Queer and Trans Voices: Achieving Liberation Through Consistent Anti-Oppression

by Julia Feliz Brueck, Zoie Zane McNeill

What does it mean to work towards our liberation?How can we center and make space for ourselves and others?How is nonhuman animal liberation part of our own fight for queer rights?With a focus on building bridges between movements and dismantling hierarchies between oppressed groups through consistent anti-oppression, Queer and Trans Achieving Liberation Through Consistent Anti-Oppression follows the concise and to-the-point style of resource activist and author Julia Feliz Brueck. In this volume, Feliz Brueck and queering activist-scholar Zoie (Zane) McNeill collaborate to raise the voices of LGBTQIA+ vegans across the world working to acknowledge the interconnections between social justice groups in order to consistently and effectively achieve liberation for all. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Julia Feliz Brueck is a resource activist, writer, illustrator, and educator with a focus on consistent anti-oppression advocacy.

Zoie (Zane) McNeill is a queer scholar, activist, and artist heralding from the hollers of West Virginia.

Genres: LGBT, Politics, Queer, Nonfiction, Social Justice, Vegan

Kindle Edition

Published March 31, 2020

Reviews

[Libertie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic collection from Sanctuary Publishers, the project of co-editor Julia Feliz. It includes contributions from a ton of brilliant writers, many of them BIPOC and many of whom you may have never encountered before, on the topic of queer veganism. And, as you would expect of anything from Sanctuary Publishers, the book approaches the topic through the lens of "consistent anti-oppression" (a term that was actually coined by Julia) with a strong focus on interrogating and challenging white supremacy, patriarchy, and abelism in both queer and animal liberation movements.

"We were brought to this pivotal moment in history by the audacity of a perception of superiority. The way forward is not a counter but a decimation of that perception with the audacity of mindful action. We are driven not by simple compassion but by compulsion to bring everybody with us. My future then, is defiantly Black, defiantly Queer, radically vegan, and absolutely will never be made through good intention."—LoriKim Alexander, "Toward an Anti-Carceral Queer Veganism"

As a trans woman who has been vegan for over twenty years, I was pretty thrilled to see a book on this topic. There has been remarkably little published on the intersection of veganism and queer identity despite the fact that each space is markedly informed by the other. It is to the co-editors credit that the resulting volume is much more than just a profile of "queer people who are vegan." Contributions explore the systems of domination that both queer and animal liberationists seek to dismantle, the unique contributions that each can offer in our lives and work, and (importantly) the commonality of each "distinct" movement's shortcomings.

The essays in this collection span a great deal of theoretical, personal, and political territory. Both Julia and Zane ground the volume in their own life experiences, opening the book with short biographies of their path to veganism and queer identity. I was delighted to find an essay included on the topic of non-human animal pronouns ("Beyond Binaries: An Interspecies Case for They/Them Pronouns" by Patti Nyman). A piece by LoriKim Alexander powerfully calls out the politics of "inclusion" that plague the non-profit industrial complex and other white spaces (quoted above). And perhaps by favorite essay tackled prison abolitionism ("Toward an Anti-Carceral Queer Veganism"). Here, Leah Kirts outlines the disturbing focus of many vegan nonprofits on policing and punishing animal abuse, which parallels the gay rights movements frequent focus on hate crimes legislation and other strategies to criminalize harm. An anti-carceral queer veganism offers us the tools to critique these approaches which strengthen the same state systems that oppress, cage, and murder Black, brown, and poor communities. I find it incredibly sad that there are folks fighting to free non-human animals from cages but never considering that their work supports the caging of marginalized humans.

"Queer and Trans Voices" is an incredible collection that accessibly opens a neglected field of inquiry to a non-academic audience. I recommend it highly!

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not recommend

[Javi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great compliation of essays and interviews. Some were a bit harder to understand but others were very clear and interesting. A recommended read for people interested in the interconnections between queer and animal liberation.

[Carolina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't have words to describe how incredible this anthology is. Every single essay made me think in ways that I had never considered before. The diversity of perspectives is as interesting as it is important. I cannot recommend this enough!

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I should start by saying, I thought this was a Queer and Trans anthologies book. Not a book about veganism. I'm queer and trans and I appreciated the contents of this book, although I'm not sure I totally agree with all of it. I'm not a vegan but it gave me a lot to think about.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!

[Claire Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I strongly agreed with most of the politics in this book but have questions about the order of the chapters and the choice to include some contributors without others.