The last paragraph of Eli Clare\u2019s \u201cStones in my pockets, stones in my heart\u201d is beautiful. \u00a0The author presents language regarding acceptance, not only of one\u2019s own differences but how those aspects of identity unite members of the broader Queer Community. Clare begins by saying he will be sitting on a wall with his legs dangling over big smooth stones. How he will be sitting with a variety of different groups who identify as Queer (159). The focus of the paragraph on the stores that evolve for their queerness rather than their identity itself:<\/p>\n
\u201cLaugh and cry and tell stories. Sad stories about bodies stolen, bodies no longer here. Enraging stories about false images, devastating lies, untold violence. Bold, brash stories about reclaiming our bodies and changing the world\u201d (159-160).<\/p>\n
Clare chooses to begin each of these sentences with words that define the feelings of the stories. They are allowed to be happy, sad, or enraging. In this, the author presents us with a range of tales about identity. Clare understands, and tells the reader, that to understand one’s identity all different kinds of emotions must be acknowledged. Rather than only giving credence to the happy stories, to the moments of queer joy, Eli Clare chooses to tell all the stories about the process of understanding his identity, and by extension invites the reader to do the same.<\/p>\n
The author also legitimizes a range of acceptable responses. Clare and his group of storytellers are going to both laugh and cry. The latter being an emotional response that is typically considered socially unacceptable, especially among men. Thus, he further defies heteronormative gender roles.<\/p>\n
By putting the actions \u201claugh\u201d, \u201ccry\u201d, and \u201ctell stories\u201d together in the same sentence with the word \u201cand\u201d in between each Clare allows them to exist both together, and as their own perfectly acceptable possibilities. Clare and his people are not only going to laugh, cry, and tell stories but also laugh and cry while telling stories. Clare opens space for all of these vulnerabilities to exist together and separately.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the reader and our class should consider this queer joy. It is the ability to be oneself without care for social stigma and expectations.<\/p>\n
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The last paragraph of Eli Clare\u2019s \u201cStones in my pockets, stones in my heart\u201d is beautiful. \u00a0The author presents language regarding acceptance, not only of one\u2019s own differences but how those aspects of identity unite members of the broader Queer Community. Clare begins by saying he will be sitting on a wall with his legs … Continue reading Eli Clare and Queer Joy<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5366,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[346798],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2023-blog-post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5366"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}