The Peculiar Kind Episode Two: ‘The Abstract’ Negotiates Gender Roles

Here we go! “The Peculiar Kind” waited a whole one episode before jumping head first into the deep end of queer theory with a dialogue about gender roles, masculinity, femininity and heteronormativity. HOT TOPIC! Upfront TPK admits this episode almost didn’t see the light of day because the topic is so heated, but if they can’t do it, who can?

This time the conversation addresses different ways to “break the binary.” Everyone gets a little giddy discussing how presenting as femme doesn’t mean being passive in the bedroom (Hey girl…) but seriously,  I especially enjoyed the terminology of co-dominate from Mila (Hubba) who rejects the idea that there is one dominate partner in a relationship.

These short episodes pack quite the intellectual punch and because everyone is so alarmingly gorgeous you will likely want to watch the episode a few times to digest the whole dialogue. Also included in this episode are an exploration of The Black Ain’t Project by artist Allison Janea Hamilton and once again news stories relevant to queer people of color from Elixer.

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Jamie J. Hagen

Jamie lives in Boston and is currently a PhD student in Global Governance and Human Security at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She is a freelance writer and also a team associate for the Boston chapter of Hollaback!.

Jamie has written 76 articles for us.

8 Comments

  1. Awesome video! I don’t agree with Jag’s definition of gender roles, but the rest of the video is spot on! Looking forward to checking out the rest of that discussion when it becomes available!

  2. They interviewed a Indian-Jamaican woman near the end who asked to see more dialogue about queer children of immigrants. Maybe that’s a teaser? I REALLY hope the next episode is about that!!

  3. these discussions are great, however whenver I listen to these discussions i always have to remember that their definition doesnt have to be my definition…i take from it what make sense to me in my life. I think what makes “queer” so unique is that it doesnt have one set definition…

  4. I really enjoyed watching this discussion. I also found it quite interesting to consciously take note of the different speakers’ mannerisms and what it is each person is saying at that moment….intriguing. A little bit of social psych coming out in me, but I found it interesting.

    The different ethnicities, levels of privilege, upbringing, etc makes for some very diverse contributions. I appreciate how each person is respectful of each other’s views as to understand where someone is coming from doesn’t necessarily mean one must agree. :)

  5. i loved the “black ain’t” project. i went to the exhibit and it was very thought provoking. and the discussion going on in this video is very insightful. i love how they’re discussing how their exposure to heteronormativity amongst straight people children and heteronormativity in the gay community may have had an influence on how they identify, who they are attracted to, what kind of relationships they have, and what kind of gender presentations they want to project as lesbians. and the discussion about privilege and race and why the butch/femme dynamic is more popular amongst queer people of color is something that i now want to discuss with my friends and get their their opinions on.

    and “regulatory queerness”! i love it and i might even use it, lol. i feel like it’s something that defines the disconnect that i sometimes feel being overtly feminine and identifying as a femme and not being more androgynous and somehow “subversive”. at times i’ve felt like an anachronism for being so femme.

  6. These women are all so intelligent and beautiful, I get a little overwhelmed each episode, can’t wait for next month!

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