This picture was taken in a the Case College Center at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. I was (am) there this weekend visiting my sister. She is a co-president of the Bare student club. This club is the first of its kind on campus and has been meeting since fall of '09. Bare, as advertised, is the college's "Sex and Sexuality Forum." They meet once a week and have a list of sexuality-related topics that they chat about. Every student who attends is welcome to talk as much as they like and the basic point of the forum to de-stigmatize sexual taboos and to find connections with other students. The club doesn't participate in activism in any organized forms, other than releasing their 'zine. However, it took part in organizing a rally last year in response to a highly publicized sexual assault on campus, working to re-work the campus's policy on assault/harassment. The photo on the poster was taken by a member of the club and was included in last year's publication.
Can we provide a queer analysis of the image on the poster? Do you think it is useful to have a club like Bare? Would you attend it if we had one at the U? How does the idea of Bare queer (or not queer) sexuality and desire? Could it be part of a queer political movement?
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