queer theory reader

a selection of text from a selection of texts, found by steve greer

[queertheory]

Contemporary British Queer Performance

Contemporary British Queer Performance

Contemporary British Queer Performance (2012) is a theatre history that theorises queer performance in the UK. Tracing a genealogy of politics and practice from early lesbian and gay theatre in the 1970s, it explores how not-quite-historical debates concerning visibility, authenticity and representation have been transformed by the advent of queer theory and queer activism. More than anything…

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[queertheory]

The Economies of Adrian Howells A contribution to It's All Allowed:The Performances of Adrian Howells, edited by Dee Heddon and Dominic Johnson.

[queertheory]

For the last two years, the online magazine Spiked has published a report on the state of ‘free speech’ on university campuses, and ranking institutions according to whether they ban, actively censor or chill free speech on campus. ‘Green’ rankings are given to institutions which take a ‘hands-off approach’ to free speech, while ‘amber’ and ‘red’ is awarded to universities and student unions…

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[queertheory]

My comment feature over at The Conversation arguing how the Edinburgh Fringe defines rather than defies the norm.

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[queertheory]

Ireland passes law allowing trans people to choose their legal gender

Gender recognition bill will eliminate need for medical or state intervention and comes months after the country voted for same-sex marriage

“The majority of countries in Europe require transgender people to undergo surgery and sterilisation, or be diagnosed with a mental disorder and get divorced if they are married, in order to have their desired gender legally recognised.“  Denmark, Malta and now Ireland are the exceptions.

[queertheory]

James Norman in The Guardian suggests that gay hook-up apps are to blame for the decline of queer bars and the “edgier aspects” of gay culture. One of the major reasons that apps are popular is precisely that they are not tied exclusively to the bar scene – which if you are poor, rural, disabled and/or don’t like bars has never been particularly accessible. It’s also a mistake to blame apps for…

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[queertheory]

The fearful respect of marriage

The fearful respect of marriage

Widely celebrated as moving, beautiful and even romantic, Justice Anthony Kennedy’s majority opinion – granting a constitutional right to same-sex marriage across the United States – suggests that one of the core benefits of marriage is freedom from loneliness. Gay men and women do not ‘disrespect the idea of marriage’, Kennedy writes, but ‘respect it so deeply that they seek to find its…

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[iwdrm]

[queertheory]

"I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain. … Time to die."

Blade Runner (1982)

[queertheory]

Whoops. Finally updating my website and unintentionally sending out updates here as well. Ignore me and/or BUY THE BOOK.

[queertheory]

Contemporary British Queer Performance

Contemporary British Queer Performance

Contemporary British Queer Performance(2012) is a theatre history that theorises queer performance in the UK.  Tracing a genealogy of politics and practice from early lesbian and gay theatre in the 1970s, it explores how not-quite-historical debates concerning visibility, authenticity and representation have been transformed by the advent of queer theory and queer activism. More than anything…

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[queertheory]

A central paradox of any transformative criticism is that its dreams for the future are founded on a history of suffering, stigma and violence. [...] For groups constituted by historical injury, the challenge is to engage with the past without being destroyed by it.

Heather Love, Feeling Backward (2007).

[queertheory]

Scotland: Rights groups call for recognition of legal third gender

Also see the response from the Equality Network in the comments below the story:

Unfortunately this news piece contains a serious misunderstanding, mixing up non-binary issues of gender identity with the separate intersex issues of physical sex. That is not the intention of our campaign at all, and the piece unintentionally gives a misleading impression of the campaign.

[queertheory]

Intersex for allies

Australian fact sheet and guide to being a good ally:

Consider what you do to support intersex inclusion in health and human rights initiatives.

Change your language and frame of reference. Intersex status is distinct from both sexual orientation and gender identity.

Put intersex people and intersex-led organisations front and centre when talking about intersex.

Many medical studies of people with intersex variations explicitly identify gender identity issues and non-heterosexual behaviours as reasons for medical treatment. Non-consensual surgery is an LGBTI issue as it shows what can happen when non-heteronormative people are established to be “born this way”. Ally with our call to end normalising interventions on intersex children.

[queertheory]

Advice on how to make sure your kids turn out gay, not to mention your students, your parishioners, your therapy clients, or your military subordinates, is less ubiquitous than you might think. By contrast, the scope of institutions whose programmatic undertaking is to prevent the development of gay people is unimaginably large.

Eve Sedgwick, Epistemology of the Closet, London and California: University of California Press, 2008: 42.

[queertheory]

The only Conservative policy seen by more of the British public as “good for Britain” than “bad for Britain” is the introduction of gay marriage.

[queertheory]

Jeffrey Tambor: ‘I have never been so scared in my life’

Interview with Jeffrey Tambor on his role as Maura in the Amazon Prime series, Transparent.

[queertheory]

'Sex education should be made compulsory in schools'

Simon Blake, the head of Brook, Britain's largest sexual health charity for young people, tells Kathryn Bromwich that what is taught now is too little, too late and too biological

Interview closes with strong emphasis on consent (though not sure 'choosing to do something' is the same thing as it feeling 'safe').

Brook's website has a great section on pleasure, a frequently taboo subject in mainstream sex education because of the misplaced fear of 'promoting' under-age sex.

You have a right to enjoy your sexuality without harm. Having sex is (or should be!) fun and it’s perfectly fine to want to have sex just for pleasure. [...] It's always worth asking: Are you enjoying the sex you are having?