Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore
Encyclopedia
Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore is a San Francisco-based author and activist. She has written two novels, So Many Ways to Sleep Badly (City Lights
, 2008) and Pulling Taffy (Suspect Thoughts Press, 2003), and is the editor of the non-fiction anthologies Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity (Seal Press, 2007), That's Revolting! Queer Strategies for Resisting Assimilation (Soft Skull Press
, 2004; expanded second edition, 2008), Dangerous Families: Queer Writing on Surviving (Haworth Press
, 2004), and Tricks and Treats: Sex Workers Write About Their Clients (Haworth Press
, 2000). Tricks and Treats was also translated into Italian, as Dolcetti e Scherzetti (Effepi Libri, 2007). Sycamore is currently working on a new anthology, titled Why Are Faggots So Afraid of Faggots?, and a memoir titled The End of San Francisco.
In January, 2009, Sycamore initiated a public postering project called Lostmissing, which she describes as:
In 2010, Sycamore made a short film with Gina Carducci called All That Sheltering Emptiness.
Sycamore was involved in ACT UP in the early 1990s and Fed Up Queers
in the late 1990s. She was the host of the first Gay Shame
event in New York, appearing with performer Penny Arcade
, writer Eileen Myles
, cabaret artists Kiki and Herb
, and queercore
band Three Dollar Bill
held in Brooklyn, NY in 1998, which was captured in the documentary film entitled Gay Shame 98, by Scott Berry. She was one of the instigators of Gay Shame in San Francisco, which started in 2000 and became "a year-round direct action extravaganza dedicated to exposing all hypocrites." Sycamore was involved in the cultural center Dumba
, and is a leading critic of assimilationist trends in gay
culture.
Sycamore opposes the push among the GLBT movement for gay marriage, arguing that it distracts from more pressing issues like the securing of universal health care and housing security for all. Sycamore contributed to Against Equality: Queer Critiques of Gay Marriage, an anthology printed by the Against Equality
in 2010. In 2008, Sycamore was named as a “visionary” as part of Utne Reader
magazine’s “50 Visionaries Who Are Changing the World.”
Regarding gender identity
, Sycamore identifies as genderqueer
and uses the pronouns 'she' and 'her'.
City Lights Bookstore
City Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected titles related to San Francisco culture. It was founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence...
, 2008) and Pulling Taffy (Suspect Thoughts Press, 2003), and is the editor of the non-fiction anthologies Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity (Seal Press, 2007), That's Revolting! Queer Strategies for Resisting Assimilation (Soft Skull Press
Soft Skull Press
Soft Skull Press is an independent publisher founded by Sander Hicks in 1992, and run by Richard Eoin Nash from 2001 to 2009. In 2007, Nash sold Soft Skull to Counterpoint LLC, where it continues to function as a division of the press...
, 2004; expanded second edition, 2008), Dangerous Families: Queer Writing on Surviving (Haworth Press
Haworth Press
Haworth Press was a publisher of scholarly, academic and trade books, and approximately 200 peer-reviewed academic journals. It was founded in 1978 by the publishing industry executives Bill Cohen and Patrick Mclaughlin. The name was taken from the township of Haworth in England, the home of the...
, 2004), and Tricks and Treats: Sex Workers Write About Their Clients (Haworth Press
Haworth Press
Haworth Press was a publisher of scholarly, academic and trade books, and approximately 200 peer-reviewed academic journals. It was founded in 1978 by the publishing industry executives Bill Cohen and Patrick Mclaughlin. The name was taken from the township of Haworth in England, the home of the...
, 2000). Tricks and Treats was also translated into Italian, as Dolcetti e Scherzetti (Effepi Libri, 2007). Sycamore is currently working on a new anthology, titled Why Are Faggots So Afraid of Faggots?, and a memoir titled The End of San Francisco.
In January, 2009, Sycamore initiated a public postering project called Lostmissing, which she describes as:
In 2010, Sycamore made a short film with Gina Carducci called All That Sheltering Emptiness.
Sycamore was involved in ACT UP in the early 1990s and Fed Up Queers
Fed Up Queers
Fed Up Queers, or FUQ, was a queer activist direct action group that began in New York City. The group was made up mostly of lesbians, though notable participants included gay rights pioneer and Stonewall riots veteran, Bob Kohler, and writer, Mattilda aka Matt Bernstein Sycamore...
in the late 1990s. She was the host of the first Gay Shame
Gay shame
Gay Shame is a movement from within the LGBT and queer communities described as a radical alternative to gay mainstreaming and directly posits an alternative view of traditional "gay pride" events and activities which have become increasingly commercialized with corporate sponsors and "safer"...
event in New York, appearing with performer Penny Arcade
Penny Arcade (performer)
Susana Ventura , better known by her stage name Penny Arcade, is an American performance artist, actress, and playwright based in New York City.-Career:...
, writer Eileen Myles
Eileen Myles
Eileen Myles is an American poet who has also worked in fiction, non-fiction, and theater.She won a 2010 Shelley Memorial Award.-Early life and career:...
, cabaret artists Kiki and Herb
Kiki and Herb
Kiki and Herb are an American drag cabaret duo. Bond portrays Kiki DuRane, an aging, alcoholic, female lounge singer...
, and queercore
Queercore
Queercore is a cultural and social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of punk. It is distinguished by being discontent with society in general and its rejection of the disapproval of the gay, bisexual, and lesbian communities and their "oppressive agenda"...
band Three Dollar Bill
Three Dollar Bill
Three Dollar Bill is a band founded by Jane Danger and Chris Piss, in Chicago, Illinois in 1998. The name comes from the expression "Queer as a three dollar bill". The Bureau of Engraving and Printing has never been authorized to print a $3 note. However, before the Civil War, banks operating...
held in Brooklyn, NY in 1998, which was captured in the documentary film entitled Gay Shame 98, by Scott Berry. She was one of the instigators of Gay Shame in San Francisco, which started in 2000 and became "a year-round direct action extravaganza dedicated to exposing all hypocrites." Sycamore was involved in the cultural center Dumba
Dumba
DUMBA was a collective living space and anarchist, queer, all-ages community center and venue in Brooklyn, New York.DUMBA became a radical cultural nexus point around which the Queercore movement flourished and an independent film scene developed...
, and is a leading critic of assimilationist trends in gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
culture.
Sycamore opposes the push among the GLBT movement for gay marriage, arguing that it distracts from more pressing issues like the securing of universal health care and housing security for all. Sycamore contributed to Against Equality: Queer Critiques of Gay Marriage, an anthology printed by the Against Equality
Against Equality
Founded in 2009, Against Equality is an online archive of writings and arts that critique mainstream gay and lesbian politics. A.E. currently focuses on issues regarding the institution of marriage, the U.S...
in 2010. In 2008, Sycamore was named as a “visionary” as part of Utne Reader
Utne Reader
Utne Reader is an American bimonthly magazine. The magazine collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment from generally alternative media sources, including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music and DVDs...
magazine’s “50 Visionaries Who Are Changing the World.”
Regarding gender identity
Gender identity
A gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...
, Sycamore identifies as genderqueer
Genderqueer
Genderqueer is a catch-all term for gender identities other than man and woman, thus outside of the gender binary and heteronormativity...
and uses the pronouns 'she' and 'her'.
External links
- mattilda bernstein sycamore
- Nobody Passes blog
- Seal Press
- An interview with Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, August 2008
- Does Opposing "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" Bolster US Militarism? - video debate by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...