27/05/2014
Sabancı University Gender and Women’s Studies Forum, in association with the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and Gender Club, hosted a lecture by Jack Halberstam, a leader in queer theory. Jack Halberstam spoke on his book Gaga Feminism: Sex, Gender, and the End of Normal on Wednesday, May 21, 2014 at the Karaköy Minerva Palas.
Jack Halberstam discussed the following: While capitalism changes route and focus to reconsolidate exploitation and prevalence, feminism and other forms of critical thought transform, evolve and change paths as well. During this process, the critical responses developed against capitalism throughout the 20th century (anti-exploitation, anarchism, socialism, the multitude movement, ‘undercommon’s, punk, critical racial theory, critical ethnical studies et al.) transform themselves from identity claims based on the history of oppression and exploitation to new concepts of solidarity, commonality and political purpose. Halberstam also spoke on the transformation of feminism through interaction with new models of activism.
After discussing the necessity of feminism and the queer theory, Jack Halberstam presented his own manifesto. Arguing that the pharmaceutical industry and global capitalism reposition the body-pleasure relationship, Halberstam said that pharmaceuticals and medical procedures evolve the human body towards an alternative reality. Halberstam called for the need to create a new language instead of dividing into small identities and subgroups, saying “As people who desire change and transformation, we must change the discourse that ‘capitalism has already been there.’ Capitalism itself is chaos; poverty itself is chaos; anarchism is solidarity. Capitalism will find new ways to nurture the wealthy,” and explained why he focused on capitalism with the argument that capitalism is a phenomenon leading to confusion and pessimism.
Jack Halberstam said “Think wild; do not constrain yourself to any one discipline, and look as if you are seeing the world for the first time. We must reimagine politics.” Explaining that anarchists become involved in politics not to reach an objective but to be together, Halberstam called for a new politics that is based not on identity politics, but on a new imagining of solidarity.
Jack Halberstam explained that he uses Lady Gaga as the symbol of a new kind of sensibility, and said that the argument in Gaga Feminism is the need for a new gender regime. Discussing the shift in gender regime, Jack Halberstam said new technologies may relieve women from the responsibility of giving birth.
Halberstam said that his purpose in including the wild in the queer theory is to consolidate theories that are in disarray, and argued that queer activism was in one way or another influenced by the protests of the past, bringing the two together.
Jack Halberstam made comments on the works of artists of various disciplines, saying “Participatory art includes not just the artists, but everyone who happens to chance upon the work. A new meaning arises when the message is not fully delivered.”
Halberstam was in Ankara on Sunday, May 18 as an invited guest of Kaos GL for the “Anti-Homophobic and Transphobic Summit.”
About Jack Halberstam
Jack Halberstam is Professor of English and Director of The Center for Feminist Research at University of Southern California (USC). Halberstam's writing focuses on the topic of tomboys and female masculinity and has published a book titled after the concept of female masculinity. His works include Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters, Duke UP 1995; Female Masculinity, Duke UP 1998; In A Queer Time and Place, NYU Press 2005; and Gaga Feminism: Sex, Gender, and the End of Normal, Beacon Press 2012.