Let My People Go!
Apr. 8th, 2009 03:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eumeliaIt's that time of year again.
Pesach (Passover) is pretty much my favourite holiday.
It has a pretty universal message and everyone is in fact invited to celebrate it.
The message of freedom, springtime, renewal, rejuvenation, justice and liberation. All good stuff.
If you click on the "holy"days tag you'll be able to read the posts I've made in previous years regarding Pesach and how I felt about it at the time.
I suppose I could talk about the nature of our crumbling democracy.
But it's a bit redundant, seeing as I write about that quite often anyway.
I could talk about the people whose freedom and liberation is actually no available to them, those unjustly imprisoned, those forced out of their homes - not in search of a new and better one - like my own people's Exodus from thousands of years ago or the various immigrations that have brought the Diaspora to this oh so Holy and Promised land.
Flowing with milk, honey, blood, sweat and bitter tears.
However, seeing as the past few months have been a bit of an identity battle for me I suppose it would be interesting for y'all to read about how I connect this Pesach with my own Queer Liberation.
In queer politics there, generally speaking, two avenues of operation.
Liberationist and Assimilationist.
Assimilationist is when one tries to, well, assimilate into the dominant culture seamlessly, to appear as though "we" are no different than "you".
That means the right to marry, to buy property together, anti-discrimination laws in regards to sexual orientation and gender presentation, etc. etc. etc.
All good, important things that we need to have in order for our lives to move smoothly and without much problem or issue in society.
There is, however, an underlying assumption.
Straight is the default.
Everything else is not.
That's why a significant part of the population thinks that same-sex marriage is a "special right" and not a "human right".
That's why many people think that two men or two women holding hands, kissing in the street and all that jazz are "indiscretions" and that they are advertising their sexuality in public, heaven forfend.
Because sexuality is to be left in the bedroom.
No one cares what you do in bed, after all.
Yeah.
Right.
It may sound very negative when I write it down like that, but that's what assimilation is to me - that and seeing The Borg at a young age have made me weary of any kind of action that says "We're just like everyone else".
Fact of the matter is, we're all special.
Or more to the point; no, despite legislation and apparent social acceptance, queer culture is not something that the mainstream is comfortable with unless it id for the entertainment of a straight audience.
No one accuses a man and a woman kissing in public of advertising their sexuality.
No one considers the fact that the assumption of heterosexuality means that people who aren't need to explain who they are over and over and over again.
It means that two women slow dancing is a sensation - if you they are queer, if you don't then it's just two women dancing - which is what often happens.
Once you know someone is queer, it colours your entire perception of who they are.
Because they are not a part of the default.
I think for a lot of people my age, in my very specific geographical setting what I'm writing may seem very dated.
Over the past few months I've realised that despite coming from one of the most open minded families and living in one of the more affluent parts of the country.
I am told I must keep my head down, not make waves, appear normal.
That isn't freedom.
That is suffocation.
And while I didn't give in to it entirely, my breath was still restricted and I was careful not to toe any lines that would have brought down a wrath of some kind.
What is Liberation then?
And why do queers need it and insist that it should be applied to everyone.
To me, Liberation isn't being "special", it is a redefinition of "normal".
It is the broadening of love and family.
It is living in a society in which parents do not say "I wish life could be easier for you", "Why don't you try and be the same as everyone else".
Who are these "everyone else"?
All the other sods that are sad, unhappy and just getting by the threads of their sanity because we are told to assimilate and resistance is futile (I know, I know, shaddap!)
Resistance is not futile.
The story of my Jewish heritage is that of dis-assimilation. Do not change just because it may make your life easier. Stay true to yourself. Be proud of who you are, even if others think you are strange, different and oh so very queer.
We are bound with invisible ropes and chains to our day to day lives, we do not resist all the time, it is tiring. But at times, the very nature of who we are and who we love and the way we interact with the world puts us on a collision course and we know that we are shackled.
Once these shackles are visible it is easier to find the chains that link to other like you and it is easier to find the chinks in those as well.
To assimilate is to merely loosen the chains, a little bit, so that we do not strangle ourselves in our daily lives.
To liberate is to remove the chains completely and maybe make something new with the material.
Happy Pesach!
Chag Sameach!!
A Good Wednesday to us all!!!
Pesach (Passover) is pretty much my favourite holiday.
It has a pretty universal message and everyone is in fact invited to celebrate it.
The message of freedom, springtime, renewal, rejuvenation, justice and liberation. All good stuff.
If you click on the "holy"days tag you'll be able to read the posts I've made in previous years regarding Pesach and how I felt about it at the time.
I suppose I could talk about the nature of our crumbling democracy.
But it's a bit redundant, seeing as I write about that quite often anyway.
I could talk about the people whose freedom and liberation is actually no available to them, those unjustly imprisoned, those forced out of their homes - not in search of a new and better one - like my own people's Exodus from thousands of years ago or the various immigrations that have brought the Diaspora to this oh so Holy and Promised land.
Flowing with milk, honey, blood, sweat and bitter tears.
However, seeing as the past few months have been a bit of an identity battle for me I suppose it would be interesting for y'all to read about how I connect this Pesach with my own Queer Liberation.
In queer politics there, generally speaking, two avenues of operation.
Liberationist and Assimilationist.
Assimilationist is when one tries to, well, assimilate into the dominant culture seamlessly, to appear as though "we" are no different than "you".
That means the right to marry, to buy property together, anti-discrimination laws in regards to sexual orientation and gender presentation, etc. etc. etc.
All good, important things that we need to have in order for our lives to move smoothly and without much problem or issue in society.
There is, however, an underlying assumption.
Straight is the default.
Everything else is not.
That's why a significant part of the population thinks that same-sex marriage is a "special right" and not a "human right".
That's why many people think that two men or two women holding hands, kissing in the street and all that jazz are "indiscretions" and that they are advertising their sexuality in public, heaven forfend.
Because sexuality is to be left in the bedroom.
No one cares what you do in bed, after all.
Yeah.
Right.
It may sound very negative when I write it down like that, but that's what assimilation is to me - that and seeing The Borg at a young age have made me weary of any kind of action that says "We're just like everyone else".
Fact of the matter is, we're all special.
Or more to the point; no, despite legislation and apparent social acceptance, queer culture is not something that the mainstream is comfortable with unless it id for the entertainment of a straight audience.
No one accuses a man and a woman kissing in public of advertising their sexuality.
No one considers the fact that the assumption of heterosexuality means that people who aren't need to explain who they are over and over and over again.
It means that two women slow dancing is a sensation - if you they are queer, if you don't then it's just two women dancing - which is what often happens.
Once you know someone is queer, it colours your entire perception of who they are.
Because they are not a part of the default.
I think for a lot of people my age, in my very specific geographical setting what I'm writing may seem very dated.
Over the past few months I've realised that despite coming from one of the most open minded families and living in one of the more affluent parts of the country.
I am told I must keep my head down, not make waves, appear normal.
That isn't freedom.
That is suffocation.
And while I didn't give in to it entirely, my breath was still restricted and I was careful not to toe any lines that would have brought down a wrath of some kind.
What is Liberation then?
And why do queers need it and insist that it should be applied to everyone.
To me, Liberation isn't being "special", it is a redefinition of "normal".
It is the broadening of love and family.
It is living in a society in which parents do not say "I wish life could be easier for you", "Why don't you try and be the same as everyone else".
Who are these "everyone else"?
All the other sods that are sad, unhappy and just getting by the threads of their sanity because we are told to assimilate and resistance is futile (I know, I know, shaddap!)
Resistance is not futile.
The story of my Jewish heritage is that of dis-assimilation. Do not change just because it may make your life easier. Stay true to yourself. Be proud of who you are, even if others think you are strange, different and oh so very queer.
We are bound with invisible ropes and chains to our day to day lives, we do not resist all the time, it is tiring. But at times, the very nature of who we are and who we love and the way we interact with the world puts us on a collision course and we know that we are shackled.
Once these shackles are visible it is easier to find the chains that link to other like you and it is easier to find the chinks in those as well.
To assimilate is to merely loosen the chains, a little bit, so that we do not strangle ourselves in our daily lives.
To liberate is to remove the chains completely and maybe make something new with the material.
Happy Pesach!
Chag Sameach!!
A Good Wednesday to us all!!!
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no subject
Date: 2009-04-08 02:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-08 02:53 pm (UTC)And STOP TOUCHING ME!!!