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That's Revolting: Queer Strategies for Resisting Assimilation. Edited by Mattilda (Matt Bernstein Sycamore). Brooklyn, NY: Soft Skull Press, 2004. 318 pp. ISBN 1932360565
As representations of queer sexuality and identity in mainstream media continue to focus on a white, upper-middle-class identity, large segments of the queer community have been relegated to the margins of the margin. That's Revolting: Queer Strategies for Resisting Assimilation is a collection of pro-queer, genderfuck, activist articles that focus on resisting the hetero-normative and capitalist assimilation of queer identity. It is a response to the current mainstreaming of wealthy gay communities while impoverished segments of queer culture continue to face widespread discrimination. Part "how-to" book and part history book, it looks at and critically analyzes the queer civil rights movement from Stonewall to modern fights about gay marriage. A blend of activist essays and interview transcripts, the book looks at the mainstreaming of queer identity and fights back. It is a shot across the bow for Log Cabin Republicans and those who view television shows such as Will and Grace as groundbreaking. The book looks at "how assimilation robs queer identity of anything meaningful, relevant, or challenging-and calls it progress" (p. 3).
Each essay in the volume acts as a site in the larger argument of resisting institutional oppression. Although the book cites queer American experience and memory, it remains a salient text for Canadian readers, specifically because the writers do not focus on American political oppression but choose to look at how mainstream queers (read "gay and lesbian")...