Michael Bronski: What Happpened To Queer Anarchism?

"When I was writing A Queer History of the United States, I began to formulate the argument that some of the major impulses inspiring the LGBT movement had roots in American anarchism. I was surprised by this at first, but then it began to make sense. Mid-19th century political thinkers such as Ezra Heywood—a social utopian who argued passionately that the state had no right to dictate people’s personal, emotional, or sexual lives—argued for frank public discussions of sexuality as indispensable for attaining personal and sexual liberation..."

Great article by Michael Bronski from Z Magazine.

Michael Bronski: On Bradley Manning

The April issue of Z Magazine contains a short essay by one of Fagburn's most favourite writers, Michael Bronski; 'Sex and Security - Bradley Manning, Sexual Identity, and WikiLeaks'
"When the Manning story first broke last June, Gawker ran a column that was pure exploitation, conjuring up fears that Manning's sexuality was the reason for his 'betrayal.' Asserting that Manning might be transsexual (a rumor so odd that no one else has mentioned it), the report claimed that Manning was turned in to the FBI by a man with whom he had had a flirtation ('Was Wikileaker Bradley Manning Betrayed By His Queer Identity?').
"Since that time, stories about Manning have ignored or downplayed his stated sexuality. The LGBT national press has written very little about him, choosing, presumably, not to play off the angle that someone who allegedly hurt national interests could be a gay martyr..."

You'll have to sign in to read it in full - or even better become a Zmag/Znet subscriber or make a donation.

• Michael Bronski's A Queer History of the United States is published on May 10th by Random House.
• 'Bradley Manning Case: British moral authority 'at risk' Welsh MP says UK must challenge US over treatment of soldier being detained for alleged leak of state secrets to WikiLeaks' - Ann Clwyd MP in The Guardian.

Update: Ann Clwyd's EDM on Bradley's case was discussed in the Commons Monday night - UK citizenship confirmed, representations to be made to the US State Department...

"I loved it - I look forward to reading Fagburn all the time now" - Michael Bronski, February 2011

Glee & Queer Bullying: "Sometimes It Doesn't Get Better"

"'It Gets Better' has a certain power to it. It is impossible not to be moved by the refrain of pain in many of the videos. But the project has two major problems. The first is that sometimes it doesn't get better. The reality is that class, race, poverty, gender presentation, geography, support systems, physical abilities, and a whole host of other issues place all kids at risk. For a lot of teens this combination can be overwhelming and, in the end, it just doesn't get better. Often it gets worse. The second problem is even more serious. As a political organizing tool, It Gets Better fails to urge people to make changes now, to take action to stop the bullying, to find concrete solutions to this problem. Sure, some of the videos urge kids to tell their teachers and their principals to step in if someone is being bullied and that there are places they can get help, but there is no systematic, sustained approach for affecting change. Indeed, the very notion that It Gets Better presumes that change happens through the passage of time, not that you have to work to make it better.
"Glee, a carefully written and produced TV show, chronicles the emotional and musical travails of a high school glee club. It also deals with high school bullying—in particular the bullying of Kurt, an openly gay member of the glee club. In the November shows, the bullying reached such extremes that Kurt faced death threats and had to change schools.
"So what could be bad about a hugely popular television show that sympathetically exposes the bullying of an openly gay teen? Actually, a lot..."

From an article in the new issue of ZMagazine, Glee and Queer Bullying, by the ever brilliant American critic Michael Bronski.

Cartoon from Z Magazine.