Queer Theory

• Queer theory is based upon an idea that our identities are not fixed and do not determine who we are
• Suggests it is 'meaningless' to talk about women or any other group, as many identities consist of so many elements, that to assume people can be seen collectively, on the basis of one shared charateristic is wrong
• It proposes we deliberately challenge all notions of fixed identity, in varied and non-predictable ways

Queer theory: Critics

• Some do not like queer theory as it is deemed unappropriate/deviant
• Tim Edwards 'Sexualities' - gave a list of reservations

1. For most people, their sexual identity isn't particularly fluid, it's suprisingly constant really
2. Queer theory cheats, by focusing on cultural texts, where it is easier to find gender or sexual ambiguties
3. Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, for example, deconstructs sexual categories and dualisms in a bunch of 'elite' literary texts. Others have taken this to be an account of real social life
4. Judith Butler's followers similarly ignore real-life oppression and instead support their optimistic worldview by gazing at gender-blending movies and photography. Discrimination at home and at work, for everyday gay people, are forgotten about in this approach.
5. Butler's argument that gender exists at the level of discourse ignores its significance as 'an institutionalised social practice'.
6. The celebration of radical diversity may lead to individualism and fragmentation.
7. By celebrating difference, queer politics makes the 'gay' or 'lesbian' identity all too important.
8. Queer theory celebrates pleasure and therefore puts too much emphasis on sex. It also puts too much emphasis on the visual, and too much emphasis on the young and trendy.