Background on the '92 campaign
whO IS eILEEN mYLES?
EILEEN MYLES IS POET, NOVELIST, PUBLIC SPEAKER, AND ART JOURNALIST WHO MOVED FROM BOSTON TO NEW YORK TO WRITE MORE. THEY QUICKLY BECAME A PROMINENT FIGURE IN THE NEW YORK SCHOOL. MYLES IS A PROLIFIC ARTIST, KNOWN FOR WORKS LIKE THE CULT-CLASSIC CHELSEA GIRLS AND THE MEMOIR AFTERGLOW.
whO IS eILEEN mYLES?
whAT ARE eILEEN mYLES' POLITICS?
IN '92 EILEEN MYLES WAS THE PEOPLE'S CANDIDATE. THEIR PLATFORM LARGELY REVOLVED AROUND WOMEN'S RIGHTS, ALLEVIATION OF POVERTY, ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE, QUEER RIGHTS, CUTTING MILITARY SPENDING, AND THE REDUCTION OF CORRUPTION IN GOVERNMENT.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, AS A QUEER FEMALE, EILEEN MYLES' CAMPAIGN ITSELF WAS A POLITICAL STANCE. BY RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT AS A WRITE-IN CANDIDATE, MYLES WAS ABLE TO DISRUPT AND REROUTE THE CONVERSATION SURROUNDING TRADITIONAL AND EXCLUSIONARY POLITICS.
WHY DID EILEEN MYLES RUN FOR PRESIDENT?
"THE INITIAL IMPULSE TO RUN FOR OFFICE WAS SPURRED ON BY GEORGE BUSH'S SPEECH AT A COLLEGE GRADUATION... HE STATED THAT 'THE POLITICALLY CORRECT ARE THE GREATEST THREAT TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN AMERICA TODAY. BY THAT HE MEANS MEMBERS OF ACT-UP, VICTIMS OF BIAS CRIMES: WOMEN, HOMOSEXUALS, ETHNIC AND RACIAL MINORITIES. HE WOULD LIKE THEM TO SHUT UP... I REGARD MY CAMPAIGN AS A GESTURE OF ACTIVISM."
------ EILEEN MYLES, 1991
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FOR THE YEARS OF '91 AND '92, MYLES TURNED EVERY PUBLIC EVENT INTO A CAMPAIGN OPPORTUNITY
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MYLES CAMPAIGNED IN OVER 28 STATES (AND MEXICO AND CANADA)
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MYLES MAINTAINED A 400-PERSON MAILING LIST. A SUBSCRIPTION WAS $8 AND GAVE ACCESS TO MAILINGS, A PHONE CALL, A BUMPER STICKER, AND A BUTTON.
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MYLES THOUGHT OF THEIR CAMPAIGN AS BOTH A PIECE OF ACTIVISM AND ALSO A PIECE OF PERFORMANCE ART.
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DURING THIS TIME, THERE WERE MANY PEOPLE THAT KNEW MYLES WAS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT, BUT MANY PEOPLE DID NOT.
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MYLES EVEN MADE AN APPEARANCE ON MTV TO ANNOUNCE THEIR WRITE-IN CANDIDACY