Queerness is more than who you're sleeping with. It's a point of social contention, something that's different by definition, that's deeply subversive and proud of it! Against Equality is an argument in support of those who dare to be different, a collection of essays that stand in stark contrast to an ever-growing LGBT mainstream working towards assimilation, and, arguably, cultural erasure. Never ones to shy away from a fight, the authors included in this timely collection address the trifecta of political rifts within the LGBT community: marriage, the military, and prisons."Equality" is a concept inextricably linked to positive social progress, but as the authors collected here suggest, it's a concept that often functions as a smoke screen to hide a world riddled with systemic injustice. Take marriage, for instance: is the right to marry whomever we want really a worthy goal for the queer community? What if this perceived "right" is actually a wrong? Against Equality suggests that seeking inclusion in a system that's based on institutional and economic exploitation is an unacceptable path forward.How will the ability to fight in wars of imperialism help to liberate and empower LGBT people around the world? The striking down of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" only makes a larger population complicit in a system that treats queer bodies, both nationally and internationally, as less than human. With contributions from Kate Bornstein, Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, John D'Emilio, and others, this book is designed to stir debate.

Ryan Conrad is an activist and video maker based in the Ottawa Valley. He is also an Adjunct Research Faculty member at the Feminist Institute of Social Transformation at Carleton University. From 2019-2022 he was a SSHRC postdoctoral fellow in Cinema and Media Studies at York University where he led the AIDS Activist Media case study for Archive/Counter-Archive.

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