One of the oldest goddesses in the historical record is Inanna of Mesopotamia, who was referred to, among other honorifics, as “She who makes a woman into a man, she who makes a man into a woman.” The power to alter such fundamental categories was evidence of her divine power. Inanna was served by at least half a dozen different types of transgendered priests, and one of her festivals apparently included a public celebration in which men and women exchanged garments. The memory of a liminal third-gender status has been lost, not only in countries dominated by Christian ideology, but also in many circles dedicated to the modern revival of goddess worship. Images of the divine feminine tend to appear alone, in Dianic rites, surrounded only by other women, or the goddess is represented with a male consort, often one with horns and an erect phallus. But it is equally valid to see her as a fag hag and a tranny chaser, attended by men who have sex with other men and people who are, in modern terms, transgendered or intersexed.
— Speaking Sex to Power: The Politics of Queer Sex by Patrick Califia
“The story of Hades and Persephone, frequently retold and referenced, became a motif for marrying death… In addition, wedding and funeral rites, in which women played a crucial role, had many similarities. The bride and corpse were washed, dressed, anointed, and either veiled (bride) or shrouded (corpse). Both journeyed to a new home, led by a procession of family and friends carrying torches, with song and dance, blessings, gifts, and a feast. Antigone makes those connections explicit in marrying Antigone to death in her last scene instead of to Kreon’s son, her betrothed.”
— Diane J. Rayor, excerpt from the “Introduction” to Antigone
american sterling silver and enamel eros and psyche relief vesta case, c. 19oo
Four books by Frantz Fanon - Downloadable
The Wretched of the Earth. New York: Grove, 2004. Here it is.
Black Skin, White Masks. London: Pluto, 2008. Here it is.
A Dying Colonialism. New York, NY: Grove, 2007. Here it is.
Toward the African Revolution. New York, NY: Grove, 1994. Here it is.
If you haven’t read Fanon, now is the time. The zip file password is: archive.