My Pisces Heart
Jennifer Neal always led a very mobile life and in her memoir My Pisces Heart she shares what it was like to live on four different continents as a Black queer woman.
more...: Queer
How do you say Ballroom in German? (Part 2)
In her second essay, Sophie Yukiko continues her critical examination of the German Ballroom culture. She observes that it holds huge potential because from its earliest days, it has always been a space for discussion, criticism, adjustment and conversation.
more...
How do you say Ballroom in German? (Part 1)
German-American writer, performance artist and cultural curator Sophie Yukiko looks back on a decade of creating and experiencing Ballroom Culture in Germany. With a critical look on the reproduction of powerdynamics, she tries to find out what happened between 1980’s Harlem and today while diving into the conflicts and potentials of the German scene.
more...
Mr. Loverman
Bernardine Evaristo’s Mr. Loverman is the perfect book for fans of the series Grace and Frankie. It’s the story of an older gay couple in love, a rollercoaster ride of emotions between secrecy and coming out, lightened up by extremely funny characters.
more...
“Differentiation is a prerequisite for alliances”: An Interview with Judith Coffey about Goynormativity (Gojnormativität)
Judith Coffey and Vivien Laumann critique that antisemitism and Jewish perspectives have thus far often been elided in intersectional debates. At the end of 2021, they published their book Gojnormativität (Goynormativity) to make Jewish positions more speakable and visible. We had the privilege of talking to Judith Coffey about the book.
more...
Sister Outsider
Sister Outsider by African-American, lesbian, feminist poet and activist Audre Lorde is a foundational text for anyone interested in intersectionality and reflecting on their own social positions.
more...
Political Terms and (Un)just Social Structures: An Interview with the Producers of “Erklär mir mal…” (Explain it to me)
As part of our macht.sprache. project, we’re seeking out input from various experts who deal with language, translation or artificial intelligence. With Maja Bogojević and Victoria Jeffries, the producers of the Instagram channel “Erklär mir mal…” (Explain it to me), we discuss the challenges in political work with language.
more...
The Death of Vivek Oji
As one has come to expect of Emezi’s work, The Death of Vivek Oji successfully shakes up conservative constructions of gender. The writer illustrates the loneliness that can come with not conforming to social norms regarding gender and sexuality; the profound pain of not being able to be the person you are.
more...
Moffie: A brooding film about the violence of masculinity, homophobia and race in apartheid South Africa
In “Moffie”, we see that brutal norms of militaristic masculinities are part of how the film treats the theme of race and complicitness.
more...
Queer Afropolitanism in Germany: SchwarzRund
This essay is the last in a four-part series on Afropolitanism and literature. SchwarzRund’s intervention in the Afropolitan literary market thus stands out not only because of the setting and language of the novel, but also because of its evidently intersectional approach.
more...