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- Title
Fumerism as Queer Feminist Activism: Humour and Rage in the Lesbian Avengers' Visibility Politics.
- Authors
Leng, Kirsten
- Abstract
This article examines the role of humour within the late twentieth-century lesbian feminist direct action group, the Lesbian Avengers. Using stand-up comedian and writer Kate Clinton’s neologism ‘fumerism’, it explores how the Avengers’ actions mixed humour with an angry edge to protest issues such as sexual violence and dabbled in the grotesque in order to target misogyny. This article argues that ‘fumer’ served the Avengers as a creative, cathartic and provocative means of raising awareness of lesbian issues, broaching demands and making (political) lesbians visible. This article situates the Avengers’ tactics within an era of resurgent conservatism and direct-action politics, and asserts that they belong to a larger, longer history of feminist humour only now gaining scholarly attention.
- Subjects
NEW York (N.Y.); LESBIAN clubs; LGBTQ+ organizations -- Political activity; 20TH century feminism; WIT &; humor -- History &; criticism; DIRECT action; NINETEEN nineties; SOCIAL action; SOCIAL change; AMERICAN political satire
- Publication
Gender & History, 2020, Vol 32, Issue 1, p108
- ISSN
0953-5233
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/1468-0424.12450