In/visible Archives of the 1980s

In/visible Archives of the 1980s begins with the confiscation of the Diary of a Conference on Sexuality by the Barnard College President at the school’s annual Scholar and Feminist conference in 1982—the start of the feminist sex wars. Bringing feminism and queer theory together in conversation through the visual culture of American lesbian feminists across the 1980s, Galvan examines image-text materials produced within feminist and queer activist communities that engage women’s sexuality alongside their political organizing. Through close-readings of this material, its visual politics are unpacked, showing how it theorizes sexuality, comparing these visual arguments to contemporaneous textual theorization.