"I don’t think of the right to same-sex marriage or the struggle against the internal war against LGBT soldiers within the military as assimilation or inclusion in those institutions. I think of them as struggles against discrimination and brutality against the state. I believe that the real question is how these struggles are posed and who leads them. Will same-sex marriage be the 'end' of the struggle for equality, or one more important battle, one of many, that needs to be won?"I first became familiar Feinberg's work about 15 years ago when I read hir classic book Stone Butch Blues. (Drag King Dreams is currently in my queue, has anyone read it?) Reading it even then, I was drawn to hir more intersectional approach to queer progress. In addition to homosexuality, ze was talking about gender variance, trans* issues, violence (especially as it affects gender-variant and trans* people), the criminal justice system, and class issues in a way that seemed to present a more complex, nuanced reality in which individuals can't often be easily reduced to one identity marker.
Looking back, Stone Butch Blues portrayed a reality that is not often reflected in many of today's dominant "we're just like you" pro-marriage-equality narratives, narratives that I believe can further marginalize many queer, gender variant, and LGBT people.
What I appreciate about Feinberg's quote, above, is the way it acknowledges the importance of marriage equality and inclusion in the military while also reminding us that our work when these victories are achieved will not be finished.
Related:
The Limits of 'We're Just Like You'
Today in the Kyriarchy: On "Cis"
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