The Laboratory of Feminist Memory: Laugher, Joy, and Pleasure
March 24, 2020
This virtual LFM featured Sennah Yee, Karleen Pendleton Jiménez, Flarington King, Axelle Demus and an excerpt from Marusya Bociurkiw’s film.
Experiments – Axelle Demus
Axelle Dumas is a Research Assistant at The Studio for Media Activism and Critical Thought. Axelle revisits “Experiments”, a piece written at 15yrs old telling their life story from 0-15yrs.
Bodies in Trouble excerpt – Marusya Bociurkiw
Bodies in Trouble exposes the lesbian body as a battlefield in the context of a right-wing blacklash. Juxtaposing sexual passion with sexual fear, the lesbian eroticism presented by Bociurkiw is inscribed with danger and courage. Using the 1990’s summer raid at the Sex Garage in Montreal as a backdrop, Bociurkiw positions her film as a vibrant and pointed critic of the political and social abuse against the homosexual communities. Marusya Bociurkiw is the director of The Studio for Media Activism and Critical Thought.
Karleen Pendleton Jiménez
Karleen Pendleton Jiménez is the author of How to Get a Girl Pregnant and Are You a Boy or a Girl?, both finalists for Lambda Literary Awards. She is associate professor of education and gender and women’s studies at Trent University. Her film Tomboy has been screened around the world, and look soon for her new book The Street Belongs to Us
History of the Toronto Drag Kings – Flarington King
Flare, aka Flarington King, is an international drag king producer, performer, and documentarian. Having been on the scene for over 20 years, some of Flare’s accomplishments include: Producer of the Fabulous Toronto Drag Kings (1999-2004); Co-Producer of Toronto’s first International drag king show “United Kingdom”; Producer of “World Class Kings” for World Pride, Toronto 2014; International Drag King Community Extravaganza (IDKE) steering committee member for eight years; and Co-Producer/Director of “A Drag King Extravaganza” a documentary about drag kings distributed by Frameline Studios. Also contributes to the website www.dragkinghistory.com. Headliner at the Austin International Drag Festival 2019, 2018 & 2016; Saturday night headliner at Fierce! Queer Burlesque Festival in Pittsburgh 2015; and, headliner of The Great Big International Drag King Show in Washington DC 2008. Flare is known for twisting gender norms by mixing drag and burlesque in provocative performances. One of the first kings in the world to twirl a tassel. From Toronto, Canada.
This event also included the following speakers whose performances were not recorded.
Sennah Yeeis from Toronto, where she writes poetry, prose, and film criticism. She is the author of the poetry/non-fiction collection How Do I Look? (Metatron Press, 2017) and the children’s book My Day with Gong Gong (Annick Press, 2020). Her MA in Cinema & Media Studies focused on gendered robot design in pop culture and technology. Though named after a racecar driver, she has yet to get behind the wheel.
