(queer) intersections:
coming up queer
"I am hiding my power beneath this blouse."
- Christine Taylor, Too Little, Too Late, Too Loaded (1993)
In the 1990s, there were a number of works that explicitly addressed the challenges of queer life. Stories of growing up, coming out, having sex, forming relationships, aging gracefully and living life as gay, lesbian, trans or bisexual form the central motifs in these works. Storytelling is the common form of address for these artists; their narratives form part of a politics of making-visible, where reclaiming the word "queer" and exposing queer acts as signs of pride and pleasure, become key aspects of identity.
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Random Acts, Who Are These People (1993)
In Who Are These People? (1993), comedians Jackie Crossland and Nora D. Randall of Random Acts offer advice based on their experiences as lesbian "aliens" from another era to their great grand niece who is having a "sexuality celebration." Numerous characters are encountered along the way, including a former suffragette and crowds of disinterested heterosexuals.
Video for high speed connections 10:31/78MB
Video for slow connections 10:31/4.8MB
River Sui, Queer City Series (1993)
River Sui narrates her personal stories of adolescent-to-adult desire, costumed in a series of outfits that represent the changing objects of her desire and the complex racial and gender politics at play in the queer community. From traditional changshan to button-up shirt and fedora, Sui's coming out story simultaneously critiques the whiteness of lesbian culture.
Video for high speed connections 12:47/105MB
Video for slow connections 12:47/5.7MB
Michael Vonn, Hung Like a Donut (1996)
Michael Vonn describes Hung Like a Donut as "the shocking exposé of one woman's descent into glamour." It is a hilarious story of the journey to self-acceptance - from confused girl-child raised by drag queens, to glitter-loving, gender-bending "glamaholic." Along the way, Vonn discovers that life is not really about beauty, but about belonging.
Video for high speed connections 17:48/148MB
Video for slow connections 17:48/8.6MB
Taste This, Too Close to Fire (1999)
The queer, multidisciplinary performance troupe Taste This (Anna Camilleri, Ivan E. Coyote, Zoe Eakle, and, here, guitarist Lynne Phillips) explores gender, sexuality and identity in Too Close to Fire: a collection of powerful and sometimes touching stories about strangers, ex-lovers, pretty girls, tomboys and child drag queens, queer brides, feminist mentors and one seriously unhinged arsonist.
Video for high speed connections 16:30/114MB
Video for slow connections 16:30/7.5MB