Jesse Gutirrez S00789557 Queer Studies ENGL 2850 Jonathan Stowers IAB237V Final Essay - 17 April 14

DE-OTHERING THE QUEER OTHER

In the cannon of Queer Studies is a list of well-regarded theorists who have challenged the societal discourse on human sexuality and gender expression. Among these theorists are Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Alfred Kinsey, and Judith Butler. In this paper we will examine the basic principles and contributions each of these theorists have made and see how Queer Studies is not only a study of an Other but a study of Humanity.

DERRIDA EXPLAINED Jacques Derrida is known for his theory of postmodernism. But this is getting ahead of ourselves; in order to understand postmodernism, we must first understand the problem it works to correct. To begin, we should explain why, as Derrida termed it, language is considered binary, judgmental, and exclusionary. Afterword, we will discuss deconstructionism and what it means to society. The human mind sees things as a series of binary judgments. You must define a word by what it does not mean. In the diagram below, we see a word or idea enclosed in a circle. This is what the wordidea is. Outside of the circle are the nots. Language is binary in that either something is either in or it is not.

Couch Not Chair

Homo Not Hetero

Pansy Not Man

Chair

normal Log Not Normal

Hetero

good Not Good Woman

Man

Table

Its not difficult to imagine that there are a lot more nots than iss. This is what it means to describe words as being defined by what they are not. And it is due to this binary system that language is exclusionary because to define a chair, you must exclude couches, thrones, tables, logs, etc. Language is far more exclusionary than inclusionary. Language is judgmental or subjective in that it changes between the written and spoken word. They create different reactions in our minds. The spoken word adds clarity of meaning (by means of context clues, gestures, and facial expressions); is more immediate; and the speaker is more in tune with his ability to target his/her audience. This surety in targeting and immediacy in receiving makes the language less ambiguous. Now that we have an idea of the problem language creates, we must turn to deconstruction. Deconstruction is the taking apart of the whole to study its smaller parts. This necessary because we must understand the smaller parts in order to truly understand how it impacts the whole. An easy comparison would be chemistry: one must understand the atom to understand the element, to understand the compound. Derrida argues that we must deconstruct the wor[l]d in order to find the traces of other things, major and minor. It is through this deconstruction that we can break down articles to see their underlining traces and to reveal what they are made up of. We need this in order to analyze it, it's opposite, and gain understanding of it's implications within the social construct.

To ensure our understanding, let us examine the third example in the diagram above. As explained, language is structured in binaries and words are defined by what they are not. In order to define man, we must establish what man is not. Man is not woman and a gay is not a true man. Since man is considered "normal" and good, by association, women and gays must be construed as "notnormal" and not good. In short: because these othered people fall under "not-man" they are automatically assigned a non-positive aura. Thus everything outside of the circle becomes construed and defined as not-good by the privileged group who get to define the wor[l]d. Language creates and limits our perception of reality. The truth is, there is more than just the binary realities that language creates. Deconstruction is important because if people understand that language does not define reality, they gain insight that the reality exists beyond the construction of language and social definitions. It is by deconstructioning that we expose the tyranny of injustices created by the privileged. We open the door to discuss the traces weve broken apart and can use these enlightened discussions to change social opinion and views, codified as societal discourse.

FOUCAULT AND HIS IDEAS Michel Foucault was a twentieth century philosopher who had many ideas, of these, the three he is most remembered for are regarding the history of sexuality, the use of the Panopticon as social allegory on modern society, and the idea that there is no self.

The History of Sex According to Foucault, modern day views on sex evolved from the Greek perspective that sex is a bodily function (much like eating and drinking) to becoming appropriated by the Roman Empire and becoming tied into its invention of money and the invention of marriage as a social/business contract to secure familial wealth. To prevent illegitimate children from inheriting funds and to ensure wealth is secured within the family, the enactment of homosexual encounters were highly promoted. On top of

this, Emperor Constantine's conversion to Catholicism made it the official religion of the Roman Empire meaning all citizens needed to convert too. It was during this time that the church made celibacy and chastity requirements for its clergy. Over time, the ideas of celibacy and chastity became linked to marriage: that only married people can have sex and that sex in marriage is solely for procreation. Stricter and tighter pressures on the clergy men were funneled down to tighter pressures on the congregation. Soon any sex became an act or thought that one needed to confess of - and this confession internalized into feelings of shame and guilt. People were taught to be shameful of their bodies and to cover-up exposed skin. In the Victorian era, anything non-missionary style sex became termed as "perverted" and classified as a sin. It is these ideas that have carried forward to what it is today: a conglomeration of love, marriage, guilt, shame, and sex.

The Panopticon The Panopticon was an architectural idea to build prisons as glass cells surrounding a single tower where the guards are kept unseen. The purpose of this being that the prisoners never know when they are being watched, causing them to constantly behave and removing the need for an actual guard. Because the cells are made of glass, the prisoners can watch each other and come to police themselves. According to Foucault, the Panopticon represents society's desire to better itself and create "normalization" for its citizens. Through normalization, people become aware of what is expected, normal, and acceptable and what is abnormal and unacceptable. People become self-policing in order to reform and rehabilitate people to confirm to constructed notions of normalcy. The main purpose of modern society is to observe people so that they may reform them into submissive citizens who conform to its definitions of normalcy. The goal of modern society is to create an organized society of "docile bodies" with a diversion to individuality. We have all felt this, we've all been trained to learn and obey social rules. We know it is appropriate to stand in line and wait your

turn when purchasing show tickets, grabbing lunch, getting a driver's license. The line becomes selfpolicing. We've all been there when someone cuts in. We have all heard the tattling or the fits that people throw when it happens. It is the self-policing of society.

The Self When we search for ourselves, we define, redefine, and refine what it is who we are. With every definition, we create an expectation of what "normal" is. This becomes one of many glass blocks in our personal cell. I can define myself as a supporter of almond milk versus cow milk, but because I have defined and self-identified myself as an almond milk person; every time I don't use almond milk - it goes against normalization. People may police and comment "Jesse, you're using rice milk - what gives?" Furthermore, Foucault explains that one will never be able to see himself in the same manner that others see him. He can only see from within just as I can only see me from within. There is no self for me to know. I cant step out of my body and meet myself. And so, without a self to know does a self even exist? KINSEY U NABASHED Alfred Kinsey was a biologist who dramatically changed the discourse on human sexuality with the first scientific study of human sexuality. These studies were published under the titles of Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female. What made these publications radical was that they challenged the status quo and openly discussed sexuality at a time when sex wasnt a topic of discussion. His research was also groundbreaking because the mass of his information was obtained by asking people what it is that they do instead of assuming what people should be doing according to religious and authoritarian leaders.

Over the course of 18,000 interviews, his studies find that one out of three men have had homosexual experiences. From this Kinsey reveals that homo- and bi-sexuality are natural states in human sexuality. The Kinsey Scale is a chart displaying how humans rank sexually, in terms of homo and heterosexuality. Interviewees are ranked according to a scale of 0-6 with 3 being completely bisexual. To this day, the Kinsey Institute has yet to find a man or woman who is 100% heterosexual or 100% homosexual.

0 100% Hetero

1 Mostly Hetero

2 Hetero Bi

3 Equally Bi

4 Homo Bi

5 Mostly Homo

6 100% Homo

Kinsey also stressed the importance of clarity in definitions. His work initiated a chart that identifies what different aspects of sexuality mean. These definitions provide a greater understanding of the complex and fluid nature of sexuality. With them we are able to see the clear differences between Sex, Gender, Identification, Orientation, Practice, and Attraction.

Term Sex Gender Identification Orientation Practice Aversion & Attraction

Determined By Biology Social Construct Personal Choice Social Construct Personal Choice ?

Example(s) XX, XY, XXY, XYY Female, Male, Transgender, Intersexual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, Asexual, Pansexual, Transman, Transwoman, Straight Heterosexual, Homosexual, Bisexual, Asexual, Polysexual, Pansexual No Sex, Self Pleasure, Oral, Vaginal, Anal, BDSM All of the above. We do not know what determines this.

INTRODUCING JUDITH Judith Butler is a scholar who asks upstream questions in order to determine the cause of symptoms so that she may resolve the social ailment. (The term upstream refers to a metaphor of a polluted river; she contends we must find the source of the pollution if we want to solve the problem for good.) Butler is primarily known for her performance theories, but to best understand it we must setup a foundation of speech acts.

Speech Acts and Performance A speech act is the realization or making real of an object, event, or idea as soon as that object, event, or idea is said. The basic example of this is the proclamation I now pronounce you man and wife. As soon as this is said, the man and wife become reality. Butler builds on this by seeing what other ways reality is created through everyday linguistic constructs and speech. She concludes that by unceasingly referring and deferring to social ideologies and constructions, we incorporate them and enact them within our own bodies. Thus making a normal social construct appear real and natural. In short, we are performing conventions and making them an artificial reality.

Gender and Performance It is our constant repetition of mundane actions and adherence to heteronormative hegemony that keeps it in power. When we walk, talk, dress, and behave as a certain social construct, we give in and promote that construct as reality. In our society, we are often told that sex causes gender (male masculinity; female femininity). However, seen through the notions of speech acts and performance, we are only acting masculine or feminine. In nature, gender is fluid. Males and females are both masculine and feminine.

Butler takes this to explain that we can fight back to correct the issue by simply being. The norms are just artificial rules and do not have a claim to privilege. We can change these artificial rules by (1) understanding the difference between gender and sex; and by (2) challenging them via unconventional or alternative performance acts. It is the repetition of these different acts that break down the hegemonic understanding that to be male is to be masculine and to be female is to be feminine. Her main argument is to reverse the occidental maxim Know Thyself and take on the new aphorism Just Be. It is by just being that we can break down the social construct and accept each other for who they rather than what they are.

This paper has provided a brief overview of studies in Queer Theory, but there is much more to examine. Here, I quote the wisdom of Socrates who advises: The unexamined life is not worth living. With this, we are reminded to learn and gain a deeper understanding of each other and our lives. And with this invite you to examine and read further into these great theorists and others who help to explain and break down the artificial constructs of society. It is by doing so that we see the humanity of others and come to accept everyone as being human.