In his new book, One-Dimensional Queer (a homage to Herbert Marcuse), Roderick Ferguson counters orthodox portrayals of a gay movement narrowly focused on civil rights, and shows how queer liberation emerged out of various insurgent struggles crossing the politics of race, gender, class, and sexuality. Tracing the rise and fall of this intersectional politics, he argues that the mainstreaming of queerness intentionally, and falsely,placed critiques of racism, capitalism, and the state outside the remit of gay liberation. A fascinating unearthing of seldom discussed LGBT history, including groups like STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) and the Philadelphia-area collective DykeTactics.
Then, Amy Foley, one of the latest feminist choreographers on the Bay Area scene, talks about what it means to make feminist dance, challenging a tradition that imposes narrow constraints on the bodies and lives of women dancers. Foley’s inaugural home show, Let Slip the Witches, includes three premieres – two she choreographed herself as well as a solo created for her by Bay Area treasure, Robert Moses, as well as her piece “Thighs and Wages,” which explores society’s devaluation of women. Let Slip the Witches shows Thursday-Saturday, April 4-6, at ODC theater in San Francisco.