Overview Queer Theory continued Judith Butler Judith Halberstam Sara Crawley

Judith Butler Questioning the uses of identity and subjectivity for women and lesbians Claiming an identity is “regulatory” Whether it is a normative category (man/woman) or a rallying point for liberation (gay/lesbian) Identity can “recolonize” us She doesn’t totally reject labels, but argues that they must be “sites of necessary trouble”

Judith Butler Identity as “sites of necessary trouble” Parody, imitation, drag Don’t copy normative roles but exposes that is it all imitation Gender, sex, and sexuality are “performances”, “compulsory performances” We think of gender, sex, and sexuality as expressing something inherent Yet these identities are the effects of our actions, not prior to our actions

Judith Butler There is a need to render lesbians visible, but how do we do this without further regulation How will the term be used? “If I claim to be a lesbian, I ‘come out’ only to produce a new and different closet” Gays and lesbians don’t imitate heterosexuality, but they show that it is constructed

Judith Halberstam- Female Masculinities Constructing female masculinity To show alternative masculinities Masculinity is not solely related to or embedded in the male body Masculinity studies have focused on men Need to break the idea that masculinity is wed to maleness, power, and domination We need to untangle masculinity from the oppression of women We only “see” masculinity when it leaves the white, male, hetero body

Female Masculinities Alternative masculinities Intervene in the process of creating normative categories To “queer” and challenge gender conformity- create the idea of “gender preference” Still no acceptance or even recognition of masculine women- only “tomboys” Female masculinity is most threatening when it is coupled with lesbian desire Need to pay attention to homophobia Need to produce feminist, antiracist, and queer masculinities

Female Masculinities Terms Transgender- gender variance that retains the birth body Transsexual- gender variance that necessitates sex reassignment Has been used as a show of gender transgression and gender conservatism Identity- a process with multiple sites for becoming and being