Desiring Change

"Desiring Change represents the integration of joint efforts by the Barnard Center for Research on Women (BCRW) and Queers for Economic Justice (QEJ). Desiring Change offers a framework for thinking about how desire and gender are brought alive through the ways lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people use their bodies; and how desire and gender are made poignant and meaningful by the ways we construct or deny our erotic passions and gendered identities in the course of daily life. This project looks at intersections between LGBTQ and progressive politics, asking how best to integrate sex and gender into organizing around issues like immigration, the economy and social services. Desiring Change is born of the fact that in the current political moment, particularly after the financial crisis of 2008, both BCRW and QEJ see an opportunity to bring fresh vision to questions that have long challenged organizations and movements, including questions about how to frame issues of key concern and how to develop effective models for making change. We also see a longing for new possibilities, a way forward in the face of increasing inequality, and a means of keeping our desires at the center of our politics."