The erotic as resistance: queer resistance at a militarized charter school

Abstract

ABSTRACT'The erotic’ is a power that can be drawn upon to resist oppression, pursue change, and build libratory communities. I extend Lorde’s notion of the erotic to include the shared erotic joy of queer youth and their queer resistive practices. This paper is based on three years of participant observation at the Military Educational Institute (MEI), a militarized charter school in Southern California. Students at the MEI actively challenged and resisted heterogendered, and militarized culture and structure through the shared pleasure of chasing games, dancing, and queer public personas. This article contributes to critical military studies by outlining avenues of youth resistance to militarized education and expands feminist theory by illustrating how erotic power can be employed for collective resistance of militarism and militarization.