[-empyre-] Situated body, Situated practices

[Jaimes Mayhew]

Hi everyone,
I have been in this listserve since 2008 and I can’t recall ever posting, but I was inspired to share that seeing this conversation made my heart swell. I am also transgender, and transitioned early in my career. 

I’m struck that just 15-20 years ago, seeing this kind of conversation about trans* people on a list for art people seemed impossible. I’ve found people who are trans* in every city I’ve lived in via social media as a way to make friends and find allies. First Friendster, then MySpace and now Facebook. 

McKenzie, I am a fan of your work, and was so excited to see you present at CAA in NYC a couple of years ago. I remember seeing you and wondering if you might be family. 

What else can I say? I’m grateful for this moment.

Sent from my phone. Please excuse any typos or brevity.

> On Sep 10, 2019, at 6:05 AM, warkk <WarkK at newschool.edu> wrote:
> 
> ----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
> 
> 
> When i came out (on Facebook, natch), Sandy sent me a message which said: "Now you know why, when i met you, i made you nervous."
> 
> True story. I had so much internalized transphobia because i knew i was clinging on to masculinity by a thread. 
> 
> "The internet" has a lot to answer for. It turns out media designed for extracting surplus information out of us is a great breeding ground for Nazis. 
> 
> Then again, it is a space where trans ppl can find each other. I'm transitioning with the help of big sisters i know IRL -- but met on twitter. 
> 
> Then again again, its a space for ppl who hate us. Its exhausting playing whack-a-mole with ppl who think you are not human.
> 
> The actual German-style Nazis started with queer and trans ppl too. The Nazi-book burning pictures you see most often are of the Hirschfeld library.
> 
> Who was Hirschfield? Who was Harry Benjamin? What was the medicalized model of the transsexual? Well for that you'd need to read this:
> http://www.sterneck.net/gender/stone-posttranssexuel/index.php
> 
> -- in which Sandy became big sister to us all. 
> 
> Ironically enough, for complicated reasons, i'm among sisters who all call ourselves transsexuals again. 
> 
> But then one of themes is change, right?
> 
>> On Tue, Sep 10, 2019 at 2:17 AM Allucquere Rosanne Stone <allucquere.stone at gmail.com> wrote:
>> ----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
>> Hi folks, Sandy here.  McKenzie and I met in the mythic time of the latter part of the XXth Century, when she (then he) met a busful of middle-aged theoreticians debarking at a conference venue.  McKenzie glanced at me and then stared with an expression I interpreted as loathing, and which later I realized was something more akin to terror.  I thought that they might be an F2M afraid of being outed, so out of courtesy I gave them a wide berth.  In retrospect I wish I hadn’t.  Roads not taken, ships that pass in the night…
>> 
>> At any rate, we’re here now, and it’s a great pleasure.
>> 
>> Yeah, I’ve seen a lot of young transpeople in what at some point in the past was a general catchphrase for personal turbulence: going through changes.  Right. Ch-ch-ch-changes.  Who knew.
>> 
>> Well.  The present moment is so chockfull of changes.  A close relative, an intelligent, perceptive, empathetic and caring person, is a Trumpist.  J Epstein, an intelligent, perceptive philanthropist, was a raging pedophile.  Valerie Plame has launched a campaign video that either reduces or elevates politics to the level of Hollywood spectacle — literally… all it lacks is Jason Statham and Vin Diesel getting out of the car behind her.  A woman has given birth to a cow’s head.  We’re all busy slouching toward our particular Bethlehem.  What’s not to like?
>> 
>> I’ll say something about change that’s more related to this thread later.  This is just a little introductory blurt until I have more time.
>> 
>> Sandy
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Allucquere Rosanne Stone
>> Drive-by Theoretician
>> 
>> Faust: How comes it then that thou art out of hell?
>> Meph: Why this is hell, nor am I out of it.
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone. Please enjoy all autocorrects and typos.
>> _______________________________________________
>> empyre forum
>> empyre at lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au
>> http://empyre.library.cornell.edu
> 
> 
> -- 
> McKenzie Wark (they/she)
> Professor of Media and Culture
> EUGENE LANG COLLEGE
> 65 w11th st, NEW YORK, NY 10011
> warkk at newschool.edu
> T 212 229 5100 2241 / M 646 3697266 / @mckenziewark / room #456
> 
> _______________________________________________
> empyre forum
> empyre at lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au
> http://empyre.library.cornell.edu
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