...Beautiful in My Worn Clothes... the Transgressions of Love

...beautiful in my worn clothes... The Transgressions of Love is a book about the history, ethics, aesthetics and politics of love as radicalism. Rod Dubey describes love as a river that freely flows without regard to prohibitions based on race, gender, class or religion. Love transgresses the boundaries set by church, state and family which seek to control it and is thus, inherently subversive and the basis of an alternative ethics. Historic periods marked by the valuation of love have had a profound influence in shaping who we are. Today we increasingly define freedom as the ability to love whoever we choose. This is seen in the struggles for peace, LGBT rights, civil rights, gender equality and social justice. Transgressive love has also been significant in the development of avant-gardes and in challenging censorship.

...beautiful in my worn clothes... The Transgressions of Love draws from a variety of sources, including philosophy, literature, art, political and cultural theory, and popular culture. Diverse voices on love who are discussed include Shelley, Ghandi, bell hooks, Harriet Jacobs, Jane Austen, Forugh Farrokhzad, Ivan Illich and Raoul Vaneigem. ...beautiful in my worn clothes... is a fitting response to a world of increasing simulation and to the politics of hate so prevalent in the West, which is characterized by racism, homophobia, an advocacy of war and the refusal of ethical responsibility toward others.


Rod Dubey is the author of Indecent Acts in a Public Place: Sports, Insolence and Sedition (Charivari Press), a seminal work of cultural criticism.