Queer Theory

Queer theory is an important academic discipline and form of literary criticism. It is characterised by its challenging of norms around sexuality and gender identity. Key theorists in the genre include Judith Butler and Adrienne Rich.

Below is an explanation of queer theory and its main ideas. You will also find information on some key queer theory books and a timeline of their development.

Queer theory explained

Queer theory as an academic study is considered to have begun in the 1990s. This was a time when issues of queer identity were becoming increasingly more discussed in the mainstream. Queer theory had previously been dubbed gay and lesbian studies. The term 'queer' was thought to be more all-encompassing as it included all LGBTQ+ identities. For many queer theorists, it was also a reclamation of what had been and continued to be a slur.

Fig. 1 - A rainbow flag, the symbol of the LGBTQ+ community.

Queer theory explores issues of sexuality and identity. It discusses how these identities are formed and how much of the binaries humans adhere to are actually socially constructed. Queer theory encourages exploration beyond the binds of cisgender and heterosexual existence. Queer theorists analyse sexuality and identity outside of stereotypes and traditional perceptions. As it emerged as an academic discipline, queer theory became a whole new way to consider human sexuality and identity without restrictions or boundaries.

For the purposes of literary criticism, queer theory gives us a new way to approach and analyse texts. It aids greatly in dissecting how various characters define both their sexuality and gender identity. Even in older texts, where the author may not have been consciously exploring sexuality and gender, a queer reading of a text may shed much light on character development and interpersonal relationships.

Queer theory main ideas

Queer theory is a broad area of literary criticism with many different avenues, but there are some things that the majority of queer theory has in common.

✔ Questioning established norms: Queer theory challenges stereotypical ideas that everyone is cisgender and heterosexual. They expand upon the wide varieties of sexuality and gender identity.

✔ Stereotypes as social constructs: Most queer theorists argue that traditional conceptions of sexuality and gender are socially constructed. How humans develop is highly based on the environment around them and the influences they receive.

✔ Critiquing powerful institutions: Another important tenant of queer theory is dismantling hierarchies. The lens of queer theory is used to criticise those in power and how they may be operating in a discriminatory or restrictive way.

✔ Exploration of LGBTQ+ life: Queer theory also sheds light on the often untold stories and experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals. This normalises these stories and fights oppression.

✔ Challenging binaries: Queer theory deconstructs traditional binaries that are placed upon sexuality and gender by society. It instead argues that humans are much more fluid than this, and this should be explored, not demonised.

Judith Butler: queer theory

Judith Butler is a seminal and foundational figure in queer theory. She is also key in the realm of women's studies. Her 1990 text Gender Trouble is thought to have been essential in queer theory developing as an academic discipline.

Fig. 2 - A portrait of renowned theorist Judith Butler.

In Gender Trouble, Butler argues that traditional conceptions of gender are a social construct. She dubs gender as a performance. People perform a specific set of actions that are traditionally associated with the sex they are born as and dub this gender. Butler believes there is no one way to be a man or a woman. There are no universal definitions of the two sexes. Butler also particularly focuses on the issues of women in Gender Trouble. She disagrees with the idea that women can be treated as a monolithic group with all similar characteristics. They are all varied individuals with their own specific gender identities.

Butler's analysis of gender as flexible and undefinable has been key in the development of queer theories on gender and identity. Queer theory expands on traditional conceptions of gender. It explores gender as a fluid and ever-changing concept, not confining it to one singular thing. It challenges the idea that gender can ever be binary.

Queer theory: books

Below are other seminal texts in queer theory.

Epistemology of the Closet (1990) by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick

Sedgwick's book is considered to be one of the first modern queer theory texts. She challenges the idea of binaries in human sexuality. Sedgwick argues that sexuality is inherently more complex than can be easily defined. She also explores the idea of the 'closet' for LGBTQ+ individuals. Being in the closet means that one is currently keeping their sexual or gender identity private. Sedgwick writes that it is both dangerous to live in and outside the closet. For many people, it can be an immense stress and danger to be in the closet, but it can be even more dangerous to come out of the closet. In writing about these issues, Sedgwick was breaking many societal taboos of the early 1990s.

Sedgwick engaged in complex explorations of different types of human sexuality. She argued against easy categorisations of sexuality. Sedgwick makes the point that gay men and gay women may identify with each other on the basis of being part of the LGBTQ+ community, whereas straight men and women identify with each other as they are both heterosexual.

However, Sedgwick complicates this by stating that groups also associate with each other based on the sex they are attracted to. For example, lesbians and straight men may have things in common, as may gay men and straight women. On top of this, Sedgwick maintains that these groups can still be extremely opposed. Her complex analysis and descriptions emphasise the many nuances of human sexuality and how difficult it is to define them in binary terms.

'Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence' (1980) by Adrienne Rich

Adrienne Rich's essay was influential in thinking about non-heterosexual, and specifically lesbian, identities. Rich analyses heterosexuality as inherent to patriarchy and argues that it is used by men as a tool to oppress women. She encourages women to explore their sexuality as something more fluid and be open to the possibilities of lesbianism.

Rich's essay holds up lesbianism as a tool to fight patriarchy and free women from the bonds of oppression. She believes that heterosexuality gives men an additional way to control women. Lesbians do not rely on men in the same way. Rich presents lesbianism as an ultimate kind of feminism.

This essay is also foundational because of Rich's use of the term 'compulsory heterosexuality'. She is thought to have created and popularised the term. Compulsory heterosexuality refers to the idea that heterosexuality is the only natural and normal sexuality. For many years, society has forced heterosexuality on people, regardless of how they truly feel. This is done by presenting heterosexuality as the norm in various societal institutions, like education, media, and family.

Rich argues strongly against the pressure compulsory heterosexuality places on women. She believes that no woman is truly heterosexual, all experience at least some same-sex attraction.

Queer theory timeline

Below is a timeline of the most influential queer theory texts and their importance.

Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (1905) by Sigmund Freud

Freud is a key figure in psychoanalytical and psychological history. His views on human sexuality were very unusual for his time. Homosexuality was still illegal and taboo in the early 1900s. Freud argued that every human was at least somewhat bisexual. He also believed that sex impacted people's lives from birth to death. Many later queer theorists based their ideas on Freud's, either agreeing with or challenging them. Freud began many important conversations on sexuality.

The History of Sexuality (1976) by Michel Foucault

Foucault's book was influential in modern queer theory. While he does not by any means discuss exclusively queer issues, Foucault engages in a wide-ranging analysis of human sexuality. He explores the immense repression of sexuality in Western society that lasted until very recently. Sexuality was considered an inappropriate topic for discussion, particularly homosexuality. This has gradually changed as time progressed.

Foucault writes of the impact power has on sexuality. Despite the recent moves made by the LGBTQ+ community in the 1960s and 1970s, powerful institutions still had much control over them via government and media. It is important to note that Foucault was writing this text in the context of the rapidly developing gay rights movement.

FIg. 3 - An early gay rights march from the 1970s.

From the 1960s onwards, LGBTQ+ people had begun to organise and fight for their rights across the world.

Butler, Sedgwick, Rich, and 1990s queer theory

Building on the work of Freud and Foucault, queer theory as a discipline expanded significantly in the 1990s. Theorists like Butler, Sedgwick, and Rich deconstructed and challenged traditional notions of gender identity and sexuality. Stories of queer experiences became much more frequently told and normalised. Much of the work of 1990s queer theory has gone on to influence how we think about sexuality and identity today. Modern queer theorists explore the fluidity of human sexuality and identity.