Queer Theories

Kritika i humanizam, 2004

The paper focuses on, to begin with, the normative problem of the construction and studying of homosexuality and its subjects. Secondly, through a brief overview of homosexuality's construction and pathologizing, to be shown how it was possible to be defined the state of sexuality's normal subject. Thirdly, how the sexuality's normal subject and its other have been both constructed. From then on I am trying to show how homosexuality's defining situates its subjects in a position of oppression, study and medicalization. As a consequence of 20th century sexual liberation and gay liberationism and the influence of Foucault's theory of sexuality - by adopting “the thesis of repression” as a mere theory of power - the re-writing of sexual identities seems to be redundant, since repression has been substantialized as much as the very subject of sexuality. Hence all the derivative problems over the establishment of new concepts and categories - all they appear to be as (self) repressing as the outdated psychiatry theories. In brief, the study and the re-definition of homosexuality begin to postpone themselves through intra-academic quarrels over method, concept, object, history. The controversies between gay and lesbian studies and queer theory are considered, and the introduction of a new identity concept - queer, through which it is not only homosexuality's subject that is deconstructed, demedicalized, and de-categorized, but also the ones of the sex-gender dichotomy, as well as all the sexual identities - as a refusal from sexualities' defining, and as possible sexualities.

Canadian Woman Studies, 1996

The Chilean Handbook Of Human Rights 2013, 2013

The article addresses from a historical point of view which has been the treatment of queer lives in Europe. Particularly, the paper has for purpose to understand if there was anywhere in Europe where same sex lovers could expect equality and respect, and if yes, why did it not exist everywhere. Then, it seeks to determine if discrimination due to sexual orientation and gender identity really did exist and what was it. Finally, it addresses what is now happening within Europe to create social, legal and political change in this matter.

in Alessia Bianco (a cura di), Otherness | Alteritá, Aracne, Roma, 2012

In a relatively short period of time, Queer theory has been established as a major academic area of study, integrated into almost all disciplines, particularly the humanities and the social sciences. This perseverance in the realm of the halls of academia, however, has not led to a consensus on what exactly it is or what it represents. In its most general sense, Queer theory has encouraged a reinterpretation of standard views about peoples and cultures. As such, its development was a reaction: A reaction against noninclusion, against marginalization, against discrimination. It was also a reaction to the movements of the 1960s and what some judged to be failed theory incorporated into the organization of resistance. For many, then, it is simply an objectification of resistance to dominant theories and models of social life. For others, (and this is more in the public realm) its origins were a statement of an undefined "anti-establishment" position that have now become settled in post-secondary departments in much the same way that past social movements such as Women's Studies, Afro-American Studies, and the more broadly based "ethnic studies" are now mainstream fields of academic discourse, so that we can now say that Queer Studies and Queer theory are part of the same enterprise.

Kvinder, Køn & Forskning

In this thesis, entitled “The False Idealization of Heteronormativity and the Repression of Queerness,” I examine heteronormativity as a social structure that is idealized over, and against, queerness. In the first chapter, I define heteronormativity and queerness. “Heteronormativity,” here, is simply a set of standards that dictate what one must do with their gender and sexuality, such as having sexual relations with the opposite sex, getting married, or having children. Heteronormativity is visible, validated, and normalized in society. Conversely, “queerness” refers to the social structures that dictate what one must not do with their gender and sexuality. Thus, queerness is condemned, threatened, and prohibited. Furthermore, I argue that all of us have transgressed the social structure of heteronormativity since no one can consistently maintain all that heteronormativity implies. Therefore, we all have embodied queerness in one way or another. However, we have also been systematically taught to repress queerness within ourselves and others in an attempt to reduce our fear of it. Moreover, the widespread repression and fear of queerness in society supports and justifies a hierarchical capitalistic system. Since queerness is devalued and considered inappropriate, those who hold power over us, such as in the workplace, have the right to control and regulate our gender and sexual expression. In the second chapter of my thesis, I turn my attention to Hegel’s ethical family where parents are obligated to repress their children’s queerness through the use of discipline. In the third and final chapter, I offer a solution to the problem of the repression of queerness. I argue that, if we can recognize that all of us embody queerness in one way or another and if we can allow ourselves the chance to try to understand each other’s queerness without the impulse to repress it, we can achieve queer solidarity. We will see that our struggle with gender and sexuality under a heteronormative social structure that is enforced all around us is a collective struggle. Therefore, the recognition of each other’s queerness without the impulse to condemn it can act as a bridge to help us recognize that we are integrally connected to one another.

This course examines key thinkers, themes, theories, and artistic/cultural productions central to queer movements and theories. Situating the emergence of queer movements in the historical context of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s–1990s and of queer theories within conceptual debates in poststructuralist theories, feminist studies, critical race studies, and gay and lesbian studies, the course revisits the foundational texts of the queer canon (Michel Foucault, Teresa de Lauretis, Judith Butler, Gayle Rubin), and explores recent developments in queer theories. Intersectional analyses, which consider interlocked systems of oppression and a variety of identity components, are central to this course and underlie its design; intersections between sexuality and race, ethnicity, gender identity, (dis)ability, to name only a few, are studied based on critiques of queer movements and theories by people of colour, trans people, and disabled people. The following topics are discussed: decolonization of queer/trans movements/studies; controversies about “transracialism”; trans, genderqueer, and intersex issues; queer geographies and gendered spaces (e.g., bathrooms); queer cinema and queer representations in pop culture; sex work; crip politics; transability or voluntary disability acquisition; “bug chasing” or voluntary HIV acquisition; asexuality, human exceptionalism, and human/animal relationships.