Doing things differently
Subtitle: A queer ethnographic collaboration of performers in Amsterdam?s queer spaces
By: Casey Camp
Publisher: Uitgeverij AMB
Published: 2014
Place of publication: Diemen
Language: dut
Number of pages: 96
ISBN-13: 9789079700707
Description: This collaboration seeks to bridge the gap between queer theory and lived experience via queer(ing) ethnographic methods. Queer lived experiences often trouble static categories and fixed referentials, and their elusiveness has resulted in them being under-represented in academia. By designing this research to enter through space and activity, not self-identification, Casey Camp was able to remain sensitive to the often multiple (dis)identifications of these individuals, affording more attention to the complexity and plurality of their lived experiences. The topic of this study is queer performance in Amsterdam. The role of politics, the body, and space are discussed through a community collaboration of currently active performers, including Casey Camp, in the city's queer spaces. Theories of performativity, affect, and shame are used to analyze how performers are doing things &#x97; like gender, sociality, and space &#x97; differently than the mainstream. Descriptive narratives, reflexive commentary, and interview quotes are used to present the ethnographic material, along with images throughout the study. Casey Camp chose to only include photographs of his own likeness in an effort to subvert the traditional gaze of ethnographers. He claims no authority over the knowledge that may or may not be produced in this work. His hope is that this collaboration produces new insights and inspirations, and that it can serve as an archive of a specific activity, space, geographic location, and time.