Gawking, gaping, staring

Queer, transgender, and disability rights activist Eli Clare will visit Iowa City Thursday, April 5 thanks to the University of Iowa’s student and community-based group, TransCollaborations, and the UI Council on Disability Awareness.

Eli Clare

White, disabled, and genderqueer, Clare lives in the Green Mountains of Vermont. He has written a book of essays, Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation, and a collection of poetry, The Marrow’s Telling: Words in Motion and has been published in many periodicals and anthologies. Clare speaks, teaches, and facilitates all over the U.S. and Canada. This one-day stop in Iowa City will involve a workshop, reading and performance, and reception. All events are free, open to the public, and will be American Sign Language interpreted.

Events scheduled for Thursday, April 5, include:

• A public workshop titled “At the Intersections of Queerness & Disability” will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Iowa City Public Library Room A. What issues do disabled LGBTQ peoples face? What are the connections among ableism, homophobia, and transphobia? How do issues around queer disability identities fit into a broader intersectional social justice framework? Join Clare for a facilitated dialogue about these questions and more.
• A performance and reading titled “Gawking, Gaping, Staring” will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the UI Old Capitol Senate Chambers. Disabled people, trans people, fat people, and people of color all know what it’s like to be stared at. Through words and images, Clare will explore the internal experiences of living in marked bodies and the external meanings of oppression and bodily difference.
• A reception will follow the speaking engagement from 8:30 to 10 p.m. at the UI Women’s Resource and Action Center at 130 N. Madison St., across from the Iowa Memorial Union.

For more information or special accommodations, contact Carly Armour in advance at carly-armour@uiowa.edu or 310-335-1462 or stef shuster at transcollaborations@gmail.com or 502-594-7094.

Clare’s visit is made possible with support from: the UI Center for Diversity and Enrichment in the UI Chief Diversity Office; the UI LGBT Staff and Faculty Association; the UI School of Social Work in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the Women’s Resource and Action Center; the UI Student Disability Organization; the UI Center for Human Rights in International Programs; UI Student Government; Advantage Iowa; and the UI Council on the Status of Women.