Queer Studies

Queer studies is an emerging interdisciplinary academic subject that combines empirical research and theoretical accounts of gender and sexuality. The term queer characterizes both the object of study as well as the unique theoretical approach developed within this perspective. Many scholars use queer as shorthand for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgen-dered people and communities. The term is often used instead of the terms gay or lesbian or the acronym LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual) to represent the variety of ways in which people experience their gendered and sexual selves. For many, hearing the term gay evokes an image of a white, upper-class, college-educated man and his political and social interests, which represents only a minor fraction of sexual minorities. On the other hand, the term queer[Page 691]may suggest a range of identities from a black non-operative transgender prostitute to a bisexual domina-trix to an intersexed child. The open nature of “queer” recognizes the multiple forms of oppression experienced by the gender-variant and sexual minorities and the many ways in which each identity is experienced.

The term queer, however, is more than an umbrella for all forms of gender and sexual diversity. Queer is also the basis for the theoretical framework of queer studies, called queer theory. In queer theory, scholars make distinct claims about gender and sexuality that are openly critical of previous theoretical approaches. The first tenet of queer theory is that sex is fundamentally social. Human sexuality is not a biological fact, but a cultural concept. People are not born sexual beings, but learn how to become them by acting cultural roles and scripts. The second tenet of queer theory is that, although claiming a sexual or gender identity may feel liberating, such identities are also forms of social control. For example, coining out as gay may feel personally liberating, but the idea of being gay or lesbian also serves as a model of how individuals are supposed to act. Categories are disciplinary and regulatory structures because they are inherently exclusive. Taking on the identity of “homosexual,” for example, is not a liberatory act. The term homosexual functions as a prescriptive model that defines specific bodies, relations, and behaviors, while excluding a whole range of other possible desires and acts. Thus, identities serve a major function in organizing people's bodies and sexual selves. The last key assertion made by queer theorists is that sexual behaviors and identities are imbued with a larger social and moral significance. Certain sexual behaviors and identities are seen as normal, natural and healthy whereas others are deemed sick, pathological, and criminal. Those who hold higher moral status are rewarded with material and social benefits whereas the degraded sexualities are often penalized. More important, this hierarchy includes all sexual behaviors and is not limited to just looking at heterosexuality versus homosexuality. Thus, one can see how all types of sexuality are regulated in society and how sexuality, in general, may be both individually freeing and a form of social control.

Queer studies scholars aim to challenge both the dominance of normative forms of heterosexuality as well as categories of gender and sexual identity in general. The goal of queer studies, as described in this entry, is to make visible the diverse histories, experiences, and cultures of gender and sexual minorities while concurrently offering a theoretical critique of identity categories and the repressive forces that they evoke.

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