Her Tongue on My Theory: Images, Essays and Fantasies

Sharon Larade is the regional archivist at the Peel Region Archives.

This attractive, provocative collaboration fuses the art of the Kiss &
Tell Collective, three lesbian artists who have been working together
for more than nine years on issues of sexuality and representation.
Following on the themes introduced in their previous book, Drawing the
Line: Lesbian Sexual Politics on the Wall, Her Tongue on My Theory is
built around three concurrent narratives—one visual, two textual.

The first narrative is a series of essays on sex and censorship,
reflecting contemporary political debates in Canada as well as the
collective’s evolution in the lesbian feminist community. The authors
challenge the change in the definition of obscenity from one based on
morals to one based on harm, and they speak frankly about the adoption
of the anti-porn law by the extreme right to silence sexual expression.

The second narrative, “Stories,” is a string of fantasies arising
from the speaking tour for Drawing the Line. Named after the cities
toured, each fantasy features a hybrid protagonist who, while challenged
by the substance of her talk, is pursued, ignored, desired, seduced, or
frustrated by a chameleon named Halifax in some sizzling sexual scenes.

The photographic narrative features images of Kiss & Tell members; many
of the more compelling images ask such questions as “Do I look like a
lesbian?” or “Is this a nude or is it my body?” These sexually
explicit images heighten the discussions in the textual narratives by
providing examples of both the objects of desire and the objects of
suppression.

The Collective’s artistic creations are continuously expanded through
a cycle of performance and publication. One cannot help but admire the
personal and political synthesis of these courageous artists.