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Publications by Andrew Shaffer
At a moment marked by death and displacement, the 1994 documentary film ¡Viva 16! (Long Live 16) ... more At a moment marked by death and displacement, the 1994 documentary film ¡Viva 16! (Long Live 16) re-imagined the present by turning towards the past. The film followed the development and growth of a queer Latinx community on and around 16th street in the Mission district of San Francisco, CA at a time when the twin devastation of gentrification and AIDS threatened to erase the community from the landscape. Paying attention to the movements of both the narrators and the film itself, this article highlights the usage of active nostalgia and hopeful imagination to craft narratives of belonging. The article reads the film within its historical context to suggest the strategies of narration it employed are useful for utilizing the past to take action in the present.
Beginning with the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2010 and following up with the passage of... more Beginning with the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2010 and following up with the passage of the gender identity law of 2012, Argentina has quickly catapulted itself to the forefront of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, queer) rights in the world. This study sets out to answer a simple question: how did these vast legal changes come about in a country whose LGBTQ citizens are still met with hostility and discrimination? In order to answer this question I look at the ways LGBTQ activists have argued for the civil rights that they have achieved, and measure their success by analyzing hate crimes statistics and public opinion surveys that show how the LGBTQ community is perceived and treated in Argentina. I argue that the goals pursued by the country’s activists support an idea of equality and rights that results from neoliberal policies and the ‘tinting’ effect these policies have on identity politics. I label this generation of activists and political ideas the Lavender Tide, separating them from earlier generations that promoted an agenda that was both wider and more difficult to accomplish.
International Affairs Review, 2011
In November of 2009, almost 5 months to the day after a junta of military and political leaders h... more In November of 2009, almost 5 months to the day after a junta of military and political leaders had overthrown the legitimate government in a coup d’état, Hondurans were encouraged to go to the polls and “exercise their democratic rights” in order to help bring the coup to a close. The election was tentatively approached by the international community as return to democracy, with most of the western world, as well as much of Latin America, quick to promote the new government’s legitimacy following the installation of the new government a few months later. In their rush to return to normalcy, however, many overlooked the continuing problems eating away at the still young Honduran democracy. The elections were only nominally democratic, and were plagued by violence, repression, and a forcibly silenced media. Even with a supposedly post-coup government, violence is still rampant against political actors, and those responsible for the coup remain free of any punishment for their crimes, including kidnappings, torture and politically motivated assassinations. In this paper I show that the current ‘democratic’ government is little more than a continuation of the coup government.
Editorship by Andrew Shaffer
The Oral History Review's second virtual issue takes up the theme of the 2017 OHA Annual Meeting,... more The Oral History Review's second virtual issue takes up the theme of the 2017 OHA Annual Meeting, Engaging Audiences: Oral History and the Public. It brings together content in which oral historians grapple with their interactions with various publics, asking what roles we can play in both interpreting the past and shaping the present. These articles are intended to provide fodder for these conversations, and a chance to find connections between generations of scholars.
Introduction for a special virtual issue of The Oral History Review, which I co-edited.
Conference Presentations by Andrew Shaffer
This project looks at the representation of queer men across queer culture - from Glee to Grindr.... more This project looks at the representation of queer men across queer culture - from Glee to Grindr. It asks who is being made visible or invisible, and how these representations (or lack thereof) impact the ability of diverse groups to feel connected to or see themselves reflected in the queer community. A key aspect of this project is the perceived ability to access sexual encounters, as measured through inclusive and exclusive language used in Grindr profiles. The inequality in perceived sexual opportunities is consistent with the representation of queer men in media; those groups most represented have the greatest 'sexual capital.'
This presentation is part of a project that looks at the ways in which ethnicity, gender represen... more This presentation is part of a project that looks at the ways in which ethnicity, gender representation, sexual orientation, age, size, HIV status and other descriptors converge to create sexual ideals and promote certain types of gay men as ‘sexable’, or as sexual beings, while excluding others. This portion deals specifically with the representation of gay men in the San Francisco bay area, looking at the ways in which they are described by others and how they describe themselves in online personal ads. I demonstrate the ways in which popular representations of gay men take hold within the gay community, becoming molds that certain sectors of the community are forced to adopt in order to be perceived as ‘sexable.’
Given the ever increasing number of gay men represented in popular media it is imperative to look at who is being represented and how these representations are driving the development of gay culture and impacting the ways in which gay men understand themselves and others. Instead of broadening the spectrum of social, sexual, economic and other areas that are accessible to gay men, increasing visibility may actually be condemning some men to exist only as stereotypes and familiar tropes, especially queer men of color. The ultimate goal of this project is not only to expose these issues but to think about ways of overcoming them through more diverse representations and public education.
Reviews by Andrew Shaffer
At a moment marked by death and displacement, the 1994 documentary film ¡Viva 16! (Long Live 16) ... more At a moment marked by death and displacement, the 1994 documentary film ¡Viva 16! (Long Live 16) re-imagined the present by turning towards the past. The film followed the development and growth of a queer Latinx community on and around 16th street in the Mission district of San Francisco, CA at a time when the twin devastation of gentrification and AIDS threatened to erase the community from the landscape. Paying attention to the movements of both the narrators and the film itself, this article highlights the usage of active nostalgia and hopeful imagination to craft narratives of belonging. The article reads the film within its historical context to suggest the strategies of narration it employed are useful for utilizing the past to take action in the present.
Beginning with the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2010 and following up with the passage of... more Beginning with the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2010 and following up with the passage of the gender identity law of 2012, Argentina has quickly catapulted itself to the forefront of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, queer) rights in the world. This study sets out to answer a simple question: how did these vast legal changes come about in a country whose LGBTQ citizens are still met with hostility and discrimination? In order to answer this question I look at the ways LGBTQ activists have argued for the civil rights that they have achieved, and measure their success by analyzing hate crimes statistics and public opinion surveys that show how the LGBTQ community is perceived and treated in Argentina. I argue that the goals pursued by the country’s activists support an idea of equality and rights that results from neoliberal policies and the ‘tinting’ effect these policies have on identity politics. I label this generation of activists and political ideas the Lavender Tide, separating them from earlier generations that promoted an agenda that was both wider and more difficult to accomplish.
International Affairs Review, 2011
In November of 2009, almost 5 months to the day after a junta of military and political leaders h... more In November of 2009, almost 5 months to the day after a junta of military and political leaders had overthrown the legitimate government in a coup d’état, Hondurans were encouraged to go to the polls and “exercise their democratic rights” in order to help bring the coup to a close. The election was tentatively approached by the international community as return to democracy, with most of the western world, as well as much of Latin America, quick to promote the new government’s legitimacy following the installation of the new government a few months later. In their rush to return to normalcy, however, many overlooked the continuing problems eating away at the still young Honduran democracy. The elections were only nominally democratic, and were plagued by violence, repression, and a forcibly silenced media. Even with a supposedly post-coup government, violence is still rampant against political actors, and those responsible for the coup remain free of any punishment for their crimes, including kidnappings, torture and politically motivated assassinations. In this paper I show that the current ‘democratic’ government is little more than a continuation of the coup government.
The Oral History Review's second virtual issue takes up the theme of the 2017 OHA Annual Meeting,... more The Oral History Review's second virtual issue takes up the theme of the 2017 OHA Annual Meeting, Engaging Audiences: Oral History and the Public. It brings together content in which oral historians grapple with their interactions with various publics, asking what roles we can play in both interpreting the past and shaping the present. These articles are intended to provide fodder for these conversations, and a chance to find connections between generations of scholars.
Introduction for a special virtual issue of The Oral History Review, which I co-edited.
This project looks at the representation of queer men across queer culture - from Glee to Grindr.... more This project looks at the representation of queer men across queer culture - from Glee to Grindr. It asks who is being made visible or invisible, and how these representations (or lack thereof) impact the ability of diverse groups to feel connected to or see themselves reflected in the queer community. A key aspect of this project is the perceived ability to access sexual encounters, as measured through inclusive and exclusive language used in Grindr profiles. The inequality in perceived sexual opportunities is consistent with the representation of queer men in media; those groups most represented have the greatest 'sexual capital.'
This presentation is part of a project that looks at the ways in which ethnicity, gender represen... more This presentation is part of a project that looks at the ways in which ethnicity, gender representation, sexual orientation, age, size, HIV status and other descriptors converge to create sexual ideals and promote certain types of gay men as ‘sexable’, or as sexual beings, while excluding others. This portion deals specifically with the representation of gay men in the San Francisco bay area, looking at the ways in which they are described by others and how they describe themselves in online personal ads. I demonstrate the ways in which popular representations of gay men take hold within the gay community, becoming molds that certain sectors of the community are forced to adopt in order to be perceived as ‘sexable.’
Given the ever increasing number of gay men represented in popular media it is imperative to look at who is being represented and how these representations are driving the development of gay culture and impacting the ways in which gay men understand themselves and others. Instead of broadening the spectrum of social, sexual, economic and other areas that are accessible to gay men, increasing visibility may actually be condemning some men to exist only as stereotypes and familiar tropes, especially queer men of color. The ultimate goal of this project is not only to expose these issues but to think about ways of overcoming them through more diverse representations and public education.