In September I began teaching at Carleton as a sessional contract instructor for the third year. I’m teaching a first year LGBT Studies seminar and a human rights course on Gender, Sexuality, and National Security. I also continue to serve my part-time faculty union at Carleton by sitting on the Executive Board as well as the negotiating team fighting for an improved collective agreement and fair deal for part-time faculty. Carleton is the third worst employer in Ontario in terms of wage competitiveness for part-time faculty and we are fighting to change that among other priorities this round of bargaining.
In June I penned a short piece for a pride-focused issue of the online magazine maintained by Go Freddie. While they failed to publish it before or during pride, my piece titled “Sex Work & Remembering Queer Whoreganizers This Pride Season” made it to press by the end of July. It’s a personal reflection on how boring and awful (ie. commercial) pride is and how queers and sex workers who once had a lot in common politically no longer do. I wonder aloud what Danny Cockerline (1960-1995), a gay activist co-founder of the Canadian Organization for the Rights of Prostitutes, Maggie’s, and the Prostitutes Safe Sex Project would think of both commercialized defanged pride celebrations and the current state of sex worker activism in Canada. (image of Danny from Epicene ‘zine circa early 90s)
Looking forward, an article I’ve been working on for the past five years with my colleague Gary Lee Pelletier titled “Here, Queer, and Paranoid! On Acrid Sociality and Collaborating Otherwise” is in the final copyediting phase with QED Journal. The article theorizes a particular form of destructive queer sociality we name as “acrid sociality”, trying to figure out why queers treat each other so poorly in activist spaces. It should be out this winter!
Lastly, I’m entering my last two semesters as Chair of the Sexuality Studies Association where I’m busily working on professionalizing the association, co-organizing my last annual conference as the associations Chair that will take place in May 2023, and preparing to hand over the reins to my very capable colleagues!