Elevate Difference

Reviews by Breanne Fahs

Breanne Fahs is an assistant professor of women and gender studies at Arizona State University and a practicing clinical psychologist based in Phoenix, Arizona. Her work has been published in numerous academic journals, including Feminist Studies, Archives of Sexual Behavior, Feminism & Psychology, Frontiers, Sexualities, and Journal of Bisexuality. Her forthcoming book, Performing Sex: The Making and Unmaking of Women’s Erotic Lives will be released July 2011 with SUNY Press and examines post-sexual-revolution crises of women’s sexuality like faking orgasms, performing as bisexual at parties, the development of female Viagra, and masochistic sexual fantasy. Aside from teaching and writing about radicalism, hate speech, gender and race theory, and sexuality, she enjoys hating Facebook, plotting to organize against Arizona’s right-wing nutjobs, and fleeing to the Appalachian mountains whenever possible.

Gender, Sexuality, and Meaning: Linguistic Practice and Politics

Showcasing twelve articles by noted linguist Sally McConnell-Ginet, Gender, Sexuality, and Meaning weaves together some of her most provocative and influential work on language, gender, and sexual meaning-making from the last three decades. In her many fruitful collaborations with colleagues, students, and friends, McConnell-Ginet argues that language is not a passive craft, but rather, an active process of meaning-making that has its roots in the social identities, contexts, and statuses of the speakers and listeners.

Queer (In)Justice: The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States

In their near-exhaustive catalogue of violence, discrimination, and systematic abuse of LGBT people in the United States, Joey Mogul, Andrea Ritchie, and Kay Whitlock outline the specific ways that the criminalization of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgendered people has perpetuated inequalities not only based on sexual identity but also within the complex interplay of race, class, and gender.

So Much Wasted: Hunger, Performance, and the Morbidity of Resistance

Traversing critical theory, body studies, psychoanalysis, philosophy, political theory, cultural studies, and performance studies, Patrick Anderson’s So Much Wasted captures the “politics of morbidity” embedded in the act of self-starvation.

Leaving Art: Writings on Performance, Politics, and Publics, 1974-2007

A student of Judy Chicago and Allan Kaprow, Suzanne Lacy’s collection of essays about her performance art pieces showcases not only Lacy’s development as a powerhouse feminist artist of her time but also the changing landscape of political art throughout the past four decades. Following a thoughtful introduction by her friend Moira Roth, Leaving Art traces Lacy’s self-criticism, the intended meaning behind her pieces, and reflections about the effectiveness of her work, at times in journal form (e.g., “While I was working on this piece I figured out why it has been so hard for me to consider myself grown up”) and at times as she reflects about the meaning of art more broadly. As an introduction to Lacy’s work, or as an in-depth look at Lacy’s artistic process, the book will appeal both to those newly familiar with Lacy or with those who have long followed her career.
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