Katie Alafdal
Bio
queer poet and visual artist. @leromanovs on insta
Achievements (1)
Stories (55/0)
Despite Creating Entire Fantasy World in Her Head, Author Cannot Wrap her Mind around the Idea that Trans Women Are Women
J.K. Rowling, known primarily for her authorship of the wildly popular Harry Potter series, is reportedly continuing to defend trans-exclusionary feminist perspectives in recent posts and interviews. Despite backlash from various organizations and individuals citing concerns for trans youth who might be impacted by her commentary, the author (ironically also sometimes known as Robert Galbraith), has decided to stick to her guns.
By Katie Alafdal3 years ago in Pride
Confessions of a Second-Hand Psychonaut
I’ve never done any illicit drugs, although I’ve come close. Once when I was nineteen, a girlfriend begged me to smoke with her, and so I put my mouth around a strawberry flavored joint, ready to experience any sort of high. But I couldn’t bring myself to light the damn thing. My girlfriend was disappointed—she was not one of those people who liked getting high alone. My doubt made her doubt me, or something like that.
By Katie Alafdal3 years ago in Potent
You Probably Know My Ex: The F*ckboy Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard
You probably know Soren Kierkegaard as the writer of some of the most formidable philosophical and theological works of the nineteenth century. Maybe you don’t really understand anything he’s written (because let’s face it, he kind of sucked at communication even at the best of times and avoided conciseness like the plague), but vaguely know of him from your annoying philosophy major friend.
By Katie Alafdal3 years ago in FYI
An Introduction to White Trash Cooking
In the Mojave desert, my father is spreading warm peanut butter on a slice of wonderbread. It is our first solo camping trip since the divorce, and he is attempting to make things seem as normal as possible. He slathers grape jelly on another slice of bread, winking at me.
By Katie Alafdal3 years ago in Feast
How Bad Was Your Latest Break-Up on a Scale from One to Wuthering Heights?
1.) For starters, why don't you tell us how you met your ex: a. Well, it was kind of sweet actually—we were high school sweethearts. I remember it took me ages to work up the courage to ask her out one afternoon after soccer practice. Even after how things ended, I wouldn’t change a thing—our first kiss under the bleachers is still one of my fondest memories.
By Katie Alafdal3 years ago in Humans
Exile, Erasure, and Embodiment: A Retrospective Reconfiguring of the Works of Ana Mendieta
In 2018, the New York Times ran an electronic obituary entitled, “Overlooked No More: Ana Mendieta, A Cuban Artist Who Pushed Boundaries”. Directly below the title is a black and white photograph of a woman with long dark hair, her face dappled with sunlight, her eyes unfocused. Under that, is printed the diminutive italicized disclaimer, “Since 1851, obituaries in The New York Times have been dominated by white men. With Overlooked, we’re adding the stories of remarkable people whose deaths went unreported in The Times.” For reference, Ana died in 1985. Her husband at the time, the evidently more preeminent minimalist sculptor Carl Andre, explained to emergency services that they had been fighting when suddenly she had “somehow gone out of the window” of their 34th floor apartment in Greenwich Village. She was thirty-six.
By Katie Alafdal3 years ago in Viva
If I’m Being Totally Honest, Whenever People Bring Up Radical Queer Futurities, All I Can Think About is Alicia Vikander in “Ex Machina”
Queer theory is close to my heart. I’ve spent hours pouring over the staples (serious and absurd) on Queer Futurity: from Cruising Utopia to Females to “The SCUM Manifesto”. I’ve submerged myself in the works of Audre Lorde, Gloria Anzaldua, Susan Stryker, Akwaeke Emezi, Audrienne Rich, David Wojnarowicz, Angela Davis, Jos Charles, Robert Mapplethorpe, James Baldwin, Judith butler, Nella Larson, and Michel Foucault (although admittedly, The History of Sexuality will always be something of an obnoxious enigma to me).
By Katie Alafdal3 years ago in Pride