Geek Out!

Description

Editor’s Note

The word, “geek” means different things to different people. Merriam-Webster defines it as: “An enthusiast or expert especially in a technological field or activity.” MacMillan defines it as: “Someone who is boring.” Oxford defines it as: “An unfashionable and socially inept person” and “A knowledgable and obsessive enthusiast.”*

“Queer” is even more nebulous a term, if that’s possible. Formerly signifying the mere difference of a person or group from the norm, it has evolved to apply to specific differences of sexuality and gender-identity. Despite this distinction, however, an enormous overlap obviously exists between the two terms. 

Many people who self-identify as queer also self-identify as geeks. For that matter, so too are many people labeled queer by others also perceived as geeks. The commonality, if it can be pared down to a single factor, is a lack of belonging. Being queer and being a geek are each belonging to a group distinguished by its failure to belong, or to fit the dominant paradigm. In their own realms, they—we—are each, alone, together, living in society’s margins.

The Urban Dictionary defines “geek out” as: “The act of becoming emotionally and physically aroused by the sight or the thought of a technicality of a certain topic of major interest. It resembles an ‘orgasm of the mind’.“ For the writers and artists here, it may be science fiction, fantasy, fairy tale, westerns, fanfic or experimental poetry. It may be opera, drag, synesthesia, urban planning or board games. For all of us involved in this book, it is also a play on words, suggesting queer geeks coming out as both. So what do you geek out about? 

This book and all subsequent volumes in this series are dedicated to all the wild and wonderful geeks, freaks, nerds, dweebs, outcasts and, yes, queers out there in the world. This means you.

—Sage Kalmus, Editor

Editor’s Note

About the Cover

Storybook | Sandra Odell

Red Riding Hood | M.C. Stylos

Poems by Robert Beveridge -

Traversing the Eastern Slope of Faimon Volcano

You Must Build a Boat

31, 9,17

Anon | Sara K. Ellis

The Hyperheels Devour | Elly Bangs

Wonder | Sravani singampalli

“Oh No She Betta Don’t” - The Problematic Nature of Contemporary Drag Performance | Andres Caravantes

Two-Way Communication | Annie Percik

Poems by Catherine Krause

dragonbears

Anemone of the People

He Moved Astonishingly Fast

It

white noise

Pirate Girls | Emmalia Harrington

War of Brothers | Brandon Cracraft

From Nostalgia, Through Now & Beyond | Stephen Mead

Outbound Access | Jack Miller

To Klaatu | Marie Vibbert

To Free a Genie | Jessica Goodman

I Wish People Would Stop Pretending Mario Kart is Fun (It’s Not) | M. Shaw

The Temptation Machine | Lisa Timpf

Small College, Greater Problems: The Status of GLBTQ in Rural Higher Education | Jason K. Smith, PhD

Waterfront | Fred Simon

“O terra, addio!” | Joseph Tomaras

Tape | Will Bernardara Jr

Review of We the Animals by Justin Torres | Juanita Tovar Mutis

Hypermorphic | Nicholas Jordan

Fallen Sun | Nicolas Johnson

Out of the Closet | Ari Koontz

Sujets

• Bisexualidad
• Transgender
• Lesbian
• Queer
• Gay
• LGBT
• Trans

Informations

• Publié par: Qommunity Media LLC
• Date de parution: 10 décembre 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781946952202
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 22 Mo

Extrait

Geek Out
Queer Pop Lit, Art & Ideas
Edited by Sage Kalmus
Qommunicate Publishing
an imprint of Qommunity Media LLC
Becket, Massachusetts
 
Copyright © 2018 by Qommunity Media LLC
 
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or
transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.
 
Qommunicate Publishing
201 Lancelot Lane
Becket, MA 01223
www.qommunicatepublishing.com
 
Publisher’s Note: This anthology contains works of fiction. Names, characters,
places, and incidents in these works are a product of the author’s imagination.
Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any
resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events,
institutions, or locales is completely coincidental. This anthology also contains
works of non-fiction. Certain names and details may have been changed for the
purposes of confidentiality. The authors of these works take full responsibility for
their truthfulness and accuracy. The publishers make no claim of veracity for any of
these works. Opinions expressed in any of these pieces do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of the editors or publishers.
 
Sources of definitions in Editor’s Note:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/geek
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/geek
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=geek%20out
 
Book Layout © 2017 BookDesignTemplates.com
 
Geek Out: Queer Pop Lit, Art & Ideas/ Sage Kalmus, Editor . — 1st ed.
ISBN 978-1-946952-18-9
 
 
Contents
 
Editor’s Note
About the Cover
Storybook | Sandra Odell
Red Riding Hood | M.C. Stylos
Poems by Robert Beveridge -
Traversing the Eastern Slope of Faimon Volcano
You Must Build a Boat
31, 9,17
Anon | Sara K. Ellis
The Hyperheels Devour | Elly Bangs
Wonder | Sravani singampalli
“Oh No She Betta Don’t” - The Problematic Nature of Contemporary
Drag Performance | Andres Caravantes
Two-Way Communication | Annie Percik
Poems by Catherine Krause
dragonbears
Anemone of the People
He Moved Astonishingly Fast
It
white noise
Pirate Girls | Emmalia Harrington
War of Brothers | Brandon Cracraft
From Nostalgia, Through Now & Beyond | Stephen Mead
Outbound Access | Jack Miller
To Klaatu | Marie Vibbert
To Free a Genie | Jessica Goodman
I Wish People Would Stop Pretending Mario Kart is Fun (It’s Not) |
M. Shaw
The Temptation Machine | Lisa Timpf
Waterfront | Fred Simon
“O terra, addio!” | Joseph Tomaras
Small College, Greater Problems: The Status of GLBTQ in Rural
Higher Education | Jason K. Smith, PhD
Tape | Will Bernardara Jr
Review of We the Animals by Justin Torres | Juanita Tovar Mutis
Hypermorphic | Nicholas Jordan
Fallen Sun | Nicolas Johnson
Out of the Closet | Ari Koontz
Bios
About the Editor
About the Publisher
Also from Qommunicate
Queer Pop Lit, Art & Ideas

Editor’s Note
 
The word, “geek” means different things to different people. Merriam-
Webster defines it as: “An enthusiast or expert, especially in a techno-
logical field or activity.” MacMillan defines it as: “Someone who is
boring.” Oxford defines it as: “An unfashionable and socially inept
person” and “A knowledgable and obsessive enthusiast.”*
 
“Queer” is even more nebulous a term, if that’s possible. Formerly
signifying the mere difference of a person or group from the norm, it
has evolved to apply to specific differences of sexuality and gender-
identity. Despite this distinction between geeks and queers, however,
an enormous overlap obviously exists between the two terms.
 
Many people who self-identify as queer also self-identify as geeks. For
that matter, so too are many people labeled queer by others also
perceived as geeks. The commonality, if it can be pared down to a
single factor, is a lack of belonging. Being queer and being a geek
are each belonging to a group distinguished by its inability to belong,
or to fit the dominant paradigm. In their own realms, they—we—are
each, alone, together, living in society’s margins.
 
The Urban Dictionary defines “geek out” as: “The act of becoming
emotionally and physically aroused by the sight or the thought of
a technicality of a certain topic of major interest. It resembles an ‘or-
gasm of the mind’.“ For the writers and artists here, that topic or in-
terest may be science fiction, fantasy, fairy tale, westerns, fanfic or
experimental poetry. It may be opera, drag, synesthesia, urban plan-
ning or board games. For all of us involved in this book, it is also a
play on words, suggesting queer geeks coming out as both. So what
do you geek out about?
 
This book and all subsequent volumes in this series are dedicated to
all the wild and wonderful geeks, freaks, nerds, dweebs, outcasts and,
of course, queers out there in the world. This means you.
 
—Sage Kalmus, Editor

1
Queer Pop Lit, Art & Ideas

2
Geek Out!

About the Cover
 
The public domain is replete with images reflecting the history of
queer people throughout the world and ages. The selection of these
images on the front and back covers of this book help tell that story,
one of both inner and outer struggle and accomplishment. While the
struggle for LGBTQ+ acceptance and equality is far from over, these
images show a world in which we have always been present and
played a role in the shaping of our collective consciousness and fate.
 
1. The Story of Passion of the cut sleeve, the homosexual
male love of ancient China: Dong Xian and Emperor Ai of
Han. A painting created by Chen, Hongshou in 1651 A.D.
According to this tale, Emperor Ai was resting with his “favourite” (i.e.
lover) Dong Xian. When the Emperor awoke, he found the sleeve of
his robe trapped beneath Dong Xian’s sleeping form. Rather than dis-
turb him, the Emperor cut the sleeve from his robe. The phrase, “pas-
sion of the cut sleeve”, became a traditional Chinese term for same-
sex desire among men. {{PD-old-100-1923}}
 
2. Drag Ball in Webster Hall. Photographer unknown.
“Webster Hall, located in Greenwich Village, hosted several Drag
Balls during the 1920s. The events were wildly successful and it was
one of the few times when transvestites were allowed to openly dress
in drag. The events continued until the Great Depression. Webster Hall
is currently a dance club and concert venue but caters to a mostly
heterosexual clientèle.” (Wikimedia Commons) Events like these popu-
lated the late-1920s and early-1930s, a period that became known as
the “Pansy Craze”, when an underground culture of gay, or “pansy”,
performers and clubs surged in the U.S. {{PD-old-100-1923}}
 
3. The Macaroni. A Real Character at the Late Masquerade.
Mezzotint by Philip Dawe, 1773.
 

3
Queer Pop Lit, Art & Ideas

The macaroni fashion trend arose among elite 18th-century men who
would travel Europe on the Grand Tour broadening their sense of cul-
ture. Adopting and, later, adapting foreign tastes and fashions, their
style was marked by elaborate dress made up of tight, short trousers,
giant wigs, tiny hats and dainty shoes. They were largely criticized for
being effeminate and gender ambiguous, and became the subject of
caricature and satire. The term “macaroni” came to take on a pejora-
tive meaning, referring to a man who took fashion past the bounds of
excess.
From Preposterous Headdresses and Feathered Ladies: Hair, Wigs,
Barbers, and Hairdressers: An Exhibit at the Lewis Walpole Library:
May 8 – October 29, 2003. Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University
Library.
This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, pub-
lic domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain.
{{PD-Art-old-100}}
 
4. Gladys Bentley. Early 1930s.
A black, cross-dressing, lesbian pianist, blues singer and entertainer
during the Harlem Renaissance, Gladys Bentley dressed in a signature
men’s tuxedo and top hat and, in a low, gravelly voice, sang raunchy
original lyrics to popular tunes of the day while flirting with the fe-
males in the crowd, a chorus line of drag queens backing her up. Lat-
er, in the McCarthy era, Bentley, a formerly open lesbian, began
wearing dresses and even married a man, claiming she was cured by
taking female hormones. {{PD-US-not renewed}}
 
5. The Male Carriage. N. Moore, Mar. 25, 1787.
“Cartoon print showing an elaborately dressed woman with a key
around her neck, possibly a transvestite.