Founded in 2009, Against Equality (AE) is an online archive of writings and arts, and a series of books, by

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

and

trans Trans- is a Latin prefix meaning "across", "beyond", or "on the other side of". Used alone, trans may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Trans (festival), a former festival in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom * ''Trans'' (film ...

writers that critique mainstream LGBT politics. AE has focused on issues regarding the institution of

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

, the

U.S. military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

, and the prison-industrial complex via

hate crime law A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...

Structure

Against Equality is an anti-capitalist collective of radical queer and trans writers, thinkers, and artists. AE maintains an online

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

of written work and cultural references. AE has also self-published three

anthologies In book publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed work ...

that highlight work from the three sections of their online archive. These three anthologies were combined into a single book and was published by

AK Press AK Press is a worker-managed, independent publisher and book distributor that specialises in radical left and anarchist literature. Operated out of Chico, California, the company is collectively owned. History AK was founded in Stirling, Sc ...

in April 2014.

Publications

AE published its first book in the fall of 2010. ''Against Equality: Queer Critiques of Gay Marriage'' contains essays and op-ed pieces by prominent

thinkers, including

Kate Bornstein Katherine Vandam Bornstein (born March 15, 1948) is an American author, playwright, performance artist, actor, and gender theorist. In 1986, Bornstein started identifiying as gender non-conforming and has stated "I don't call myself a woman, ''and ...

, Eric A. Stanley,

Dean Spade Dean Spade (born 1977) is an American lawyer, writer, trans activist, and associate professor of law at Seattle University School of Law. In 2002, he founded the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, a non-profit law collective in New York City that provide ...

, Craig Willse, Kenyon Farrow, Kate Raphael, Deeg,

John D'Emilio John D'Emilio (born 1948) is a professor emeritus of history and of women's and gender studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He taught at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He earned his B.A. from Columbia College and Ph ...

, Ryan Conrad,

Yasmin Nair Yasmin Nair is a writer and activist based in Chicago. She is also a co-founder, with Ryan Conrad, of Against Equality. Biography Nair was born in Kolkata in 1966 and lived there and later in Kathmandu and Mumbai before moving to the U.S. in 1989 ...

, MJ Kaufman, Katie Miles, and

Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore is an American author and activist. She is the author of two memoirs and three novels, and the editor of six nonfiction anthologies. Early life and education Sycamore was born in Washington, D.C. to a Jewish family an ...

. ''Against Equality: Queer Critiques of Gay Marriage'' ranked sixth on AK Press Distribution's Top 10 of 2010 list. A.E published the second book, ''Against Equality: Don’t Ask to Fight Their Wars'', in the fall of 2011 and contains a collection of essays and illustrations critiquing the mainstream gay and lesbian politics and its uncritical approach to

Don't ask, don't tell "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of non-heterosexual people, instituted during the Clinton administration. The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December ...

. Contributors include

, Kenyon Farrow, Cecilia Cissell Lucas, Yasmin Nair, Erica Meiners, Therese Quinn, Tamara K. Nopper, Larry Goldsmith, Jamal Rashad Jones, Bill Andriette, and illustrator Mr. Fish. AE published the third and final book in its

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

, ''Against Equality: Prisons Will Not Protect You'', in the fall of 2012. This book focuses on

and the

prison industrial complex A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...

. Contributors include

, Jason Lydon, the

Sylvia Rivera Law Project The Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) is a legal aid organization based in New York City at the Miss Major-Jay Toole Building for Social Justice that serves low-income or people of color who are transgender, intersex and/or gender non-conforming. ...

, Liliana Segura, Jack Aponte, Yasmin Nair, Imani Keith Henry, Sébastien Barraud, Erica Meiners, Liam Michaud, Josh Pavan, and Bridget Simpson.

released a three-in-one anthology titled ''Against Equality: Queer Revolution, Not Mere Inclusion'' in March 2014 that combines the collective's previous three anthologies and includes a new introduction from the collective.

Events

Members of the Against Equality collective have also traveled extensively to speak at bookstores, community spaces, colleges, and universities across the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

References

External links

Against Equality Archive
— official website

— Against Equality at AK Press {{LGBT Anti-capitalism LGBT criticism of marriage LGBT political advocacy groups in the United States Prison abolition movement Queer organizations 2009 establishments in the United States

Structure

Publications

Events

See also

References

External links