Queer Theory : The Matrix

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Queer community also referred to as LGBTQQ is no stranger to oppression. “In 1600-1800, colonists discovered buggery (sex between men or between women) among Native Americans. In 1869, Dr. Karoly Benkert coined the term “homosexuality” to describe same-sex acts. In 1870-1910, homosexuals

This paper will continue on, researching the societal change/acceptance in the gay and lesbian community as no longer being unorthodox and with the stigma coming from the gay community itself.

American rhetoric about LGBT+ issues underwent major changes in the late 60s and early 70s. While for years homophile groups such as the Mattachine Society dominated queer rhetoric, in 1969 Carl Wittman’s “Gay Manifesto” redefined the LGBT+ rights movement’s voice and goals (380). Using shocking language, his authority as a gay man, and emotional appeals to his queer audience, Wittman and his “Gay Manifesto” utilized a confrontational, liberationist tone to communicate his views on sexual identity and heteronormative culture. While opponents may argue that Wittman’s profane language and emotional appeals weaken his argument and alienate the audience, his rhetorical choices prove perfect for engaging queer readers. Wittman’s “Gay Manifesto” spoke to queer people and offered a new perspective in LGBT+ rhetoric.

In my paper I will discuss the correlation between the terms assimilation/assimilationist, intersectionality, and oppression. The videos and readings of unit five I believe each share in some aspects a strong correlation with the terms mentioned above. Moreover, the videos and readings each highlighted the aspects of queer politics. I will highlight the racism and the different levels of disparities queer people of color face within the queer community.

The word queer has been used to describe someone that does not fit into the social norms that the world sets, for example a girl that dresses masculine and has short hair is a queer. There are also people that fall into simple categories that use queer as an identifier for themselves, people in the gay lesbian and transgender communities often consider themselves to be queer as a sort of layman’s term today. An example of this in the ChYOR assignment would be the third ChYOR my article was on “queering art” bringing queer concepts to art, such as portraits of gay couples and dance duets with two male dancers. The article was very interesting because of the way that it talked about how little representation queer art has, and how that is slowly

Queer anthropology is often identified under cultural anthropology and combined with studies like gender studies. It focuses on the intersectionality of human life with various identities. Queer anthropologists ask questions around queer theory and how the social constructs of identity can be challenged to envelop a new wave of thinking. Looking back on historical trends like Stonewall, researchers can see how progressive – or not- society has become in teaching history beyond the normative. They can observe how queer history is often blocked out of education in favor of the

A. Thesis. With their ideology and their demand for equal rights and personal freedoms, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, and queer (LGBTQ) community has played a major part in the rise of identity politics in modern American politics.

Queer as Folk: Over the extent of of the United States’ history, we have had a lot of social movements. One of the most notable being the fight for equality for LGBTQI — that is, lesbian, gays, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and inter-sexual. The LGBTQ started its uprise in the ‘50s as homosexuals started to become more well known — not necessarily accepted, however — among society. The LGBTQI community has quickly progressed since the ‘50s and ‘60s, bringing along with it many social changes, transgressions, feelings of hate, misconceptions, and a plethora of stereotypes — changing society’s views on sex, marriage, love, and what it is to be human. It is important to understand the impact the LGBTQI community has had on our society, and which titles have made the greatest impact. Out of all six titles, one has became the most prominent in today’s society: gay men.

There seems to be a prevalent belief among queer theorists that there exists an archetype of the “ideal queer.” This person is subversive in everything that they do, and disrupts norms in all ways. Obviously, this ideal is different from dominant society’s view of the ideal queer - a person who keeps their identity to themself, is not “outwardly queer,” holds some type of stable corporate job, is “just like the rest of us” in all other aspects of being, and is decidedly non-radical. Of course, neither of these ideals are representative of the reality of LGBT individuals. Gender and sexual expression is infinitely varied, and cannot be boxed into categories which are palatable to one group or another. LGBT individuals who chose to marry or

Tony E. Adams defines queer as, “actions that rebel against—heterosexual—heteronormative—expectations of intimate relationships including biases against being single, aspirations for marriage, norms about

As being developed by poststructuralism, feminism, lesbian & gay studies and even American pragmatist theory (Parker,2001; Seidman,1997), queer theory has become one of the most important theories, which contributes to the research of sociology, arts and organizations. On the one hand, queer theory has been used to study the relations between the sexuality, gender and workplace. On the other hand, by utilizing denaturalized, deconstructive and performative methods to queer the presumptions of the taken-for-granted norms, queer theorists question and disprove the traditions which people cherish (Seidman,1995).

I wish to use and understand the word queer space to refer to social spaces with tolerance for difference and ambiguity. These are the cracks in the social system where new styles of dressing and living become possible. In Deleuzian terms these are spaces where deterritorialization occurs. I am not using queer as a synonym for LGBT. Queer space is not physical, it is a field of possibility in a social space. I organize queer space by wearing my outfits and by being out and open about my gender explorations. Queer space recedes and becomes less possible when I hide my difference when I try to “pass” as either gender. In conclusion, queer space is essential for me as a gender explorer. It is not a simple physical space. We bring out queerness

The heterosexual imaginary is immensely ingrained in our everyday experience that most people, including feminist sociologists, has become inclined to conceptualize and theorize based around the heteronormative. The heterosexual imaginary acts as an invisible framework at play that structures our thinking processes and in which constructs our social identity. For instance, the inquiry of a survey taker’s marital status in most social science surveys come to show that our recognized and appropriate social identity is formed around heterosexuality. That is, any deviation from this heterosexual norm would be considered abnormal and be marginalized. To a minimal extent, this focus has served the interests of women because of the lack of activism

Gender and sexual orientation is a topic that has been and still today is not talked about in such a way it should be because of how society has chosen to structure and control it. Social stratification is a system in which groups of people are divided up into layers according to their relative privileges (power, property, and prestige). It’s a way of ranking large groups of people into a hierarchy according to their relative privileges (Vela-McConnell 2016). People, who deviate from the norm of the “accepted” gender and sexual orientation that society has placed upon us, are stratified below the norm of a dominating binary gender and sexual orientation. People who are queer face the struggle of mistreatment and an unaccepting society that has been socialized to see and act on gender and sexual orientation to being a dualistic system.

To investigate this assertion, Rehaag uses the queer theory as the main theoretical framework. According to Rehaag, the Queer theory is an interdisciplinary medium that examines the complex interactions between sexuality and gender, and conceptualizes such views of sexual orientation as "essentialist." The essentialist view dichotomizes individuals as being either straight or gay on the basis of early childhood psychological factors or biological traits. Consequently, this essentialist argument comprehends sexual orientation as unchangeable and inflexible. Essentialists may, in selected instances, acknowledge groups beyond gay and straight, such as transgendered and bisexual individuals. Queer theorists reject the essentialist view arguing that these categories are not inflexible. Rather, these categories are regularly recreated through socio-historical patterns or structured social exchanges. Consequently, the queer theory