Identity and race are complex, emergent, and intertwined with the living world, inviting us to rethink and remake how we construct them.
Embracing the monstrous and challenging racial order enables us to write new stories that confront and disrupt racism.
Deep dives
DNA and the Politics of Identity
DNA has become a tool for determining identity, but its interpretation and discussion influence how we think about identity. The podcast explores the ways in which DNA is used to reinforce hierarchies and systems of division. The essay argues that race is emergent and dynamic, and that identity is complex and intertwined with the living world. By deconstructing old stories of colorism and embracing the monstrous and the in-between, we are urged to rethink and remake how we construct identity and race.
The Anthropocene and the Interconnectedness of Life
The podcast discusses the concept of the Anthropocene, a time characterized by blurred boundaries and interconnectedness between human and non-human life. It challenges the idea that DNA is an unchanging determinant of our biology and behavior, emphasizing the growing importance of epigenetics and the environment in shaping traits. The focus on hollow biomes and assemblages highlights the fact that our bodies are composite entities, intertwined with the world around us.
Monsters and their Role in Challenging Order
The essay explores the role of monsters as cultural technology, disrupting familiar boundaries and reconfiguring our understanding of race and human identity. Monsters are seen as playful reconfigurations of flesh, embodying the radical openness and complexities of the real. By embracing the monstrous, we can confront the disturbing behaviors and prejudices rooted in racism. Understanding monsters as traversal disruptions enables us to write new stories that challenge racial order and justice.
Rethinking Race in the Anthropocene
The podcast delves into the complexities of race in the Anthropocene, considering how traditional conceptions are being challenged by newer genetic technologies. The notion of trans-raciality is introduced, highlighting the fluidity and interconnectedness of bodies. It emphasizes the ongoing, emergent, and dynamic nature of race, and the need to move beyond essentialist and socially constructed perspectives. By acknowledging the materiality and vitality of the world, we can reshape our understanding of race and racial justice.
In this narrated essay from our archive, Nigerian writer Bayo Akomolafe deconstructs old stories of colorism and puts forward “monstrosity”—that which upends the familiar, that which challenges and resists the order of things—as a site to truly meet ourselves. He presents race as emergent and dynamic, and identity as unwieldy, deeply composite, and intertwined with the living world. As the Anthropocene lays bare the interconnectedness and interdependence of all life, and dispels boundaries between human and nonhuman, Bayo invites us to disturb, rethink, and remake how we construct identity and race.
