sabbatical-ing

I shan't kiss and tell, but here's a few interesting things that stood out in my visit to one of the world's great bastions of queer life. First, we've got some new terminology to master!  FLINTA*  is a common German shorthand for 'everybody but cis guys.' We make a similar gesture often enough in North America, but without the benefit of an acronym that can stand in for a positive definition, rather than a negative one. I like this a lot.  There's also TIN (I presume for trans, intersex, and nonbinary people) which add an air of metallurgical mystique to events postings---another positive. This Ain't TERF Island I'm sure they're out there somewhere, scurrying from corner or corner, but I didn't see any signs of TERFs around. Instead, there was a lot of emphasis on telling them, preemptively, to fuck off. Most pleasing. Mapping the landscape There is a density of queer people here that allows for the luxury of differentiation. This is also to...

Hello dear reader, Welcome (back?) to blogging.  I'd like to claim that I never left, but I haven't made any such long-form, public address since about 2014. It's too bad; I think there's real value in being able to shape and share thoughts that exceed the character limit of your contemporary content sharing platform of choice, and do so in a way that preserves the writer's context and intentions across time.  The old Internet was a kinder, more generous place. All its tools are still here, even if they're buried under glossier, dopamine-microdosing forms of giving and receiving attention. So, here's to picking them up again, and seeing what happens. Of course, it helps to have a project. Here's mine: I'm on sabbatical this semester, spending half a year on the road, jumping from country to country, fellowship to fellowship. This brings me away from well worn habits and friendships, most of my teaching responsibilities, and my beloved cats. In turn, ...