Issues in the Lives of Older Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and/or Queer Women

Microcelebrity, as a set of practices contributing to personalized self-branding, has become an increasingly prominent component of self-representation on social media platforms. While “influencers” who have built lucrative followings through microcelebrity give the appearance of having fun without much exertion, recent studies have uncovered multiple forms of labor involved in their practices of cultural production. In addition, scholars analyzing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) influencers highlight a tension between labor in service of self-commodification and the representation of sexual minorities. This article examines the microcelebrity labor of everyday queer women who aim to increase their social and economic capital by interweaving personal self-representations with entrepreneurial endeavors on Instagram and Vine. Through a close analysis of these platforms’ markets, governance, and infrastructures alongside interviews with queer female users of each platform, attention is given to both platform influences and participants’ experiences of promoting their jobs, side-gigs, hobbies, or passions alongside the rest of their lives. Findings identify three modes of labor specific to participants’ efforts to build a following: (1) intimate affective labor expended in sharing and managing personal disclosures; (2) developmental aesthetic labor as the acquisition and practice of technical skills and bodily displays to achieve a desired appearance or performance; (3) aspiring relational labor in attempts to forge relationships with established influencers or celebrities. Sexual identity was pivotal across these modes of labor, as it enhanced intimacy with followers, provided a niche audience for self-branding, conveyed authenticity through self-revelation, and established a common ground for forging relationships.

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Margeando artivismos globalizados: nas bordas do Mujeres Al Borde

Revista Estudos Feministas ◽

10.1590/0104-026x2015v23n1p207 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

pp. 207-218 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Glauco B. Ferreira

Keyword(s):

Women Of Color ◽

Queer Women ◽

Media Arts ◽

Queer Women Of Color

Este ensaio aborda as produções artísticas de um coletivo colombiano chamado Mujeres Al Borde e busca descrever algumas de suas atividades e as maneiras como produzem e articulam relações entre arte, ativismo e produção audiovisual, abordando aí gênero, sexualidade e questões étnico-raciais. O trabalho trata das relações transnacionais desse coletivo com um grupo queer ativista estadunidense, Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project, para a criação de seu próprio programa de treinamento cinematográfico, a Escuela Audiovisual Al Borde; reflete sobre as possibilidades de pensarmos sobre ativismo queer no contexto latino-americano; e, por fim, analisa algumas das produções audiovisuais do Mujeres Al Borde, naquilo que compreendem como seu artivismo, neologismo que articula arte e ativismo. Enfocam-se as maneiras pelas quais esses coletivos produzem redes de colaboração transnacionais em contextos geopolíticos globalizados dissidentes, ao mesmo tempo em que buscam, através da relação que criam entre arte e política, promover transformação social e meios de expressão visual para comunidades LGBTQ, cultivando queer artivismos feministas no sul e no norte globais.

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Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Considering “Freebirth” During Covid-19

Frontiers in Global Women's Health ◽

10.3389/fgwh.2021.603744 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

Author(s):

Mari Greenfield ◽

Sophie Payne-Gifford ◽

Gemma McKenzie

Keyword(s):

Healthcare Professional ◽

Online Survey ◽

Specific Effect ◽

Service Planning ◽

Emotional Wellbeing ◽

Time Data ◽

Queer Women ◽

Global Pandemic ◽

Global North ◽

The Uk

Background: The global coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic concerns all people, but has a specific effect on those who are expecting a baby during this time. The advice in the UK changed rapidly, with 14 different sets of national guidance issued within 1 month. Individual NHS Trusts released various guidance relating to the withdrawal of homebirth services, the closure of birth centers, restrictions on the number of birth partners (if any) allowed during labor, and whether any visitors were allowed to attend after birth. With the landscape of maternity care changing so rapidly, research was carried out to provide real-time data to capture the lived experiences of expectant families.Methods: A mixed methods online survey was carried out over 2 weeks between 10th and 24th April 2020. The survey was open to those in the third trimester of pregnancy, those who had given birth since the beginning of the “lockdown” period in the UK, and the partners of pregnant women and people who were in these circumstances. The survey asked questions about how respondents' holistic antenatal experiences had been affected, whether their plans for birth had changed, and the effect of these changes on respondents' emotional wellbeing. Of the 1,700 responses received, 72 mentioned that they had seriously considered “freebirthing” (giving birth without a healthcare professional present).Findings: An analysis of the respondents' reasons for considering freebirth was conducted, finding that reasons for considering freebirth were complex and multifaceted. Lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, and queer women were more likely to have considered freebirth than heterosexual people (p < 0.001).Conclusions: Considering giving birth without a healthcare professional present is unusual in the Global North and represents an emerging field of study. The literature examining the reasons that people consider freebirth shows a variety of underlying motivations. A global pandemic represents a new factor in such considerations. The findings from this research can help inform maternity service planning in future crises.

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Walk like a Man, Talk like a Woman

Black. Queer. Southern. Women. ◽

10.5149/northcarolina/9781469641102.003.0004 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 137-164

Author(s):

E. Patrick Johnson

Keyword(s):

Women Of Color ◽

The South ◽

Queer Women ◽

Gender Presentation ◽

Queer Women Of Color

This chapter upends the myth that all queer women of color are butch, or masculine-presenting. Johnson’s interlocutors reveal that gender presentation and expression for women in the South have historically been much more fluid and malleable than is commonly assumed. Moreover, the women expose the inability of terms like ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine” to fully capture how they play with gender.

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When Revolution Is Not Enough: Tracing the Limits of Black Radicalism in Dionne Brand’s Chronicles of the Hostile Sun and In Another Place, Not Here

The Postcolonial Contemporary ◽

10.5422/fordham/9780823280063.003.0003 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 55-76

Author(s):

Laurie R. Lambert

Keyword(s):

Gender And Sexuality ◽

Black Radicalism ◽

American Imperialism ◽

Queer Women ◽

Race And Class ◽

Radical Feminist ◽

Feminist Politics ◽

Postcolonial Caribbean ◽

Poetry Collection ◽

The Revolution

This chapter analyzes Dionne Brand’s poetry collection, Chronicles of the Hostile Sun (1984), and her novel In Another Place, Not Here (1996). While Chronicles pinpoints the misrepresentation of the Grenada Revolution in anti-revolutionary narratives emanating from American imperialism, In Another Place highlights how structures of healing and alternative epistemologies of black radicalism are developed between queer women who are on the margins of both the postcolonial Caribbean nation and the revolution intended to subvert American imperialist forces. Brand’s writing interrogates the black radical tradition in search of a radical feminist politics that can account for gender and sexuality alongside race and class.

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“I Have a Vision, Charlie Brown”

Charlie Brown's America ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190090463.003.0008 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 149-183

Author(s):

Blake Scott Ball

Keyword(s):

Cold War ◽

Social Interactions ◽

Title Ix ◽

Women's Athletics ◽

Feminist Movement ◽

Direct Role ◽

Queer Women ◽

Women’S Liberation ◽

National Debate ◽

Unique Relationship

From the very beginning, Schulz was an advocate for strong, independent females. Characters like Lucy and Peppermint Patty refused to be defined or dominated by the boys, whether in social interactions, school, or sports. Lucy became a vocal supporter of women’s liberation. These characters became important popular symbols for the burgeoning feminist movement in Cold War America. Peppermint Patty and Marcie, because of their unique relationship, became powerful symbols for lesbian, bisexual, and queer women in a culture where they often felt unrepresented. Schulz took a direct role in endorsing and championing Title IX reforms for women’s athletics, lending his artwork to the national debate.

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