Brooke Meron Queer Theory

A philosopher enthusiast named Judith Butler created what is known as Queer Theory. Queer Theory is based on that the ideas of ones gender falls under what is called a social construct which is the perception society has on an individual or group. Her invention of Queer Theory began after she looked into the minds and theories of three people: a linguist named Jacques Derrida, a sexologist named Alfred Kinsey, and last a philosopher named Michel Foucault. Our society has a metanarrative that creates a hegemonic state where gender defines all without question. Derrida, Kinsey, Foucault and most importantly Butlers theories can and does change gender. Butler began to agree, expand and broaden their theories, and then adding her enlightening ideas, and thus the invention of Queer Theory happens. Jacques Derrida was a linguist. He came up with the theory of post-modernism and it questioned the hegemony of his time. Hegemony being a belief that society takes on without question. Derrida theory of post-modernism means that all language is binary, judgmental, and exclusionary and by definition must be. Derrida came up with the process to change this problem of language, thus creating a solution. First, language is binary, judgmental, and exclusionary. Derridas explanation of binary language is the example of the word chair. Society first thinks of what is not a chair, i.e. a stool, a bench, or a rock. In order to picture a chair one must know what is not a chair. Society does this binary judgment with all things, and persons. Derrida calls this process

the societal discourse. Societal discourse is the way society talks to each other. Society decides what is on the inside and outside of normal versus not normal, man versus not man, or in Derridas explanation chair versus not chair. Anything or anyone that society decides is not a man is on the outside and loses privilege, gets judged, and is apart of the binary language. Derridas solution to post-modernism is called deconstruction. He questions the underlying truth of words, and language, and if one questions its truth, tears it apart, one can see its binary, judgmental, and exclusionary meaning behind it. Then, after you deconstruct language is when the societal discourse can change in our society. Great examples of deconstruction in todays society are artists, singers, songwriters, and activists. They can set boundaries and expand the minds of society and change their views of what is a man or not man, or normal versus not normal and there are no longer those binary, judgmental boundaries among society. When Butler starts looks into Derridas theory of post-modernism she agrees with the fact that language is binary, judgmental, and exclusionary, but her big move is this: language is not only that, but harmful and dangerous. For example, the word and meaning behind stud and slut. Males are titled with the word stud saying they are macho, manly, a wanted positive thing. Women are titled with the word slut, meaning promiscuity, and have a negative harmful emotion behind the word. One can see behind stud and slut that those are not just binary and judgmental but also are hurtful. Butler looks into deconstruction, she states that deconstructing is not enough. Her idea is that one has to go farther. One needs to up-stream the issues. The problem is like

dirty water in a stream, and going farther up-stream away and into clearer waters, one can find the root of the problem by asking why did this binary judgment get this way and how do I change it? Next, is a man by the name of Alfred Kinsey. He was a biologist turned sexologist. He was the first American man to study and document human sexuality. After seeing an idea spark from his love of studying the evolution of gall wasps he realized something with reproducing and sexual desires among people. Couples have a delayed sense of sexual experience; they were afraid of opening up to their partners. With this realization, Kinsey conducted hundreds of sexual history surveys. He raised a lot of controversy but also opened many doors of ideas that sexual desires are not binary. He concluded that all people are bisexual, their sexuality is a fluid feeling and it changes throughout their lifetime. He created what is called the Kinsey Scale. It ranges from 0-6, 0 being completely heterosexual and 6 being completely homosexual. Kinsey found through his personal experiences, co-workers, and surveyed men and women of all genders, that not one soul could be found to be completely a 0 or a 6. Basically creating the acknowledgement that each person has some sort of homosexual desire, fantasies, or acts. He wrote two novels called Sexual Behavior in the Human male, and Sexual behavior in the Human Female. His work created uproar of opening the minds of people, influenced and proved that people of all genders have a bisexual, fluid sexuality. Butler completely agrees with Alfred Kinsey, and the fact that there is actual evidence about all humans having homosexual ideas whether straight or gay adds

evidence to their theories that everyone is bisexual. All of this just adds that much more fuel to her fire about Queer Theory. Last, is a man named Michel Foucault. He was an openly gay philosopher who had three separate ideas. His three ideas are the history of sexuality, self-policing with the idea behind Panopticon, and last the idea of no self. Foucault wrote three books all explaining the history of sexuality. Basically stating that sex was first a bodily function, like the necessity of eating and drinking. Then came the invention of marriage for acquiring power and money. Sex turned into something that involved money, marriage, quilt, love, sin, procreation, and it has taken 2,000 years to turn into this complicated package that we are stuck with. Foucault states that the history of sexuality is now a social construct and has become hegemonic. A view that society takes on without questioning what is behind it. That human sexuality is a complicated mess. Foucault uses the allegory of the Panopticon to explain society self-polices, and are docile citizens. His idea where society self-polices is the imagery that people live in little glass boxes acting to societies rules and creating docile citizens. Panopticon is the allegory for a circular jail. There is another circular tower inside. The guard stands in the middle tower watching all the inmates through a one-way mirror. The prisoners never know if the guard is actually there or not. Just the idea that someone may or may not be watching through that one-way mirror, entices the person to act in a normal behavior, eventually graduating to self-

policing. People live in their own glass boxes and self-police so that each person acts to societies normal behavior becoming docile. His last idea is the idea of no self. Foucault says that Platos know thy self is wrong. Foucault explains that not one single person can know himself or herself. You cannot and should not be determined by one self, because any one person is a combination of numerous identities, characters, personalities that they should be able to express. The ideas behind Foucault really get Butler going, especially on the no-self theory. Butler says there is no self to know, you are a fluid person. Butler refuses to use labels on her and others. Butler expanded on the theories of Derrida, Kinsey and Foucault but adds two big ideas of her own. The reality that gender is a social construct because language is performative. Through all these ideas she creates Queer Theory and her ultimate statement to just be Gender being a social construct is seen through acts in life. Butler explains that language is performative because society does everything in their power to fit into a label. A great example is, I now pronounce you man and wife. People buy into the social norms. That couple that just got married is acting to a social norm that has been going on for many years before them. It is a hegemonic way of life. Butlers way of looking at this social construct and veering away from it is her thought that each being should be a fluid, moving being, that can shift and morph into their own contexts pertaining to each situation. This is where the invention of Queer Theory happens and

her biggest statement comes out to just be. Butler believes there should be no labels to one human being. You are a constant moving human that can be fluid and change through out life. If one takes the just be walk of life the gendering, binary judgment, self-policing and every part of Queer Theory can just be. The societal discourse then changes and society can move forward. All of the theories of Derrida, Foucault, Kinsey and Butler would create a society that doesnt exist at this moment. Derrida is talking about changing at the root; the way language is looked at as a whole. Deconstructing language, binary judgments and having it change the society discourse. Then, the hegemony of our society would be more open. Kinsey makes society realize attraction is open and welcomes all, and our society is prude. Removing Foucaults self-policing and we would no longer have docile citizens. Society would realize a person is more than one judgmental stamp of approval. Butler expands the ideas off of these linguists, philosophers and sexologists, and takes ideas and questions all things. She takes things up stream and asks, why? Ones identity and gender is not a fixed notion nor does it determine who we are. With all that creating Queer Theory with her solution of just two words just be.