На перепутье: методология, теория и практика ЛГБТ и квир-исследований: сборник статей / ред.-сост... more На перепутье: методология, теория и практика ЛГБТ и квир-исследований: сборник статей / ред.-сост. А. А. Кондаков. — СПб.: Центр независимых социологических исследований, 2014. —XXII с., 466 с.
Данная книга — результат одноименной конференции, состоявшейся в Санкт-Петербурге в октябре 2013 года. В статьях сборника представлены выводы эмпирических и теоретических исследований сексуальности, выполненных специалистами разных дисциплин и при помощи широкого спектра подходов. Социологические, политологические, психологические, филологические, лингвистические, культурологические, юридические работы делают равноценный вклад в общий архив знаний о сексуальности в России и иных контекстах. Книга предназначена для научных сотрудников и преподавателей вузов, интересующихся гендерными исследованиями и исследованиями сексуальности.
LGBTQ+ Activism in Central and Eastern Europe Resistance, Representation and Identity Edited by Radzhana Buyantueva Maryna Shevtsova, 2019
This chapter draws on the growing literature in asexuality studies as well as research on Central... more This chapter draws on the growing literature in asexuality studies as well as research on Central and Eastern European (CEE) sexualities, to explore what asexual activisms might mean in the context of Poland, a post state-socialist, neoliberal, and prevalently Catholic nation-state. Throughout we develop the argument that asexuals and Polish asexuals in particular are a diverse group that has uneven commitments to LGBTI+ allyship and to the systems that uphold nationalism, racism, sexism, and transphobia. We examine asexual articulations in the Polish context with an interest in how they function in conversation with Polish attachments to whiteness, religious subjecthood, and the heteronormative reproduction of the values of state-formation. Despite some conservative streams of asexuality, we hold that asexual activism in Poland is a diverse site of engagement that questions the status of sex and sexuality as compulsory and integral to both straight and LGBTI+ identities.
Narratives about asexuality and celibacy often focus on three affects: anxiety, shame, and abject... more Narratives about asexuality and celibacy often focus on three affects: anxiety, shame, and abjection, which are both experienced by celibate and asexually-identified people and projected onto them by others. This article uses Stephen Fry's 1985 column on his self-imposed celibacy to explore the way these affects intersect with celibacy and asexuality understood as a sexual identity. Despite the fact that Western liberal culture perceives abjection, anxiety, and shame as problems to be solved, I argue for a queer revalorization of these affects as potential basis of identity. Following Cvetkovich's writings on trauma and Kosofsky Sedgwick's on shame, I argue that negative affects can serve as a basis of asexual self-identification.
The two adaptations of Doyle’s stories vary in how they allude to the source material and the soc... more The two adaptations of Doyle’s stories vary in how they allude to the source material and the socio-historical context of Victorian era. This paper will examine how elements coded as “Victorian” in pop-culture are used to make the new Sherlocks attractive to contemporary audiences. BBC’s Sherlock, while set in contemporary and hi-tech London, alludes to the Victorian model of upper middle class masculinity that dissociates the body from the mind, making the latter superior. It emphasizes the subtext of the original, i.e. Sherlock’s sexuality (or lack thereof). While the possibility of homosexual attraction between Homes and Watson is openly acknowledged, its implications are addressed by making the detective openly asexual. CBS’s Elementary locates Holmes in contemporary New York (while keeping the detective’s English pedigree) and highlights the once repressed elements of Victorian masculinity. Sherlock’s drug addiction, even though not stigmatized in Doyle’s text, becomes the dominant characteristic of the protagonist. Thus Watson’s presence is necessitated by Sherlock’s post-rehab “medical condition.” The gender swap (Watson is a woman) and the forced nature of the relationship changes the sexual dynamic and dismisses the homoerotic option.
Asexuality has thus far been analyzed mainly as a sexual orientation or identity, whose particula... more Asexuality has thus far been analyzed mainly as a sexual orientation or identity, whose particular approach to defining sex, identity and relationships has made it an interesting addition to social queer theories. In order to suggests further points of connection between asexuality and queer theories, this paper aims to look at asexuality as a theoretical concept that can be a useful contribution to the anti-social strand of queer theory as proposed by Edelman and Sikora. The main connection between asexuality and anti-social queer theories is the rejection of positivist values imposed by neo-liberalism such as social, cultural, and biological productivity, happiness and futurity. Inspired by Edelman's take on queer anti-futurity, Ahmed's criticism of the concept of happiness, and Tomasz Sikora's idea of the strategic outside, this paper will propose a reading of an asexual as a figure full of radical political potential because of, rather than despite, its negative aspects.
In the Western culture of late modernity a romantic, sexual, monogamous coupling is considered th... more In the Western culture of late modernity a romantic, sexual, monogamous coupling is considered the pinnacle of human relationships. It is perceived not only a pillar of social structure, but also the one arrangement that provides the ultimate psychological and emotional stability and satisfaction. But what happens when sex is removed from the equation? Asexuals, people who feel no sexual attraction to anyone, have recently begun to speak up about their experience of living in a sexual world. In this varied community people exhibit very different attitudes to romantic love, sex, and relationships. Some of them are aromantic and reject the idea of being in love, while others call themselves romantic asexuals and prefer to have a romantic relationship without sex. Many of them find it difficult to reconcile the social ideal of a happy and healthy life with their personal needs. The way they negotiate and define their relationships provides a unique insight into how the idea of 'romantic love' is constructed nowadays and the role sex and desire play in it. Since asexuals refuse the element that is often considered sine qua non of a 'primary' relationship, their example can be used to rethink and redefine the factors that make a relationship 'real,' as well as question the boundaries between bonds that are valued differently. After all, if sex is out of the question, how do we draw the line between friendship and partnership? Do we need one? Is the border more fluid for women than men? What constitutes cheating? What does a romantic relationship without desire look like? This paper will examine the discourses around love and romance in the asexual community and consider their implications for the cultural narratives of love.
For an academic interested in identity formation, there is nothing more exciting than an opportun... more For an academic interested in identity formation, there is nothing more exciting than an opportunity to observe the process in progress. Much has been written on the circumstances of non-normative sexual identity formation with regards to gays and lesbians, and more recently the focus has shifted to trans people. 1 The emergence and emancipation of those queer identities have certainly facilitated the appearance of the most recent one: asexuality, which first caught public attention in the early 2000s. The asexual community has since been forming and consolidating, a process furthered by the opportunities offered by the Internet. It has also become a hot topic for the media, fascinated with a group that rejects one of the seemingly inescapable human drives, and for researchers, who are struggling to place asexuality on the map of human sexual behaviors and identities.
На перепутье: методология, теория и практика ЛГБТ и квир-исследований: сборник статей / ред.-сост... more На перепутье: методология, теория и практика ЛГБТ и квир-исследований: сборник статей / ред.-сост. А. А. Кондаков. — СПб.: Центр независимых социологических исследований, 2014. —XXII с., 466 с.
Данная книга — результат одноименной конференции, состоявшейся в Санкт-Петербурге в октябре 2013 года. В статьях сборника представлены выводы эмпирических и теоретических исследований сексуальности, выполненных специалистами разных дисциплин и при помощи широкого спектра подходов. Социологические, политологические, психологические, филологические, лингвистические, культурологические, юридические работы делают равноценный вклад в общий архив знаний о сексуальности в России и иных контекстах. Книга предназначена для научных сотрудников и преподавателей вузов, интересующихся гендерными исследованиями и исследованиями сексуальности.
LGBTQ+ Activism in Central and Eastern Europe Resistance, Representation and Identity Edited by Radzhana Buyantueva Maryna Shevtsova, 2019
This chapter draws on the growing literature in asexuality studies as well as research on Central... more This chapter draws on the growing literature in asexuality studies as well as research on Central and Eastern European (CEE) sexualities, to explore what asexual activisms might mean in the context of Poland, a post state-socialist, neoliberal, and prevalently Catholic nation-state. Throughout we develop the argument that asexuals and Polish asexuals in particular are a diverse group that has uneven commitments to LGBTI+ allyship and to the systems that uphold nationalism, racism, sexism, and transphobia. We examine asexual articulations in the Polish context with an interest in how they function in conversation with Polish attachments to whiteness, religious subjecthood, and the heteronormative reproduction of the values of state-formation. Despite some conservative streams of asexuality, we hold that asexual activism in Poland is a diverse site of engagement that questions the status of sex and sexuality as compulsory and integral to both straight and LGBTI+ identities.
Narratives about asexuality and celibacy often focus on three affects: anxiety, shame, and abject... more Narratives about asexuality and celibacy often focus on three affects: anxiety, shame, and abjection, which are both experienced by celibate and asexually-identified people and projected onto them by others. This article uses Stephen Fry's 1985 column on his self-imposed celibacy to explore the way these affects intersect with celibacy and asexuality understood as a sexual identity. Despite the fact that Western liberal culture perceives abjection, anxiety, and shame as problems to be solved, I argue for a queer revalorization of these affects as potential basis of identity. Following Cvetkovich's writings on trauma and Kosofsky Sedgwick's on shame, I argue that negative affects can serve as a basis of asexual self-identification.
The two adaptations of Doyle’s stories vary in how they allude to the source material and the soc... more The two adaptations of Doyle’s stories vary in how they allude to the source material and the socio-historical context of Victorian era. This paper will examine how elements coded as “Victorian” in pop-culture are used to make the new Sherlocks attractive to contemporary audiences. BBC’s Sherlock, while set in contemporary and hi-tech London, alludes to the Victorian model of upper middle class masculinity that dissociates the body from the mind, making the latter superior. It emphasizes the subtext of the original, i.e. Sherlock’s sexuality (or lack thereof). While the possibility of homosexual attraction between Homes and Watson is openly acknowledged, its implications are addressed by making the detective openly asexual. CBS’s Elementary locates Holmes in contemporary New York (while keeping the detective’s English pedigree) and highlights the once repressed elements of Victorian masculinity. Sherlock’s drug addiction, even though not stigmatized in Doyle’s text, becomes the dominant characteristic of the protagonist. Thus Watson’s presence is necessitated by Sherlock’s post-rehab “medical condition.” The gender swap (Watson is a woman) and the forced nature of the relationship changes the sexual dynamic and dismisses the homoerotic option.
Asexuality has thus far been analyzed mainly as a sexual orientation or identity, whose particula... more Asexuality has thus far been analyzed mainly as a sexual orientation or identity, whose particular approach to defining sex, identity and relationships has made it an interesting addition to social queer theories. In order to suggests further points of connection between asexuality and queer theories, this paper aims to look at asexuality as a theoretical concept that can be a useful contribution to the anti-social strand of queer theory as proposed by Edelman and Sikora. The main connection between asexuality and anti-social queer theories is the rejection of positivist values imposed by neo-liberalism such as social, cultural, and biological productivity, happiness and futurity. Inspired by Edelman's take on queer anti-futurity, Ahmed's criticism of the concept of happiness, and Tomasz Sikora's idea of the strategic outside, this paper will propose a reading of an asexual as a figure full of radical political potential because of, rather than despite, its negative aspects.
In the Western culture of late modernity a romantic, sexual, monogamous coupling is considered th... more In the Western culture of late modernity a romantic, sexual, monogamous coupling is considered the pinnacle of human relationships. It is perceived not only a pillar of social structure, but also the one arrangement that provides the ultimate psychological and emotional stability and satisfaction. But what happens when sex is removed from the equation? Asexuals, people who feel no sexual attraction to anyone, have recently begun to speak up about their experience of living in a sexual world. In this varied community people exhibit very different attitudes to romantic love, sex, and relationships. Some of them are aromantic and reject the idea of being in love, while others call themselves romantic asexuals and prefer to have a romantic relationship without sex. Many of them find it difficult to reconcile the social ideal of a happy and healthy life with their personal needs. The way they negotiate and define their relationships provides a unique insight into how the idea of 'romantic love' is constructed nowadays and the role sex and desire play in it. Since asexuals refuse the element that is often considered sine qua non of a 'primary' relationship, their example can be used to rethink and redefine the factors that make a relationship 'real,' as well as question the boundaries between bonds that are valued differently. After all, if sex is out of the question, how do we draw the line between friendship and partnership? Do we need one? Is the border more fluid for women than men? What constitutes cheating? What does a romantic relationship without desire look like? This paper will examine the discourses around love and romance in the asexual community and consider their implications for the cultural narratives of love.
For an academic interested in identity formation, there is nothing more exciting than an opportun... more For an academic interested in identity formation, there is nothing more exciting than an opportunity to observe the process in progress. Much has been written on the circumstances of non-normative sexual identity formation with regards to gays and lesbians, and more recently the focus has shifted to trans people. 1 The emergence and emancipation of those queer identities have certainly facilitated the appearance of the most recent one: asexuality, which first caught public attention in the early 2000s. The asexual community has since been forming and consolidating, a process furthered by the opportunities offered by the Internet. It has also become a hot topic for the media, fascinated with a group that rejects one of the seemingly inescapable human drives, and for researchers, who are struggling to place asexuality on the map of human sexual behaviors and identities.
Uploads
Books by Anna Kurowicka
Данная книга — результат одноименной конференции, состоявшейся в Санкт-Петербурге в октябре 2013 года. В статьях сборника представлены выводы эмпирических и теоретических исследований сексуальности, выполненных специалистами разных дисциплин и при помощи широкого спектра подходов. Социологические, политологические, психологические, филологические, лингвистические, культурологические, юридические работы делают равноценный вклад в общий архив знаний о сексуальности в России и иных контекстах. Книга предназначена для научных сотрудников и преподавателей вузов, интересующихся гендерными исследованиями и исследованиями сексуальности.
Papers by Anna Kurowicka
Данная книга — результат одноименной конференции, состоявшейся в Санкт-Петербурге в октябре 2013 года. В статьях сборника представлены выводы эмпирических и теоретических исследований сексуальности, выполненных специалистами разных дисциплин и при помощи широкого спектра подходов. Социологические, политологические, психологические, филологические, лингвистические, культурологические, юридические работы делают равноценный вклад в общий архив знаний о сексуальности в России и иных контекстах. Книга предназначена для научных сотрудников и преподавателей вузов, интересующихся гендерными исследованиями и исследованиями сексуальности.