Shelving: Gaga Feminism by J. Jack Halberstam

J. Jack Halberstam describes "Gaga Feminism " as "a politics that brings together meditations on fame and visibility with a lashing critique of the fixity of roles for males and females. It is a scavenger feminism that borrows promiscuously, steals from everywhere, and inhabits the ground of stereotype and cliche all at the same time." As someone who came to feminism piecemeal, and at times wishes to disregard the label altogether, I like the idea of having a "scavenger" feminism, even if I was a bit thrown by the book's title.

Clocking in at under two-hundred pages, Gaga Feminism is a pretty fast read. If you find that queer studies texts tend to be unduly academic or pedantic, this is your book. Especially warranted was a long-overdue chapter on de-privileging the institution of marriage. (Although I might add that gay people aren't a monolith. If someone wants the fairy tale wedding, the big "official statement," it's not anyone's place to deny them that, and society unfortunately doesn't seem interested in a move toward something else.)

Sexual fluidity, another aspect of gaga feminism, was briefly touched upon, though I'd like to see it as something not necessarily centered around straight-identified women who become romantically involved with other women. But overall, this is a nice addition to the queer studies canon.