Yale Graduates Want You to Become a "Climate Cunt" and Wield Your "Vulva Power"
Become a "Climate Cunt" today! "Rather than placing blame on individuals, we are looking for a way forward – through the pussy.”
In what appears to be an impossible paper out of Yale University-Singapore, three self-identified queer graduates have gotten one of their magazines published by Taylor and Francis, one of the world’s top five academic publishers.
The paper — titled, “The Anthropussy: An Ecolesbian Manifesto” — was written by Yale-NUS (Yale University-Singapore) recent graduates Isabella Blea Nunez, Beverly Choo and Eqtaffaq Saddam Hussain.
Unlike most academic articles, the graduates submitted a magazine (also called zine) to the Journal of Lesbian Studies. While it was published last year, it just last week made the list for Top 50 papers (by citations and readership) in the Lesbian Studies area.
So what do these grads say?
“The Anthropocene is old news. As young queer zine-makers in Singapore, we heard the term on repeat and dared to ask: What about the AnthroPUSSY?” the paper begins.
“From this queer environmentalist pun we birthed a new take on our relationship to the Earth amidst climate crises – and in doing so, we came out as ecolesbians. Ecolesbianism is a concept we co-created, bringing together queer ecologies, political lesbianism, ecofeminism, transecology, ecosexuality, and our own experiences.
“It combines an environmentalist recognition of the climate crisis with a femi-nist and queer theory analysis of the vulva as a symbol for vast potential, pleasure, intimacy, and expansiveness,” explain the writers, Isabella Blea Nunez, Beverly Choo and Eqtaffaq Saddam Hussain.
The iconography of their academic article can be found in the supplemental section of the article’s page entry in the Journal of Lesbian Studies, and features iconography representing the vulva throughout their magazine, also called a zine.
The students claim they were inspired by Donna Haraway’s book “Chthulucene”, which calls for an era of multi-species collaboration in the world.
“Think of the Anthropussy as the Chthulucene's hot lesbian friend. Rather than placing blame on individuals, we are looking for a way forward – through the pussy.”
“We draw some of our pussy appreciation from Luce Irigaray, who wrote beautifully of the vulva as a site of autoeroticism and plural sexualities for the feminist agenda.
“Moving beyond any essentialist understanding of the feminine as confined to the body-with-vulva, we have birthed the Anthropussy in an effort to bring the vulva energy into our worldwide contentions with the more-than-human.”
In their zine, they also explain step-by-step instructions on an “Ecolesbian Garden Guide”, which includes getting “consent” from the garden.
“In asking for consent, you are not separate from your place in history, and your ancestors’ relationship to this land. Even if the practice is new to you, or if you are scared of the answer, try asking the land for permission,” it says.
They also created an LGBTQ composter flag:
Secondly, they recommend ecolesbians to “Love Soil”, and third, to “Plant Queerly.” The final steps are to “Compost Your Exes and Save Your Seeds” and finally, they that people who follow their methods are “Climate Cunts.”
“To be an ecolesbian is to be a climate cunt: an iconic, fierce, and elastic member of the ecologies that we inhabit. We will leave you with a final reminder that this work should always be a little fun – or as we ecolesbians say, a little cunty.”
The trio of students are also trans activists, advocating that men without female biological parts can also have pussy power.
“[The] vulva is NOT a prerequisite of lesbian or ecolesbian power and identity. We say ‘pussy’ not as a criteria for entry but rather as the iconography it has always been in the queer community.”
None of the authors named in this piece have returned emails from Liberty Affair.
This piece was brought to you by Toni Airaksinen, Senior Editor of Liberty Affair and a journalist based in Boca Raton, Florida. Follow her on X @Toni_Airaksinen, and on Instagram, and read how to support her trip to Jerusalem here.
You can't even parody this stuff.
Wow. I’m so glad I don’t give money to Yale.