NOLOSE, Intersectional Politics, and the Urban/Rural Queer Split

[starstealingirl]

The theme of this year's NOLOSE conference was "More Than Just Fat: The Intersection of All Our Identities." The conference's concentration on building a complex, coalitional movement recognizing the need to take a variety of identities and experiences into account-- for example, race, disability, trans identity, age, and the experiences of "

Comments

[daland]

isn't fatness one of the very stereotypes of the rural poor?

i mean, many of the very vocal I DON'T SHOP AT WALMART types cite the unattractiveness (read: fatness) of the other customers as reason enough not to go. there are of course better examples of what i mean here but the premises generally are:

1. rural america is a land of moo-cows
2. it is solely due to their bad life choices of eating doritos and drinking mass-market beer
3. their fatness is a good predictor of other bad traits: ignorance, alcoholism, bigotry, etc

[giniliz]

re: 1, indeed! I was thinking how ironic it is that those who live right next door to the pigs and cows of fattie insults are often the most removed from the world of fat activism.

[daland]

well, as a general rule activism doesn't seem to include the empty places of the country (unless it's environmental, and that tends to ignore the people who actually live there).

hell. activism barely includes all of the city. i mean, consider my city (chicago). when queer folk (coded white, o'course) talk about moving to the city/how the city is a safe place for queer folk, etc, they're not talking about the whole city; rather, they're talking about maybe eight to thirteen of over seventy neighborhoods, and maybe 1/4, at most, of the geographical area of the city. the rest is basically no man's land. the whole country is reduced to urban hipster/artsy/queer shtetls and the occasional crunchy green college town on one side, and HC SVNT DRACONES on the other.

[starstealingirl]

well, as a general rule activism doesn't seem to include the empty places of the country (unless it's environmental, and that tends to ignore the people who actually live there).

Or at least, rural areas are not portrayed by urban media and activists as a place where activists might display agency. Rural queers are often only visible to the greater (read: urban) activist community after they've been bashed to death, and then only as a symbol for why money and efforts need to be pumped into urban activist organizations.

[starstealingirl]

*smile*

Don't worry; I wasn't judging all your comments and finding you wanting. In fact, if anything, what struck me about your comments (well, there was a lot about you that struck me, hee hee) was that when I mentioned my issues about the conference as a rural resident, you responded with: "I hadn't thought about that before. I'll have to consider that more." Which, I think, is The Right Answer. We don't always take everything into account, but we can, when confronted with something we don't normally consider, make an effort to take it more into account. And you did that, and that was what I appreciated.

I really was thinking more about conversations in workshops when I wrote this. Generally speaking, my personal conversations were pretty positive.

[cappucinogrrl]

Do you know what's happening with fat girl flea market?

[starstealingirl]

Not even a fraction of a clue. Sorry.

Are you a member of fatshionista? You might be more likely to get announcements when the Fat Girl Flea Market is coming up.

[bounce_n_jiggle]

folks are talking about planning one for the Spring of 2009.
i'm sure all will be revealed when there's some information.

but also anyone can organize a fat girl flea market type event in their area. i'm more than happy to help give advice. look for a post from me in the next week or so about how to do that. it's a fantastic way to help build community for sure.

[wylddelirium]

Was pointed here from nolose, and really appreciate your insight. I come from a suburban area, with some urban access but not on a regular basis (DC is about an hour, as is Baltimore, from where I live). I did notice an urban focus to the event - the assumption of certain access (to lbgtq health centers, to doctors of all shades who are lbgtq friendly, access to other politicized fatties on a regular basis, etc). I noticed the lack of "do you need to meet more nolose peeps from where you're from" activities, or even somewhere for people to post about fat activism in their part of the country. It all felt somewhat assumed, that we were either already plugged into that, or could easily find it if we went looking. I dunno - I live inbetween two big cities and I haven't really found it yet.

[starstealingirl]

*nods* Exactly. I think there was an assumption of certain kinds of access.

And I think it might be cool to have "meet NOLOSE people where you're from" activities, or regional caucuses, or something in the near future. Something that enables us to plug into activist circles and continue working on this stuff after the conference is over.

[wylddelirium]

I'm having an image of four or five big maps where you could attach a small tag with your name on it, so that at the very least, I would know to be looking for people who were from the same area as me.

Hmm. Maybe a good Friday night activity...

[starstealingirl]

A Friday night activity is a good possible solution. But I'm especially loving the map idea! Not just to see who we might work with in our respective regions, but also so all the conference attendees can get a good, visible idea of where we all come from. And then, if people feel comfortable, it could be a means of exchanging contact information.

[falcngrl]

It's interesting because, while I do come from a large city, I experience NOLOSE in many of the same ways that you do.

I constantly had to ask people to clarify jargon/acronyms that were Americanized. Many people understood what was meant automatically, but as a Canadian they didn't always ring a bell. Also, people would talk about US events as if they were the norm for everyone, whereas I think they were the norm for urban americans.

There were a whole slew of TO folks at the conference. I had met one (besides the friend I brought with me) once several years ago, and heard of one. So even when there is a city there can still be isolation.

T

[starstealingirl]

I think you bring up an interesting point. Even though I'm mostly focusing on the experience of coming from a rural area in the U.S., I did meet quite a few Canadian and British participants. The conference did seem to take American identity politics as its assumed basis, and I can imagine it might be more than a little disorienting and frustrating for people who come to the conference from other countries.

Do you have any specific suggestions for how the conference might be more open for non-American attendees, that are different from what is suggested in this thread for rural attendees?

[fattest]

I would so love to know what jargon is Americanized, so I can be aware of that when I'm speaking. Sadly, I don't have the first fucking clue!

Also, some folks and I were talking over brunch today about how much of the language used at nolose is rooted in our various subcultures, and quite inaccessible. I read the evaluation forms, and one person requested a glossary. Not a bad idea, actually.

[falcngrl]

well there were many references to the elections in ways that assumed everyone knew what was happening. I happen to follow them but even I didn't know all the references.

Someone mentioned DHS that I can recall, and there were other references to things with initials which I see as a form of jargon.

I offered to create the "how to be an ally" guidebook towards the end of the townhall. I thought it could include a glossary. Wanna help?

I find many people talk in academic speak. Despite being an academic its one thing that I have tried very hard not to do.