140-Character Essays

140-character essay instructions:  Write an essay about #queer in 140 characters that does real work in the world, not wasting one character. Make something happen with words.

Post your “essay” on Twitter.  To sign up, go to http://twitter.com/.  It’s easy to sign up if you’re not already a member.  Follow me (@Jessifer), so I can easily find your tweet.  You should include the tag “#queer” somewhere in your “essay.”  That way your message will be seen by all of the people following the conversation about #queer on Twitter.  Feel free to address any aspect of queer theory/rhetoric/identity that we’ve discussed this semester.  You are welcome to collaborate with one other person.  If you do, though, you should each sign up and produce a tweet.  (By the way, my instructions for the assignment above are exactly 140 characters, so this should give you a sense of the shape your essay will take.)

And the results.  Feel free to sound off in the comments if you have responses to any of these.  How does this exercise or the tweet-essays that resulted from it help you rethink our discussion of the word “queer” from the beginning of the semester?

Anna:  #Queer. Different, exciting fun. Changing, twisting meaning. Absorb the culture, be queer. Allied together for a common cause. Yes we can!!!

Julia:  Nuclear family: the description of a nonexistent minority, pushes all others into marginality. Deviance births & is birthed of evil.

Demy:  Long distance & fettered attraction. Speak not of (MOUNTAINS) but…hesitation to embrace -me(us)you- with trembling hands. Love is so#queer.

Miranda:  #Queer. Don’t hate. Truth. Inner self. Come out. Scream. Color. Beliefs. Change. Movement. Idea. Alien. Redemption. Happiness. Queer.

Sofia:  You, me… Me, you… If not you or me then who? Walking, breathing, sneezing, teasing, tasting, smelling, doing, living. You, me, WE #queer

Ryan:  #queer – ticks and tocks and clicks of clocks queers and quacks and almanacs so little time to discuss 140 characters is not enough…

Daniel:  @Jessifer #Queer http://twitpic.com/1hdvta

Austin:  #queer gone greek. Riddled Oed slips sphincts [sic]. Diddled mom lips son’s sphinct [sick]. Cf.ed Laius [dick dicked]. “Jocasta be kidding.”

Marian:  #queer wreaks havoc on what IS, what’s NOT & what COULD be “normal”. acceptable. why try to limit ourselves? Love what we do not understand.

Lyndsey:  “I’m sorry I kicked you in the ass, but I’m not sorry I’m an ass-kicker.” Knowing what you are and not apologizing. oy gevalt IamaJew #queer

Kevin:  #queer is a lack of absence where absence is expected. Queer is the empty space that makes an orifice.

Kate:  #queer #kw-ear #qu‘eer #ckwewr #QuEeR #kwier #cawe‘re#cwear #q-u-e-e-r #qwere #chweir #kuere #CWEER #qawear #ckuere #qr

David:  Ka ka…ka ka…the bird goes tweet_tweet_tweet; people all around/not using their feet; just writing characters to fill up a screen. #queer

Heather:  Asking what is #queer is the same as asking what happens after death. Everyone has opinions on the subject, but no two people totally agree.

Leela via Greg:  #Queer, please come near, so we can #count you. #Queer, please don’t fear, we’ll only #count you. #Queer, be a dear, and let me #count you.

Greg:  Who needs #queer graphic novels? I make #queer graphic tweets… http://yfrog.com/j3yodgj

Phil:  #Queer A man named Bill called me the other day. I was the wrong number. We spoke only briefly and never again. He didn’t exist until then