We just published the latest issue of The Michigan Review today, and I’d love to share with the readers of Phi Beta Cons one of my favorite stories. It was written by one of our Assistant Editors, Lindsey Dodge, who attended an event on campus about “marked bodies”–that is, any body type that is “marked” as different by society.
It was led by Eli Clark, a transgendered individual, who made sure to open the event with an always-relevant attack on the War in Iraq. But here’s my favorite paragraph:
All of the people present were than asked to do an exercise where they answered the questions “What have the thieves stolen from you?” and “How have you reclaimed your body.” When asked who the thieves in the exercise were, Clark responded, “I’m not comfortable calling people thieves…it’s a question of behavior versus people. It’s against systems of oppression.”
Ahh…just another week at the University of Michigan.