The paper seeks to examine the connections between “queer reading” and “science fiction reading” from the perspective of readers’ recollections of their juvenile experiences of “looking for clues” in queer sf narratives. Using Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s concept of reparative reading, I discuss the idea of queer adolescent reading as a possibly transformative experience that offers exciting theoretical opportunities for academic scholarship on the fantastic. By turning attention to selected testaments of adolescent queer readerly experiences, written by both writers and fans, I hope to demonstrate both the personal (individual) and collective nature of queer self-recognition through these intense and affective engagements with sf texts. A closer examination of a collection of short essays in which authors reflect on the provocative idea of “queers destroying sf,”also based on individual recollections of engaging with sf as young readers, expands the discussion to incorporate fan activity and the question of queer canon-forming.

In this paper, I critically analogize the diffraction phenomenon, drawing analogies betweenquantum physics and psychological science, double-slit experiments and timekeeping diagrams, as well as quantal and facial particle-ness and wave-ness. Different experiments on dynamic faces diffract importantly different information. That is, methodology poses a measurement problem in the study of the face. The case study for my analogization of diffraction is the epistemic mode of the timeline, including the bar graph timeline and the histogram timeline, utilized for the temporal dynamics of our facial behavior in the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), its applications, and adaptations. Now more than ever before, FACS-based automated facial behavior analysis systems are increasingly utilized in laboratory applications. Nevertheless, due to constraints in these systems, extracting path information out of experimental movement behavior more often than not flattens difference and generalizes diversity across the biological and the cultural features of the face. The diffractive queering of experimental measurements in psychological science and its timekeeping diagrams evidence how the face is entangled with its measure. Given this entanglement, when it comes to the temporal dynamics of facial behavior, measuring particle-like and wave-like behavior is not only epistemologically possible but also ethically necessary. This is because human facial behavior diffraction affords a deeper richness of complex information than either particle or wave alone. Only by taking into consideration both particle and wave behavior via diffractive queering of timekeeping diagrams can we move closer to making observable, and thereby making knowable, the human face.

This article describes artistic examples of queering Artificial Intelligence (AI), which can be understood as a practice that challenges the (hetero)normative nature of neural networks by implementing a queer perspective. The evaluation of ways in which AI reflects societal norms is conducted by addressing biases that disproportionately affect marginalized communities. On this basis, the author highlights the need for inclusive practices that make it possible for queer experiences to be represented by technology while also discussing why AI cannot be neutral. The in-depth study of Ultimate Fantasy, a collection of literary texts generated by a Queer AI, reveals how artists use language models in novel, subversive, and possibly liberating ways. The author aims to frame this practice as an example of a queer utopian aesthetic project in accordance with José Muñoz’s understanding of queerness. The various motifs evident in the short story collection – such as queer modes of love or trauma – are analyzed as reflections of themes present in the corpus of queer texts used to train the language model.

The article presents the spectralisation of lesbian desire, i.e., the discursive production of the social invisibility of lesbians, through its presentation in two podcasts: Midnight Radio (2018) by Bobbie Parker and Weaver (2021) written and performed by Newton Sweeney. The issue of spectralisation combines uncanny studies with queer theory, developing the concept of the queer subject as a phantom emerging in heteronormative culture through the social repression of queerness (the process known as homo-spectrality). In this context, the podcast format is particularly interesting as a derivative of radio, a medium historically predisposed to telling ghost stories (or conveying the voice of a ghost). The analyzed titles illustrate the social mechanism of spectralisation and offer a significant reinterpretation, as they base the production of the spectre not on the psychological mechanism of repression but on the desire for preservation, maintenance, and love.

“A man is supposed to dance manly”, announces the first point of the flamenco ‘decalogue proclaimed in 1951 by one of the most important avant-garde flamenco dancers of the 20th century, Vincente Escudero. These words illustrate the relationship between flamenco and the traditional division of gender roles. Despite being considered the fruit of transcultural hybridisation, flamenco is characterised by a strong conservatism. In this context, flamenco dance is a field of struggle for kinetic identity in which two flamenco visions clash. The first is the traditional one, in which one of the determinants is the division into male and female dance, and the second is the queered one, in which the categories in question are blurred and transformed, ultimately leading to the inclusion of queered flamenco in the space of popular culture. The purpose of this text is to present the problem of redefining gender in contemporary flamenco dance and how its queering practices affect the aforementioned categories, opening up flamenco to the space of popular culture. The author focuses on the choreographer and dancer Manuel Liñan, as well as the pop culture project Queer Flamenco by Ruben Heras and Jero Férec. These artists continue to discuss the binary divisions within flamenco at the level of both gender and sexuality. In doing so, they perform acts of transgression by entering into a dialogue with the aesthetic and kinetic canons of masculinity and femininity that are strongly rooted in flamenco. Queer becomes for them not only a form of constructing their own kinetic identity, but also a sphere for creating inclusive spaces. At the same time, artists such as Heras and Férec incorporate flamenco into the context of popular culture.

This article offers an in-depth examination of Randall Kenan’s A Visitation of Spirits, contextualizing its narrative within the frameworks of Queer theory and African American cultural studies. Set against the backdrop of a rural North Carolina community, the novel focuses on the experiences of Horace Cross, a young African American grappling with his homosexuality amidst the constraints of a Christian Fundamentalist society. The analysis explores how the novel navigates themes of race, sexuality, and identity, particularly through Horace’s quest for self-transformation. This study underscores the novel’s intricate exploration of these themes, positing queer transformation as a pivotal element that provides insight into the complexities of identity and community within the African American context. Additionally, the article examines the novel’s integration of popular culture references, revealing their role in bridging the discussions of racial and sexual identity. The aim is to shed light on Kenan’s narrative as a significant contribution to the discourse on intersectionality in literature, highlighting its impact in the broader fields of Black and queer studies.

This article delves into the assimilation of queer subjects within the framework of neoliberalism, focusing on Polish queer young adult literature. Drawing on the theoretical insights of Lisa Duggan, Joanna Bednarek, Derrit Mason and Tyna Fritschy, the study explores the intersection of fanfiction, queer narratives, and the assimilationist strategies prevalent in neoliberal societies. The primary analysis centers around Natalia Osińska’s novel Fanfik, examining how fanfiction serves as a potent source for queer young adult narratives. The article assesses the phenomenon of “coming out” within a neoliberal context, framing it as a tool for assimilating queer subjects into prevailing societal norms.

A crucial aspect of the discussion revolves around the concept of homonormativity, exploring how the neoliberal landscape shapes and reinforces certain normative expectations within the LGBTQ+ community. The study sheds light on the commodification of queer identities through publisher’s predatory marketing practices, scrutinizing the impact on the authenticity and diversity of queer narratives.

The article aims to contribute to a nuanced understanding of the assimilation processes faced by queer subjects in contemporary Polish society with a specific focus on the role of young adult literature, fanfiction, and the overarching influence of neoliberal ideologies.

The author focuses on literary representations of LGBT+ youth in Polish novels classified as Young Adult Literature (YAL). They use a three-part framework created by Michael Cart and Christine A. Jenkins to analyse books viewed as emblematic for Polish queer YAL: Natalia Osińska’s trilogy (Fanfik 2016, Slash 2017, Fluff 2019) and Anouk Herman’s novel Nigdy nie będziesz szło samo [You’ll Never Walk Alone, 2023]. When describing literary representations of coming out and queer youth subcultures, the author draws attention to the multidimensionality of the identities of the characters in this type of literary work. They are presented not only in the context of their gender identity and sexual orientation, but also through the prism of their economic situation and place of birth. The queerness of the characters is not limited to issues of gender and sexuality, but also involves challenging the norm of neurotypicality. According to the author, the novels analysed represent an interesting cultural representation of the Polish community of young people who identify as gay, lesbian, transgender and non-binary, as well as their allies (parents, friends).

The article is an attempt to discuss a new, rapidly evolving literary phenomenon, namely the m/m (male/male) novel. The author poses questions: What traditional genre categories can describe this phenomenon? What narrative tools does this literature apply? How does this novel relate to traditional patriarchal romance? And how does it refer to gay literature and the theory and practice of the LGBTQ+ movement? To answer these questions, the researcher analyzes m/m novels from two perspectives. Firstly, in relation to the “traditional” popular romance, and secondly, in relation to gay literature. In her analysis, the author uses concepts from literary genre studies, memory studies, and queer theory. The article reconstructs the brief history of the genre’s emergence and highlights the change it introduces in popular culture.

The article showcases different images and aspects of lesbian characters in 1990s, with special focus on the media landscapes and Hollywood neo-noir thrillers. Stereotypical themes like lethal lesbians and their impact in American cinema are tied with early 90s trends of media portrayal of lesbian chic. The author also highlights the various restrictions of lesbian characters in mainstream cinema, that allows only the visually attractive images of homosexual body to be shown on the screen. Whole article also depicts evolutions of homosexual’s images in 90s media and cinema, the role of male gaze and society fears after the previous homophobic decade in these cultural constructions.

The subject of the analysis is the feature-length debut of Apichatpong Weerasethakul, a Thai film director and video artist, allowing us to understand how the process of creating art can be combined with research work – in this case ethnography – making the camera a tool of cognition. Mysterious Object at Noon (2000) is a kind of epistemological and aesthetic experiment whose aim is to develop a new way of talking about reality by combining different voices and involving many people involved in the project in the creative process. The starting point of the article are methodological concepts proposed by representatives of research-creation (Erin Manning, Brian Massumi) and the idea of ethnographic surrealism as presented by James Clifford. Using a selected film example, I would like to show what the fabulation is all about as a narrative strategy and a tool for creating a collective artistic statement, which is also a research practice.