Date: Fri, 1 Nov 1996 10:22:45 -0600 (CST) From: Dennis Grammenos <dgrammen-AT-prairienet.org> Subject: Re: M-I: Live at NYU: Sokal vs. Social Text On Fri, 1 Nov 1996, Liam Connell wrote: > Louis N Proyect <lnp3-AT-columbia.edu> LP> > Seated to Alan's right was Andrew Ross, a cultural studies LP> > professor at NYU and current editor of Social Text. He is wearing LP> > large loop earrings in each ear, a fluffy white shirt and LP> > silver bracelets on each wrist. I can't decide whether he making LP> > some kind of statement about sexuality or is trying out his Halloween LP> > costume a day early. LC> Although sympathetic to much of what you say in this review I LC> think that this is a particularly offensive thing to say. Do LC> you use the term homophobia in the States? I probably shouldn't get involved in this, but... >From where I sit, LP was making an ad hominem attack on Andrew Ross, based on the latter's fashion sense. While ad hominem attacks are "lowbrow" (can I use that term without being flamed?), I do not see this attack as deserving the label "homophobic". Perhaps I do not understand... In my crude sense of humor, I think that LP's description of Ross was quite humorous. I mean, I laughed... Was I laughing because LP was calling Ross a "homo" or a "faggot"? No! Did I laugh because I thought LP was "outing" Ross? No! I laughed because in my own limited and outdated sense of fashion, Ross did not dress "appropriately", i.e. he did not dress like I would ( I am being honest). I mean, I got this image of Andrew Ross dressed as The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, or like some pirate of Hollywood vintage (say, Erol Flynn). Of course, given that it was in time for Halloween, maybe he was just dressing-up for that. Or, maybe, he was IN FACT making a statement about his sexuality. I guess the latter would change things quite a bit... But since when does the mere wearing of large loop earings, a fluffy shirt, and bracelets constitute a statement on sexual identity? On this I am just lost... It reminds me so much of crude caricatures of gay men or transgender persons... I can understand LC's sensitivity on the issue. Oftentimes people use language to "code" hatred whether it is racism or homophobia or what have you. I just don't think that that was LP's intention (and I do not presume to speak for LP since I don't even know him). Sorry if I stepped on any toes, but I felt that I just had to share my thoughts on this matter. My opinions are open to re-examination and revision, I guess... Comradely salutations:-) Dennis Grammenos --- from list marxism-international-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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