Failure has been part of queerness since the terms' reclamation in the 1980s. Queerness as identity and method fails to perform in ways that mainstream culture encourages. Queers fail to perform normatively when it comes to romantic partners, sexualities, gender identities, family structures, aesthetics, world making, and much more. Queer and queerness fail on purpose to be normative and instead throw norms, essentialism, and givens into question. Queers and queerness fail on purpose as a means of creating other possibilities.
This poster is hand-drawn and then screen printed in the style of iconic barbershop posters, but instead of showcasing various versions of hetero-patriarchal, cisnormative, masculinity masquerading as haircuts this poster images queer and trans culture producers, artists, and scholars of various sexual and gender orientations that all have short, barbered hairstyles. The poster is for sale and part of the proceeds go to the Transgender Law Center.
