From the editors
CRITICAL฀
MOMENT
Issue #9, March-April 2005
Editorial Collective
Andy Clarno • Joel Devonshire
Andrea Dewees • Tarek R. Dika
Yoni Goldstein • Michelle J.
Kinnucan • James Leef • Kate
McCabe • Mike Medow • Erick
Michael • Jennifer Obidike • Max
Sussman • Bashar Tarabieh • Anna
Vitale
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www.criticalmoment.org
2 Critical Moment • January-February 2005
In฀ working฀ towards฀ social฀ justice฀ we฀ must฀ not฀
Contents
FEATURES
only฀challenge฀institutions฀and฀systems฀of฀power฀at฀ 3 What฀I฀didn’t฀learn฀in฀Women’s฀Studies฀Class
the฀ macro฀ level—such฀ work฀ must฀ also฀ challenge฀ by฀Elizabeth฀Sy
and฀impact฀the฀way฀we฀conduct฀our฀personal฀lives.฀฀ 5 The฀Queer฀Politics฀of฀Spanglish
by฀Lawrence฀La฀Fountain-Stokes฀
Our฀ personal฀ lives฀ do฀ not฀ exist฀ in฀ a฀ vacuum.฀ 6 Defi฀ning฀Our฀Own฀Sexual฀Liberation
by฀YK฀Hong฀and฀Ingrid฀Ravera
The฀personal฀is฀infl฀uenced฀by฀dominant฀systems฀of฀
10 HIV/AIDS:฀The฀Neo-Liberal฀Pandemic
power฀that฀exist฀around฀us.฀The฀systems฀of฀racism,฀ by฀Claire฀Decoteau
patriarchy,฀and฀capitalism฀all฀impact฀the฀way฀we฀live฀ 12 Fight฀or฀Walk:฀The฀Chicago฀Transit฀Fare฀Strike
our฀personal฀lives฀and฀develop฀intimate฀relationships฀ by฀Midwest฀Unrest
with฀our฀lovers฀and฀our฀friends. 14 Strong฀Hearts฀and฀Poisoned฀Waters
by฀Puck
16 A฀Working฀Mother’s฀Feminism
The฀interrelationship฀of฀the฀personal฀and฀the฀po- by฀Floyd฀Peterson
litical฀is฀explored฀in฀the฀articles฀featured฀in฀this฀sex- 18 Activist฀Scenes฀Are฀No฀Safe฀Space฀for฀Women
themed฀issue฀of฀Critical฀Moment.฀The฀articles฀in฀this฀ by฀Tamara฀K.฀Nopper
issue,฀ some฀ playful,฀ many฀ serious,฀ reveal฀ that฀ the฀ 20 A฀New฀Fat-Positive฀Feminism
work฀of฀fi฀ghting฀oppressive฀systems฀and฀of฀fi฀ghting฀ by฀Emi฀Koyama
22 Israeli฀Anarchism
for฀the฀people’s฀right฀to฀self-determination฀is฀deeply฀ an฀interview฀with฀Yossi฀by฀Aaron฀Lakoff
connected฀to฀the฀process฀of฀building฀a฀world฀where฀
our฀personal฀lives฀and฀our฀intimate฀relationships฀can฀ FICTION
be฀more฀liberating,฀more฀fun฀and฀more฀beautiful. 8 Torpedo฀Through฀the฀Tulips
by฀Rachel฀Shukert
In฀this฀issue฀of฀CM,฀you฀will฀fi฀nd฀articles฀on฀repro-
POETRY
ductive฀justice,฀HIV/AIDS,฀sex฀work,฀sexual฀assault,฀ 26 “Elation...”฀฀฀
body฀image฀and฀strategies฀for฀achieving฀real฀sexual฀ by฀CD฀Wright
liberation.฀We฀hope฀that฀you฀fi฀nd฀some฀of฀what’s฀in฀
REVIEW
here฀interesting,฀inspiring,฀or฀otherwise฀useful.฀Read฀
24 Black฀Women’s฀Adventures฀in฀Sex฀and฀Reading
these฀articles฀with฀your฀lovers฀and฀your฀friends.฀Fig- Ayesha฀Ki’Shani฀Hardison฀reviews฀Zane’s฀Addicted
ure฀our฀what฀you฀can฀do฀to฀make฀you฀intimate฀rela-
tionships฀more฀rewarding฀and฀more฀revolutionary.฀฀ SHORT฀THINGS
8 MichiganIMC฀Newswire
Sincerely, 10 “Just฀Shut฀Up”
19 Questions฀on฀Consent
Critical฀Moment
Upcoming Issues - Calls for Submissions
May/June:฀Environment May/June:฀Religion฀&฀Spirituality
Deadline:฀March฀30,฀2005
Deadline:฀May฀30,฀2005
Consumption comes at the expense of our natural world; from species loss to suburban
sprawl to global climate change, somewhere the price must be paid. Low-income com- Religion฀ and฀ spirituality฀ are฀ powerful฀ and฀ infl฀uential฀ factors฀ in฀
munities of color are disproportionately affected by environmental hazards - the “hidden” human฀affairs฀throughout฀the฀world.฀฀They฀intersect฀with฀poli-
tics฀in฀many฀areas,฀including฀race,฀gender,฀and฀class.฀฀How฀does฀
side-effects of the economic growth paradigm under which we live. Our technological
advances often cost us thehealth of our children, our communities and sometimes entire religion฀and/or฀spirituality฀inform฀your฀own฀political฀perspective?฀฀
In฀what฀ways฀are฀you฀and฀your฀community฀treated฀differently฀be-
cultures. Environmental issues are, therefore, not limited to the protection of wilderness
areas, but extend to include a broader range of social, economic, and geographical issues cause฀ of฀ your฀ religious/spiritual฀ beliefs?฀ Do฀ you฀ reject฀ religion?฀
that affect life everywhere, from farmers in developing countries to residents of urban Why?฀How฀has฀religion฀and฀spirituality฀played฀a฀role฀in฀political฀
public housing. movements฀in฀the฀U.S.฀and฀around฀the฀world?
` How does the intersection of race, class, and political power affect how envi- ฀ Critical฀Moment฀encourages฀our฀readership฀to฀explore฀
ronmental decisions are made? What effects do those decisions have on our ability to the฀theme฀of฀Religion฀and฀Spirituality฀from฀a฀wide฀range฀of฀per-
build healthy, sustainable relationships with one another and the land? Critical Moment spectives,฀including฀but฀not฀limited฀to฀fundamentalism,฀liberation฀
seeks contributions from local writers, activists, artists, and academics that both address theology,฀religion฀and฀political฀organizing,฀religious฀persecution/
prejudice,฀religion฀and฀sexuality,฀church฀and฀state฀in฀the฀US,฀the฀
and challenge the forces that combine to create environmental injustice, and attempt to
Christian฀right,฀Armageddon,฀spirituality฀and฀the฀left,฀religious
provide insight into the future of environmental justice for all communities.
violence,฀and฀more.
The฀content฀of฀Critical฀Moment฀consists฀primarily฀of฀works฀submitted฀by฀local฀writers,฀artists,฀and฀activists.฀฀Submissions฀are฀not฀limited฀to฀our฀
Critical฀Moment
theme.฀฀We฀welcome฀news,฀analysis,฀commentary,฀art,฀short฀stories,฀poetry,฀music,฀book,฀and฀movie฀reviews,฀and฀other฀forms฀of฀expression฀
that฀fall฀outside฀of฀the฀suggested฀theme฀yet฀are฀still฀refl฀ective฀of฀the฀political฀nature฀of฀Critical฀Moment.฀฀
Suggested฀length฀for฀submissions฀is฀800-1,500฀words.฀฀฀Please฀email฀text฀submissions,฀questions,฀suggestions฀for฀future฀issue฀themes,฀
and/or฀letters฀to฀the฀editorial฀collective฀at฀momentboard@umich.edu.฀฀Art฀and฀image฀submissions฀should฀be฀sent฀to฀momentart@umich.edu฀
Th e฀Q ueer฀
between฀ Spanish฀ and฀
English)฀ as฀ an฀ “impure฀
language,”฀ opposed฀ to฀
pureza฀ de฀ la฀ lengua,฀ only฀
in฀trilingual฀Spanish/฀Italian/฀English฀exchange฀(that฀of฀the฀
Woman฀from฀the฀Sea฀or฀la฀Donna฀del฀Mare),฀or฀through฀the฀
fi฀gure฀of฀Sam฀Fat,฀the฀Afro-Chinese/฀Puerto฀Rican/฀Loisaida฀
detective฀in฀“Página฀en฀blanco฀y฀staccato”฀(1987),฀it฀is฀always฀

politics฀of฀ a฀ stone’s฀ throw฀ away฀

from฀ pureza฀ de฀ sangre฀ o฀
raza฀ [purity฀ of฀ blood฀
de฀ raza
with฀a฀certain฀daintiness฀and฀detachment฀that฀betray฀a฀true฀
lack฀of฀comfort.฀฀But฀this฀is฀not฀something฀that฀the฀gay฀writer฀
ever฀ hid,฀ as฀ is฀ evidenced฀ in฀ his฀ interview฀ with฀ Marithelma฀

S panglish
BY LAWRENCE LA FOUNTAIN-STOKES
“Queer,”฀a฀somewhat฀untranslatable฀term฀with฀no฀exact฀
equivalent฀ in฀ Spanish,฀ is฀ used฀ in฀ Anglo-America฀ and฀ its฀
linguistic฀ contact฀ zones฀ as฀ a฀ resignifi฀ed฀ marker฀ of฀ sexual฀
difference:฀that฀which฀is฀askew฀or฀off-center,฀as฀in฀the฀case฀
of฀ lesbian฀ and฀ gay;฀ a฀ position฀ beyond฀ identity฀ politics฀ and฀
more฀ closely฀ associated฀ to฀ the฀ postmodern฀ decentering฀ of฀
the฀subject.฀฀Like฀saying฀“lo฀raro,”฀in฀other฀words,฀“extraño,฀
singular,฀muy฀diferente฀de฀lo฀corriente,฀de฀lo฀que฀se฀espera฀o฀de฀lo฀
que฀es฀razonable฀y฀justo,”฀following฀María฀Moliner,฀referring฀
not฀ to฀ the฀ term฀ that฀ concerns฀ us฀ but฀ to฀ one฀ that฀ helps฀ us฀
approximate฀ its฀ meaning.฀ ฀ But฀ who฀ decides฀ what฀ is฀ “very฀
different฀from฀what฀is฀reasonable฀and฀just,”฀as฀the฀Spanish฀
linguist฀and฀lexicographer฀would฀have฀it?
Nations,฀ constituencies,฀ and฀ groups฀ defi฀ne฀ themselves฀
and฀ consolidate฀ their฀ identities฀ through฀ the฀ imposition฀ of฀
norms,฀limits,฀and฀parameters.฀฀The฀control฀of฀language,฀just฀
as฀that฀of฀many฀other฀socio-cultural฀traits฀such฀as฀clothing,฀
food,฀ music,฀ and฀ dance,฀ can฀ (and฀ often฀ does)฀ serve฀ toward฀
these฀ purposes.฀ ฀ The฀ formation฀ of฀ linguistic฀ communities฀
does฀not฀necessarily฀imply฀homogenizing,฀exclusivist฀stances;฀
multilingualism฀ is฀ accepted฀ in฀ many฀ locations฀ around฀ the฀
globe.฀ ฀ Yet฀ monolingualism,฀ closely฀ associated฀ to฀ some฀
imperialist฀ projects฀ and฀ to฀ modern฀ processes฀ of฀ nation฀
formation,฀ is฀ exacerbated฀ in฀ contemporary฀ ultranationalist฀
movements,฀ ruled฀ and฀ defi฀ned฀ as฀ they฀ are฀ by฀ racist฀ and฀
xenophobic฀ideologies.฀฀Present฀debates฀in฀the฀US฀regarding฀
“English฀Only”฀are฀an฀example฀of฀nativist฀positions฀that฀seek฀
to฀ literally฀ and฀ symbolically฀ silence฀ immigrants฀ as฀ well฀ as฀
indigenous฀populations,฀including฀both฀Native฀Americans฀or฀
Indians฀and฀Hispanics฀/฀Latinos฀who฀trace฀their฀roots฀to฀pre-
1848฀Mexican฀territories฀or฀to฀later฀conquests,฀such฀as฀that฀
of฀Puerto฀Rico฀in฀1898.
What฀does฀“queerness”฀(understood฀as฀a฀sign฀of฀sexual฀
difference)฀have฀in฀common฀with฀non-monolingual฀linguistic฀
practices฀ such฀ as฀ bilingualism฀ and฀ code-switching?฀ ฀ One฀
answer฀would฀be฀the฀way฀both฀relate฀to฀notions฀of฀purity฀and฀
impurity:฀of฀that฀which฀is฀civilized฀or฀nominally฀acceptable,฀
as฀opposed฀to฀that฀which฀is฀considered฀to฀be฀taboo,฀savage,฀
or฀degraded.฀฀There฀is฀nothing฀intrinsically฀pure฀or฀impure฀
about฀sexuality฀or฀language,฀except฀how฀they฀are฀constituted฀
and฀defi฀ned฀in฀different฀socio-cultural฀and฀historic฀moments.฀฀
Yet฀ the฀ two,฀ as฀ well฀ as฀ another฀ key฀ pairing—language฀ and฀
gender—are฀often฀inextricably฀intertwined.
Mestizo Languages
Nowhere฀ is฀ the฀ link฀ of฀ Latino/a฀ multilingualism฀ and฀
queerness฀more฀clearly฀articulated฀than฀in฀Gloria฀Anzaldúa’s฀
fundamental฀text,฀Borderlands/La฀Frontera:฀The฀New฀Mestiza฀
(1987),฀ more฀ specifi฀cally฀ in฀ the฀ chapter฀ “How฀ to฀ Tame฀ a฀
Wild฀Tongue.”฀฀Here฀we฀see฀how฀the฀body’s฀organ฀becomes฀
by฀ synecdoche฀ a฀ symbol฀ of฀ a฀ rebellious,฀ non-conforming฀
state,฀ something฀ that฀ brings฀ Anzaldúa฀ close฀ to฀ another฀
transgressor,฀ Malintzín,฀ also฀ known฀ as฀ La฀ Malinche,฀ the฀
indigenous฀translator฀and฀lover฀of฀Hernán฀Cortés฀who฀was฀
also฀ referred฀ to฀ as฀ “lengua”฀ (tongue)฀ and฀ criticized฀ for฀ her฀
linguistic฀and฀sexual฀identity.฀฀Anzaldúa’s฀revolt฀occurs฀in฀the฀
context฀of฀a฀dominant฀view฀of฀Spanglish฀(the฀code-switching฀
or฀ of฀ race]—ideologies฀ Costa,฀ in฀ which฀ he฀ candidly฀ discloses฀ his฀ unease฀ with฀ the฀
intrinsically฀ opposed฀ to฀ English฀language.
the฀fundamental฀reality฀of฀ Frances฀ Negrón฀ Muntaner’s฀ fi฀lm฀ Brincando฀ el฀ charco:฀
Latin฀American฀mestizaje.฀฀ Portrait฀of฀a฀Puerto฀Rican฀(1994)฀presents,฀from฀its฀very฀title,฀
Politics฀ in฀ both฀ English฀ a฀different฀position฀regarding฀bilingualism.฀฀This฀fi฀lm,฀part฀
and฀ Spanish-language฀ documentary฀ and฀ part฀ fi฀ction,฀ presents฀ a฀ history฀ of฀ Puerto฀
communities,฀ which฀ attempt฀ to฀ promote฀ “la฀ defensa฀ de฀ la฀ Rican฀migration฀to฀the฀US฀with฀a฀particular฀focus฀on฀gay฀and฀
lengua”฀ [the฀ defense฀ of฀ language],฀ deny฀ the฀ heterogeneity฀ lesbian฀experience;฀the฀documentary฀segments฀are฀framed฀in฀
and฀mixture฀that฀characterize฀the฀New฀World.฀฀Anzaldúa’s฀ the฀context฀of฀a฀semi-autobiographical฀story฀of฀a฀character฀
affi฀rmation฀ of฀ her฀ lesbianism,฀ feminism,฀ and฀ multi-voiced฀ called฀ Claudia฀ Marín,฀ an฀ exiled฀ lesbian฀ Puerto฀ Rican฀
and฀multilingual฀identity฀challenges฀traditional฀concepts฀of฀ photographer฀living฀in฀Philadelphia.฀฀The฀fi฀lm฀freely฀switches฀
submissive,฀ quiet฀ womanhood,฀ of฀ subservient฀ victims฀ and฀ back฀and฀forth฀between฀languages฀and฀disparate฀themes฀such฀
obedient฀spouses.฀฀Anzaldúa฀lists฀the฀languages฀of฀her฀own฀ as฀race,฀history,฀discrimination,฀and฀the฀dynamics฀of฀personal฀
and฀ of฀ Chicano/a฀ experience:฀ standard฀ English,฀ working฀ relationships฀between฀island฀and฀mainland-born฀lesbians.฀฀In฀
class฀and฀slang฀English,฀standard฀Spanish,฀standard฀Mexican฀
Spanish,฀North฀Mexican฀Spanish฀dialect,฀Chicano/a฀Spanish฀
(with฀its฀regional฀variations),฀Tex-Mex,฀and฀Pachuco฀or฀caló
(55).฀Half฀and฀half—mitá฀y฀mitá—in฀the฀sexual฀and฀linguistic฀
mitá฀y฀mitá
sense.
Yet฀ queerness฀ is฀ not฀ an฀ exclusive฀ province฀ of฀ any฀ one฀
sexual฀orientation,฀be฀it฀straight฀or฀gay.฀฀“Me฀siento฀muy.฀.฀.฀
excited!”฀says฀Selena฀(as฀portrayed฀by฀the฀Puerto฀Rican฀actress฀
Jennifer฀ López)฀ in฀ the฀ 1997฀ fi฀lm฀ of฀ that฀ name,฀ drowning฀
by฀the฀sheer฀strength฀of฀her฀charisma฀the฀xenophobic฀anti-
multilingual฀instincts฀of฀her฀possible฀detractors.฀฀Selena฀draws฀
on฀her฀own฀self-crafted฀politics฀of฀affect,฀by฀which฀linguistic฀
“insuffi฀ciencies”฀ are฀ masked,฀ transposed,฀ or฀ embroiled฀ in฀
complex฀negotiations฀of฀charm,฀physical฀touch,฀and฀rapport.฀฀
Selena’s฀ body฀ and฀ emotion฀ become฀ her฀ tongue,฀ la฀ lengua,฀
much฀as฀her฀singing฀in฀English฀and฀Spanish฀served฀to฀reaffi฀rm฀
ties฀of฀common฀ancestry฀and฀culture฀across฀the฀Mexican-US฀
border.฀฀The฀queer฀circumstances฀of฀her฀death฀(murdered฀by฀
a฀woman฀accused฀of฀being฀a฀lesbian)฀and฀her฀beatifi฀cation฀by฀
scores฀of฀admiring฀fans฀add฀to฀the฀complexity฀of฀her฀legacy.
Puerto Rican Linguistic Queerness
When฀ the฀ conceptual/linguistic฀ divide฀ of฀ sex/gender/
nation฀and฀language฀is฀not฀a฀geographic฀expanse฀but฀rather฀an฀
immensity฀interrupted฀by฀the฀Atlantic฀Ocean,฀as฀in฀the฀case฀
between฀Puerto฀Rico฀and฀the฀United฀States,฀the฀expressions฀
of฀queerness฀and฀language฀are฀bound฀to฀be฀different.฀฀“But฀ “CHUPAROSA,” ALMA LOPEZ, 2002
how฀ does฀ one฀ invent฀ a฀ language?฀ ฀ Jerigonza
Jerigonza฀ would฀ do!”฀ fact,฀by฀focusing฀on฀the฀relationship฀between฀Claudia฀and฀her฀
exclaims฀the฀lesbian฀Puerto฀Rican฀poet฀Luz฀María฀Umpierre฀ Nuyorican฀girlfriend฀Ana฀Hernández,฀the฀fi฀lm฀enacts฀a฀scene฀
in฀“The฀Mar/Garita฀Poem”฀(1987),฀to฀later฀affi฀rm฀in฀code:฀“
฀rm฀in฀code:฀“yo฀ of฀queer฀national฀romance฀in฀which฀the฀encounter฀between฀
tú฀nos/฀necesi/tamos฀lenguas;฀si฀las฀lenguas/฀no฀se฀unen/฀no฀habrá/฀ the฀ island฀ and฀ its฀ diasporic฀ population฀ is฀ enacted฀ through฀
la฀unión฀salvadora/฀del฀mundo฀y฀de฀la฀guerra”฀[I/you/we฀need฀ language฀and฀sex.฀฀This฀occurs฀quite฀noticeably฀by฀criticizing฀
tongues;฀if฀the฀tongues฀do฀not฀unite/฀we฀will฀not฀have/฀the฀ intolerance,฀as฀in฀the฀case฀of฀Claudia’s฀condemnation฀of฀her฀
redeeming฀union/฀of฀the฀world฀and฀of฀war]฀(34).฀฀This฀fi฀nal฀ girlfriend’s฀cousins฀in฀Puerto฀Rico,฀who฀laughed฀at฀Ana฀(and฀
poem฀of฀the฀Margarita฀series฀attempts฀to฀bring฀resolution฀to฀ stunted฀ her฀ Spanish฀ learning)฀ for฀ incorrectly฀ translating฀
a฀lesbian฀process฀of฀love฀and฀loss฀as฀well฀as฀to฀a฀situation฀of฀ “grocery฀ store”฀ as฀ ““grosería”฀ (which฀ means฀ coarseness฀
estrangement฀and฀transformation:฀the฀cultural฀threat฀posed฀ or฀ rudeness);฀ but฀ grosería
grosería฀ is฀ precisely฀ what฀ the฀ threat฀ of฀
by฀appropriating฀gestures฀camoufl฀aged฀as฀friendly฀exchange,฀ lesbianism฀ (and฀ of฀ migration)฀ is฀ constantly฀ portrayed฀ as฀ in฀
commented฀on฀in฀“Only฀the฀Hand฀that฀Stirs฀Knows฀What฀ Puerto฀ Rico:฀ familiar,฀ as฀ the฀ ubiquitous฀ bodega฀ on฀ every฀
Is฀in฀the฀Pot”:฀“No฀handing฀out฀my฀set฀of฀ingredients,/฀they฀ barrio฀street฀corner฀in฀the฀US฀diasporic฀atlas;฀shocking;฀and฀
sauté
sauté฀in฀my฀head,/฀inside฀a฀Corning฀food฀dish”฀(25). queer.
Umpierre’s฀highly฀successful฀integration฀of฀bilingualism฀
and฀code-switching฀contrasts฀greatly฀with฀the฀experience฀of฀ Lawrence฀ La฀ Fountain-Stokes฀ is฀ an฀ Assistant฀ Professor฀ of฀
another฀fi฀rst-generation฀gay฀Puerto฀Rican฀migrant,฀Manuel฀ Latino/a฀ Studies฀ and฀ Spanish฀ at฀ the฀ University฀ of฀ Michigan,฀
Ramos฀Otero,฀who฀never฀truly฀integrated฀the฀English฀language฀ Ann฀Arbor,฀where฀he฀teaches฀courses฀on฀the฀queer฀Caribbean฀and฀
into฀his฀work,฀at฀least฀not฀in฀a฀successful฀manner.฀฀While฀the฀ on฀theater฀and฀performance.฀฀He฀was฀born฀and฀raised฀in฀San฀Juan,฀
lack฀of฀linguistic฀diversity฀of฀early฀stories฀such฀as฀“Hollywood฀ Puerto฀ Rico.฀ ฀ His฀ book฀ of฀ short฀ stories฀ Blue฀ Fingernails/Uñas฀
Memorabilia”฀(1971)฀is฀addressed฀in฀later฀narratives฀such฀as฀ pintadas฀de฀azul฀is฀forthcoming฀from฀Bilingual฀Press฀(Arizona).฀฀
“El฀cuento฀de฀la฀Mujer฀del฀Mar”฀(1979),฀which฀actually฀engages฀
El฀cuento฀de฀la฀Mujer฀del฀Mar He฀can฀be฀reached฀at฀lawrlafo@umich.edu.