Katie Melendes, Taylor Gigl, Regina Aiuppa

COM 317 Queer Theory Presentation

22 April 2016
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Queer Theory: Not a Criticism of Gays and Lesbians

What does the word queer mean to you?
The presenters will ask this as a rhetorical question.
We will allow the class to think about this question for a few seconds.
The presenters will then answer the rhetorical question.
Queer
Originally pejorative for gay, now being reclaimed by some gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and
transgendered persons as a self-affirming umbrella term. Caution: still extremely offensive when
used as an epithet (Dijjn, 2003).
Umbrella term sometimes used by LGBTQA people to refer to the entire LGBT community.
Alternative that some people use to queer the idea of the labels and categories such as lesbian,
gay, bisexual, etc.
Similar to the concept of genderqueer.
It is important to note that the word queer is an in-group term and a word that can be considered
offensive to some people, depending on the generation, geographic location and relationship with
the word (University of Michigan, 2016).
What is Queer Theory?
Queer rhetoric is self-conscious and critical engagement with normative discourses of sexuality
in the public sphere that exposes their naturalization and torques them to create different or
counter-discourses, giving voice and agency to multiple and complex sexual experiences.
Basically, it calls out and challenges subconscious societal norms regarding sexual orientation
and gender identity.
It was created to give power to the LGBT community (enculturation.net, 2016).
Key Scholars
Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick (1950-2009)
She was a poet, artist, literary critic and teacher.
She was one of the originators of Queer Theory.
In 1987, she instrumented a women/gender studies department at Amherst College.
She published works on feminism, gender, and sexuality.
In 1990, she wrote Epistemology of the Closet (evekosofskysedgwick.net, 2016).
Judith Butler (1950)
She is a very influential gender theorist.
She has shaped how political philosophy, ethics and the fields of feminist, queer and literary
theory are taught on college campuses.
She gained experience teaching at Yale. Since 1993, she has taught at the University of
California, Berkeley, where she is now Maxine Elliot Professor in the Department of
Comparative Literature and the Program of Critical Theory.
Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity and Bodies That Matter: On the
Discursive Limits of Sex were written in the early 90s.

5. They are about both gender norms and sexual orientation and how they are more of a spectrum
and not reflected properly in then-todays media.
6. These works challenge the conventional notions of gender.
7. These works are now the foundation of teaching Queer Theoryif you take a class on womens
or queer studies, it is almost a guarantee that you will have one of her works as a required text
(Duignan, 2016).
C. Adrienne Rich (1929-2012)
1. She is an American poet and essayist who is best known for her political radicalism and
explorations in Feminism and Lesbianism.
2. Many of her published works surround the ideas of Heteronormativity.
3. In 1967, she published her controversial, influential collection of essays Of Woman Born:
Motherhood as Institution and Experience.
a) This was also the year she moved in with her lifelong partner.
4. In 1980 she wrote Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence.
a) It is a review of books of inclusion or acknowledgment of lesbianism.
5. She argues that this lack of acknowledgement forces women into compulsory heterosexuality
through epistemic violence by men (Poetryfoundation.org, 2016).
III.
The History of Queer Theory
A. 1895: The Trials of Oscar Wilde
1. Oscar Wilde is a famous playwright, poet, novelist, etc.
2. He was the original poster boy for a gay man. He was the man in England who parents warned
their kids to stay away from.
3. He was every stereotype.
B. 1905: SIgmund Freuds Three Essays of the Theory of Sexuality.
1. He claimed that everyone was a bit bisexual and sex is something that everyone thinks about
including toddlers.
C. 1950: The Mattachine Society Formed
1. This groups was dedicated to the protection and improvement of the gay community.
D. 1955: Allen Ginsbergs Howl
1. The poem shares the idea that the typical American family does not exist.
2. This brought the idea of heteronormativity into main-stream media.
3. It started a trend of poems similar to it.
E. 1969: The Stonewall Riots
1. Police tried for weeks to shut down a gay bar.The people in the bar never left. After months, the
police stopped coming. It allowed gay people to be themselves and form a community.
2. It led to LGBT newspapers, parades, etc. 1973: The American Psychiatric
F. 1973: 1973: The American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its list of
mental disorders.
G. 1976: Michel Foucaults The History of Sexuality
1. He basically said that straight people need to stop telling gay people about how gay people live
and let them start conducting their own studies. A very prominent in group/out group.
2. He is considered a very revolutionary author.
H. 1980s: The AIDS Epidemic
1. The gay community developed a horrible stigma. Thousands of gay people died, and very little
was done.

I. 1990: Queer Nation/ ACT UP

1. ACT UP was basically Pride 24/7 to bring attention to the gay community to help with the AIDS
epidemic.
a) Took back the term queerthe in group started using it.
J. 1990: Judith Butlers Gender Trouble
1. Her book challenged gender norms for the first time.
2. She played off of Michel Foucaults claims in his work.
3. She is one of the first people to critique the terms gender and sex. She was the first to
acknowledge that there is a distinction (Shmoop.com, 2016).
K. 1990: Eve Sedgwick's Epistemology of the Closet
1. Sedgwick reveals queerness to be a theory that is able to challenge all ways of thinking, and help
us change the way we analyze the world around us.
2. This is one of the first times that queer and theory are put together (Wikipedia the Free
Encyclopedia, 2015).
IV. Four Elements of Queer Theory
A. A rhetorical critic uses Queer Theory to analyze and artifact. He or she will evaluate these four
criteria.
1. Challenge of essentialism: how identities are represented in the artifact.
a) This is talking about both gender identities and sexual orientation.
(1) Example: This is having a flamboyant character in a TV show.
2. Privacy: challenges idea that sexuality is a private matter that should stay in the bedroom.
a) Example: A show that shows an on-screen kiss between same-sex partners.
3. Heteronormativity: examines the social construct that heterosexuality is superior to
homoselxulatiy due to everyday hetero practices.
a) Example: This is any time that in an artifact anyone who is not hetersexual is oppressed due to
sexual orientation.
4. Assimilation: argument that homosexuals are not interested in engaging in an unchanged
mainstream culture.
a) Example: When analyzing the artifact, we would focus on if gays want to continue to be separate
from heterosexuals (Faculty.etsu.edu, 2016).
V. LGBTQA Terms: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, and Asexual/Ally
A. Queer
1. Thirteen words are listed on the powerpoint. We will only define the ones that people have
questions about (University of Michigan, 2016).
VI. Queer Theory and Rhetorical Criticism
A. Rhetorical criticism using Queer Theory is a method that though controversial, to some seeks to
change our social structure, our way of looking at life, our way of communicating with one
another in a manner where all sexual identities are embraced and celebrated.
1. Some scholars consider it to be controversial, but it really isnt.
2. Some use it to challenge social structures.
3. If it is used, it is always used in a way to celebrate differences and embrace equality
(Faculty.etsu.edu, 2016).
VII.
Applying the Theory
A. WillWill and Grace, JackWill and Grace, Gay Spelling BeeWill and Grace
1. The clips will be analyzed in class to see if everyone understand how to apply the theory.

References
University of Michigan (2016). Lgbt terms and definitions. Retrieved from
https://internationalspectrum.umich.edu/life/definitions
Shmoop.com (2016). How it all went down. Retrieved from
http://www.shmoop.com/queer-theory/timeline.html
Enculturation.net (2016). Queer rhetoric introduction. Retrieved from
http://enculturation.net/files/QueerRhetoric/queerarchive/intro.html
Faculty.etsu.edu (2016). Queer theory: Not a criticism of gays and lesbians. Retrieved from
http://faculty.etsu.edu/buerkle/Courses/RhetCrit/Students/SampleCrits/Hatch/QueerTheor
yWebPage.htm
Poetryfoundation.org (2016). Adrienne rich biography. Retrieved from
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/adrienne-rich
evekosofskysedgwick.net (2016). Eve kosofsky sedgwick biography. Retrieved from
http://evekosofskysedgwick.net/biography/biography.html
Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. (August 31, 2015). Epistemology of the closet. Retrieved
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemology_of_the_Closet
Dijjn (June 4, 2003). Queer definition. Retrieved from
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=queer
Duignan, B. (2016). Judith butler. Retrieved from
https://docs.google.com/document/d/15H4cD1u7CnNOHRttAVFwFNdhVvz48tpH669m27vqsM/edit