Ep. 9: Queering Anarchism, Part 1. Introduction.

Reading: Queering Anarchism, edited by C.B. Daring, J. Rogue, Deric Shannon, and Abbey Volcano

Sections Covered: Preface by Martha Ackelsberg + Editors’ Introduction

🔥 What We Read

This episode kicks off our series on Queering Anarchism—an anthology that merges radical queer theory with anarchist politics. We covered the Preface by Martha Ackelsberg and the editors’ Introduction.

Ackelsberg sets the tone:

“We have only just begun to understand the many possibilities offered by a queered anarchism.”

She praises the collection for challenging binaries, rejecting academic elitism, and showing how queer theory and anarchist praxis can create new worlds—not just critique the old ones.

The editors then lay out the foundation:

* Anarchism = the destruction of domination (capitalism, the state, hierarchy) and the creation of new, egalitarian social relations.

* Queer = not a fixed identity, but a positionality—a challenge to norms, assimilation, and state-sanctioned respectability.

* To “queer” something means to destabilize it, break it open, and rebuild it free from enforced boundaries.

They’re not trying to write for academics. They’re building a toolkit for radicals who live at the intersection of anarchist revolt and queer resistance.

🧨 Key Concepts

* Anarchism is not chaos. It’s a revolt against institutional power—capitalism, state control, and social hierarchy.

* Queer is not just gay. It’s a rejection of normalization and assimilation—especially through identity categories, marriage, and state-sanctioned visibility.

* Destruction is generative. Anarchists don’t just tear things down—they create new systems rooted in mutual aid and direct democracy.

* Positionality over identity. Queerness is defined by its opposition to the norm, not by any one set of behaviors or labels.

* The enemy is the state. Both anarchists and queers are crushed by the state’s enforcement of order, categories, and hierarchy.

⚒️ Why It Matters

This book is about merging theory with lived struggle. It’s not just about who you are—it’s about how you live, how you resist, and what you're willing to destroy to build something better.

The revolution won’t be normalized.

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