What can love mean in an era of individualism, polarization, media coverage, competitiveness, post-colonialism and apocalyptic climate change? When we think of love, we almost automatically think of romanticism: physical and mental abandon, relationships and break-ups, marriages and children … But what do we see emerging when we look beyond these romantic clichés? What does love mean in relation to domination, to a patriarchal system? How can love support, emancipate and empower people? What about the political aspects of love? And when does love go beyond the binary?

These are some of the questions that Beursschouwburg and Passa Porta submitted to Paul B. Preciado. The preamble to a frank discussion, they will also be the starting point for a previously unpublished text that the philosopher will present exclusively.

Paul B. Preciado is a writer, philosopher, curator, and one of the leading thinkers in the study of gender and sexual politics. His first book, 'Counter-Sexual Manifesto' was acclaimed by critics as “the red book of queer theory” and became a key reference for European queer and trans activism. His perspective on institutional violence, his constant call to step away from the norm in order to be freer and his personal journey will undoubtedly enrich the reflection on the subject.

+ aftertalk and Q&A w/ Tessel Veneboer

Find the transcript here

As part of ‘We Love You’, a multidisciplinary programme on love beyond the romantic and the self - sep oct nov dec 2019.