Queer Theory

Queer theory in North America grew in prominence in the early 1990s, having developed from gay and lesbian studies, which was an outgrowth of feminist studies and feminist theory in the mid-1980s. Feminist theory challenged the humanist notion of an essential, unique, and coherent self. It promoted the idea that identity is culturally constructed and inspired the shift in understanding from self to subject. The subject, as produced and constructed, is local, partial, provisional, and fluid.

Queer theory insists that all sexual behaviors—that is, all concepts linking sexual behaviors to sexual identities—and all categories of normative and deviant behaviors are socially constructed. It also rejects the idea that sexuality is biologically determined. Queer theory contends that sexuality is a constructed aggregate of social codes and influences, individual tastes and activities, and institutional power. These social constructions are dialectically informed by what is considered normative or deviant in particular cultural milieus. Prominent queer theorist Judith Butler suggests that sexuality is not just a construct but a performance, something that we do as in “doing gender” rather than thinking of sexuality and gender as innate aspects of a person. Cultural practices shape beliefs that sexualities are natural, essential, and biological; however, queer theory posits that sexualities are culturally bound and historically constructed.

The term queer is imbued with myriad meanings and cultural interpretations. Queer could be considered a “zone of possibilities” that defy clear articulation, as a definitive claim that queerness is antithetical to what it means to be “queer.” Queer is paradoxically inclusive and exclusive. There are no definitive limits to what it means to be queer. Queer is both a noun and a verb: one is queer; one queers a text. Queer describes the spaces between; the liminal; and the mismatches between sex, gender, and desire. Queer theory contests heteronormative metanarratives and positions against compulsory heteronormativity.