the title,’ which proved true time and time again.)”
by Francesca Bongiorno Fortunato
““Love and Death,” in addition to being the title of a Woody Allen movie, seems like a pretty good summary of what our lives have been about during the past week. This was the week that my eighty-six year old mother-in-law (okay; not quite “law”) died, my partner and I celebrated our Holy Union, and she then went to Florida for her mother’s funeral without me. As I write this, I am alone in our Brooklyn apartment and will be alone for another four days. The silver band she placed on my finger is still there (along with the silver, sapphire-set engagement ring that matches the one I gave her). The two red roses we carried as we walked down the aisle together are hanging on the kitchen wall, bound by a green ribbon from one of our gift boxes, waiting to become sentimental keepsakes of this bittersweet time. And I’m seeking solace in this computer, as I do far too often…”
by Andrew Extein
My boyfriend at the time, a couple friends, and I drank beers and chatted pleasantly with each other, taking in the scenery but not really interacting with the natives. Soon we were approached by a rather burly man, taller than us, and draped in an outfit that consisted of 100% denim. I appreciated the specificity of his personal brand and possible fetish, but appreciation was soon replaced by fear. I imagined that this man would initiate typical benign conversation: “Do you guys live here? Have you been here before?” Instead, his opening: “What the fuck are you guys doing here? Get out.”
