Mark Broomfield (photo by Michael Kushner).
Mark Broomfield, associate professor of English at SUNY Geneseo and director of Performance as Social Change, has recently published Black Queer Dance: Gay Men and the Politics of Passing for Almost Straight (Routledge, 2024).
Black Queer Dance explores complex topics of race, gender, and sexuality in dance and contemporary discussions of masculinity in our wider culture, including gender performance and strategic passing; freedom of movement and expression; impacts of anti-LGBTQ+ violence; and reimagining masculinity.
Broomfield draws on masculinity studies, dance studies, critical race and performance theory, and queer studies to demonstrate how the experiences of black queer, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary men expose the illusions of all masculine gender performances. He shows how sexual passing—understood as “performing heterosexual masculinity”—helps gay men navigate an oppressive society.
Based on ethnographic fieldwork in New York City, the book features contributions from acclaimed dancer-choreographers Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden, co-artistic directors of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and Ronald K. Brown, artistic director of the dance company Evidence.
Broomfield is an award-winning scholar, artist, and performer with publications on race, gender, sexuality, dance, and ethnography. He holds a PhD in critical dance studies from the University of California, Riverside.
Broomfield will present book talks at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Community Center in New York City on October 9 and at Writers and Books in Rochester, NY, on October 17.