[Ads-l] QUILTBAG

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The acronym QUILTBAG was discussed on the list back in August 2014.
Here is a link to the beginning of the thread. The definition was
included in the thread:

http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2014-August/133644.html

Recently, I was asked about the origin of the term.

There was a discussion in a Google Group called Ozymandias in February
2009. One participant asserted that the term "quiltbag" was coined by
the prominent speculative writers Nicola Griffith and Kelley Eskridge.
Information about this discussion is given further below.

Tracing backward using this pointer I found a 2008 book containing the
term "quiltbag".

Date: (2010 paperback edition) (2008 Copyright)(2008 hardback)
  (Text verified in Google Preview of 2010 edition)
Title: Queer Universes: Sexualities in Science Fiction
Editors: Wendy Gay Pearson, Veronica Hollinger, Joan Gordon
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
Article: War Machine, Time Machine
Authors: Nicola Griffith and Kelley Eskridge
Start Page 39, Quote Page 44 and 47
Database: Google Books Preview

[Begin excerpt from Nicola Griffith on page 44]
Reviews in the sf columns of major news journals--The New York Times
Book Review, Los Angeles Times, New Stateman--praised the book. The
LGBTQI (known, in our house, as the quiltbag) press did not deign to
notice.
[End excerpt]

[Begin excerpt from Kelley Eskridge on page 47]
And so not all queer writing is quiltbag, and neither is all quiltbag
writing queer. This is certainly true in speculative fiction: there
are enough gay or lesbian sf writers crafting stories that reflect
their own experience of sexuality and gender these days that it's no
longer in and of itself a brave new thing to do.
[End excerpt]

The Google Groups discussion in 2009 concerned the creation of an
anthology. The discussants were proposing topics for the anthology.

[ref] 2009 February 1,
Google Group discussion message,
Google Group: ozymandias,
From: Jeremy H. Griffith,
Subject: Re: The Grand Experimeint - Lets Define it
(Google Groups Search; Accessed January 7, 2016)[/ref]

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/ozymandias/JpuHDUqW6Qg/1BQwkX3qNqUJ

[Begin excerpt]
It might be the authors are all women (my own preference), or the
stories all have strong women protagonists (or villains), or they all
deal with issues of particular interest to women.  Another possible
focus could be "quiltbag".  Or "end of the world", one of the other
proposals.  But we need *some* focus, IMHO.
[End excerpt]

[ref] 2009 February 1,
Google Group discussion message,
Google Group: ozymandias,
From: Jeremy H. Griffith,
Subject: The Anthology's Focus,
(Google Groups Search; Accessed January 7, 2016)[/ref]

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/ozymandias/JpuHDUqW6Qg/Q1GvyYvkCMcJ

[Begin excerpt]
>Another possible focus could be "quiltbag".

When I wrote that, I didn't actually realize that Nicola and Kelley
had *invented* the term.  A visit with Google established that... the
only references not to a fabric bag were in Nicola's blog and Web
site.  ;-)

The earliest one was last year, at:
  http://www.nicolagriffith.com/warmachine.html
[End excerpt]

The link in the message above does not work, but there is a snapshot
of the webpage available via the WayBack Machine although the snapshot
was taken rather late in 2011. The text matches the 2008 book.

[ref] Wayback Machine Snapshot,
Snapshot Date: December 5, 2011
Website: nicolagriffith.com
Webpage Title: War Machine, Time Machine
Webpage Authors: Nicola Griffith & Kelley Eskridge
Date on Website: Unknown
(Accessed January 7, 2016)[/ref]

https://web.archive.org/web/20111205195327/http://nicolagriffith.com/warmachine.html


On Wed, Aug 6, 2014 at 11:13 PM, Bill Mullins <amcombill at hotmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Bill Mullins <amcombill at HOTMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      QUILTBAG
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> This is a new one on me:
> " It stands for Queer/Questioning=2C Undecided=2C Intersex=2C Lesbian=2C Tr=
> ansgender/Transsexual=2C Bisexual=2C Allied/Asexual=2C Gay/Genderqueer. It =
> is meant to be a more inclusive term than GLBT/LGBT and to be more pronounc=
> eable (and memorable) than some of the other variations or extensions on th=
> e GLBT/LGBT abbreviation."
> http://queerdictionary.tumblr.com/post/3899608042/quiltbag
>                                           =
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
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