Queer Theory

Queer theory’s origins are in LGBT studies – which focus on sexuality and gender. Queer theory emphasises the fluid and humanly performed nature of sexuality – or better, sexualities. It questions socially established norms and dualistic categories with a special focus on challenging sexual (heterosexual/homosexual), gender (male/female), class (rich/poor), racial (white/non-white) classifications. It goes beyond these so-called ‘binaries’ to contest general political (private/public) as well as international binary orders (democratic/ authoritarian).

As the word ‘queer’ was used to describe homosexuals in the nineteenth century, queer theory traces its lineage from the study of sexuality in its private and public forms. A commonplace meaning attributed to the term revolves around being non-conforming in terms of sexuality and gender, thus adding an ambiguous notion to being or acting queer. (International relations theory)

Queer Theory evolved from Poststructuralism with the guidance of several theorists, including but not limited to Judith Butler with Gender Trouble, Michel Foucault with The History of Sexuality, and Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick with Epistemology of the Closet. ("Taylor 2013")

In the context of subcultures, Queer Theory attempts to stop policing and conformity within a scene. It fights against ideas of what it means to be “authentic” and allows for a larger acceptance of participants. It creates spaces for subculturists who have been typically marginalized within a scene. For example, the resistance politics of Queer Theory is partly responsible for the creation of the Riot Grrrl scene which “was an important site of subcultural production and consumption for many queer women who sought a refuge from a homophobic punk scene and a conformist gay culture” („Taylor 2013“)

 Sources:

McGlinchey, S. (2017). International relations theory. (R. Walters & C. Scheinpflug, Eds.). Bristol: E-International Relations Publishing. 

Taylor, J. (2013). (PDF) claiming queer territory in the study of subcultures and popular music. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261540728_Claiming_Queer_Territory_in_the_Study_of_Subcultures_and_Popular_Music 

Jana Boudníková