Kemi Adeyemi wrote the entry on “deviance” for the 2021 book Keywords for Gender and Sexuality Studies (NY University Press), in which 77 leading thinkers were asked to write on terms ranging from hashtag to intersectionality, reproduction to woman, terms that are hot topics in the news and in our communities. Now for each episode of an accompanying podcast, a member of the editorial collective interviews an author from the book talking about the significance of their keyword. In the episode that dropped on July 9, host Kyla Wazana Tompkins interviews Kemi Adeyemi. Their conversation covers the politics of the dance floor, the history and significance of the term deviance, and the relationship between deviance and resistance. Adeyemi emphasizes the importance of understanding the complexities and nuances of deviance, and cautions against romanticizing deviant subjects. Listen on Spotify.