postmodern gender identities, anti-Zionism/pinkwashing, 90s feminism & 90s girlypop film
The Lavender MenaceShow Notes
In this Sunnaissance IRL (California edition!) episode, we're discussing post-modern gender theory and queer/feminist studies in response to a listener-submitted hot take about the counterrevolutionary nature of contemporary usage of 'nonbinary' identity. We talk about Judith Butler and other feminists theorizing around gendered oppression and its relevance and role in social discourse over the decades. We do get into whacking the she/they's who say inane shit like "my boyfriend (a cis het man btw) is fruity for dating me because i use they/them pronouns" and "i want to look like a boy in a dress" vs. the material reality of gender non-conformity and gender transition. Sunny brings up a bad tweet thread from a they/them lesbian speaking over a trans woman dunking on overly online trans discourse. In response to another emailed hot take, we talk about the ridiculousness of opposing Palestinian liberation in the name of the (nonexistent) LGBT rights granted by israel, and the occupation's supposed defense of 'human rights,' being 'the only democracy in the middle east' (lmao). Very unserious talking points that are deeply entrenched in the american political sphere. For shared media analysis we discuss the very fun movie Party Girl (1995), while lamenting the state of contemporary filmmaking (as we always do). Renaissance recommends the artist Remi Wolf, and Sunny recommends the deranged woman novel- set in Riverside, California! Where Renaissance recently graduated from if you missed that- Exalted by Anna Dorn. Thanks for joining us for this episode! You can find us on Twitter, YouTube, Substack, Instagram, Tik Tok, and Letterboxd if you want to connect! Send your hot takes to [email protected] and support us on Patreon for bonus content and early access: https://www.patreon.com/TheLavenderMenace
More from The Lavender Menace
A very belated part 2 of our 2025 wrap up episode (LOL) recorded the same day as our most recent episode prior to this one. TLDL: art under capitalism is destroying art, anorexia is the devil and so is technology
A very belated 2025 wrap up episode (we recorded for over four hours back in December LOL so this is part one....) in which we discuss: Lesbian Feminist Book Club: https://www.instagram.com/lesbianfeministbookclub/ mindfulness meditation and letting ourselves be bored being anti-overconsumption and anti-internet and social media PHYSICAL MEDIA!!!!! Scorched Earth: Beyond the Digital Age to a Post-Capitalist World by Jonathan Crary All Our Trials: Prisons, Policing, and the Feminist Fight to End Violence by Emily L. Thuma A Brick and Bible: Black Women's Radical Activism in the Midwest During the Great Depression by Melissa Ford When Driving Is Not An Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency by Anna Letitia Zivarts Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men by Lundy Bancroft Imperfect Victims: Criminalized Survivors and the Promise of Abolition Feminism by Leigh Goodmark Perfect Victims: and the Politics of Appeal by Mohammed el-Kurd Kwaneta Harris: https://www.instagram.com/kwanetaharris/ Ra'jiva Tha Rulaa: https://www.youtube.com/@rajiva_tharulaa The Body Keeps the Score Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk Thanks for joining us for this episode! Send your hot takes to [email protected] and support us on Patreon or Substack for bonus content and early access: https://www.patreon.com/TheLavenderMenace https://www.patreon.com/TheLavenderMenace Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheLavenderMenacePod
Are white queers entitled about their history and culture? Can femmes be nonbinary? And other pressing questions that our listeners, patrons, and substack subscribers have submitted to us... (Email us your hot takes at [email protected]!!!) Queer history is so so so important and most gay people do not know enough of it! The Persistent Desire: A Femme-Butch Reader edited by Joan Nestle is one of the most important lesbian history books ever BTW, especially for femmes and butches. Silvia Federici's 2004 book Caliban & the Witch: Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation is a book all feminists, Marxists, and Marxist feminists need to read. The politics of magic, the witch hunts, and the relationship between European colonialism and the dispossession of women and workers are some of the topics this book thoroughly explores. We cannot recommend it enough. Check out Sunny's recommendation of Sophie Lewis's books (Abolish the Family, Full Surrogacy Now, & Enemy Feminism) and Sunny's interview with Sophie, and Renaissance's Letterboxd and their recommendation of the documentary Feminism Inshallah: A History of Arab Feminism. Disclaimer: we recorded this episode back in the spring.
This episode includes discussion of: “butch-femme” aesthetic photos, our problem with Pinterest, internet personas and the importance of being earnest (and also genuine!) Also: the importance of female singer-songwriters and how CINEMA IS BACK which might be a recession/fascism indicator... In discussing the the racial and historical background of Sinners (2025), we examine the portrayal of truth and legacy in this surprisingly good blockbuster movie. From lynching to sharecropping, the frankness with which Ryan Coogler portrays 1932 Mississippi was incredibly moving. Our recommendations: https://www.solidaritycinema.com/ and The Wedding by Dorothy West. 01:04:04 — when we start talking about Sinners Thanks for joining us for this episode! Send your hot takes to [email protected] and support us on Patreon for bonus content and early access: https://www.patreon.com/TheLavenderMenace Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheLavenderMenacePod Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/thelavenderpod/ Substack: https://thelavendermenace.substack.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheLavenderPod
This podcast episode brought to you today by lukewarm politics of hair takes re: Bush discourse (not the president) and Kanye/Bianca, a hot take from Sunny about the Doechii album, & Black lesbian film love from Renaissance Send your HOTTEST TAKES to [email protected] ! & Support your favorite indie dykes & get early episode access/exclusive bonus content on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheLavenderMenace Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheLavenderMenacePod Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/thelavenderpod/ Substack: https://thelavendermenace.substack.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheLavenderPod