Edited by Chris Brickell and Judith Collard
The book
Queer lives give rise to a vast array of objects: the things we fill our houses with the gifts we share with our friends, the commodities we consume at work and at play, the clothes and accessories we wear, various reminders of state power, as well as the analogue and digital technologies we use to communicate with one another. But what makes an object queer?
The 63 chapters in Queer Objects consider this question in relation to lesbian, gay and transgender communities across time, cultures and space. In this unique international collaboration, well-known and newer writers traverse world history to write about fabulous, captivating and transgressive items ranging from ancient Egyptian tomb paintings and Roman artefacts to political placards, snapshots, sex toys and the smartphone.
'The queer angel of history has brought us this remarkable book of objects that have aroused memories – involuntary and voluntary, painful and uplifting, individual and communal. A deeply moving exploration of history, memory, and queerness.'
– Jeffrey Escoffier, author of American Homo: Community and perversity
'I've been waiting for a book like Queer Objects that examines the stuff of material culture through the sensibilities of many contributors. Each chapter reveals insider knowledge of a particular item, framing it in passionate queer context that triggers our own associations and memories. This is a gorgeous book; you'll want to keep it out in plain view.'
– E.G. Crichton, visual artist, creator of Lineage: Matchmaking in the archive and Migrating Archive
Reviews & Interviews
The editors
CHRIS BRICKELL is Professor of Gender Studies at the University of Otago. His books include Mates and Lovers: A history of gay New Zealand (2008), Manly Affections: The photographs
of Robert Gant, 1885–1915 (2012) and Teenagers: The rise of youth culture in New Zealand (2017).
JUDITH COLLARD is a senior lecturer in the History Programme at the University of Otago. She lectures in gender issues in art history as well as in medieval and Renaissance art, and art from the 1960s to the 1980s.
Publication details
Paperback, full colour, 416 pp, ISBN 978-1-98-853166-3, $50
October 2019