Tactics of Appropriation and the Politics of Recognition in Late Modern Democracies

Abstract

Walking down the street in Toronto one day in 1987, pedestrians were surprised to see a message flashing across an electronic billboard. “Lesbians fly Air Canada” it repeatedly signaled. The next day the message was gone. A gay rights group broadcast the phrase, but their communication terminated abruptly when Air Canada threatened to apply for an injunction to stop the group from using its name.