From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Queer studies,
sexual diversity studies, or
LGBT studies is the study of topics relating to
sexual orientation and
gender identity usually focusing on
lesbian,
gay,
bisexual,
transgender,
gender dysphoric,
asexual,
queer,
questioning, and
intersex people and
cultures.
Originally centered on LGBT history and literary theory, the field has expanded to include the academic study of issues raised in archaeology, sociology, psychiatry, anthropology, the history of science, philosophy, psychology, sexology, political science, ethics, and other fields by an examination of the identity, lives, history, and perception of being queer.
Queer studies is not the same as queer theory, which is an analytical viewpoint within queer studies (centered on literary studies and philosophy) that challenges the existence of "socially constructed" categories of sexual identity.
Background
Queer
is the implicit identity of gender and sex, and how it is incorporated
in individuals lives. It can be used as an adjective, verb and a noun.
Queer has been used intersectionality in academia, becoming a mode of
analysis.
This is since the reclaimed-slur encompasses inclusivity into the 21st
century. Some find using the term queer studies more defining than
LGBTQ+ Studies, as it provides more universal experiences.
Many topics within queer studies focus on the open possibilities
beyond heteronormativity; detailing texts, cultural artifacts produced
by queer individuals, as well as expanding beyond into how queer
interacts with daily life.
Though a new discipline, a growing number of colleges have begun
offering academic programs on the expansive topics of queer. This has
been a trend in higher education since the early 90's.
Queer as a reclaimed slur
Queer
has become the topic of controversy over the reclaiming of the word
used against LGBTQ+ individuals for the last century. There is a debate
on the use of LGBTQ+ studies or queer studies. LGBTQ+ provides
categorical depiction in the subjects, Whereas queer has a history of
being a common descriptor for someone who was any emotion from happy to
drunk in the 19th century, then a slur against same sex individuals in
the 20th century. Queer did not have an implicit sexual definition until
the early 20th century
and reclamation of the slur started during Late 80's and 90's. This
was a response to the over all LGBTQ+ movement, with influence of the
AIDs crisis during this time. Some say queer offers an expansion of
definition without categorical labels, while some do still not accept
queer in the LGBTQ+ community due to its harmful history.
History
During the 1920s, same-sex subcultures were beginning to become more established in several larger US cities.
Studies centering around queer life and culture originated in the 1970s
with the publication of several "seminal works of gay history. Inspired
by ethnic studies, women's studies, and similar identity-based academic fields influenced by the critical theory of the Frankfurt School,
the initial emphasis was on "uncovering the suppressed history of gay
and lesbian life;" it also made its way into literature departments,
where the emphasis was on literary theory. Queer theory soon developed, challenging the "socially constructed" categories of sexual identity.
The first undergraduate course in the United States on LGBTQ studies was taught at the University of California, Berkeley in the spring of 1970. It was followed by similar courses in the fall of 1970 at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL).
According to Harvard University, the City University of New York began the first university program in gay and lesbian studies in 1986. The City College of San Francisco claims to be the "First Queer Studies Department in the U.S.",
with English instructor Dan Allen developing one of the first gay
literature courses in the country in Fall 1972, and the college
establishing what it calls "the first Gay and Lesbian Studies Department
in the United States" in 1989. Then-department chair Jonathan David Katz
was the first tenured faculty in queer studies in the country. Hobart
and William Smith Colleges in upstate New York were among the first to
offer a full-fledged major in LGBTQ Studies in the late 1990s and
currently has one of the few tenure lines specifically in a stand-alone LGBT Studies program as a period when many are being absorbed into Women and Gender Studies programs.
Historians John Boswell and Martin Duberman made Yale University a notable center of lesbian and gay studies in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Each historian published several books on gay history; Boswell held
three biennial conferences on the subject at the university, and
Duberman sought to establish a center for lesbian and gay studies there
in 1985. However, Boswell died in 1994, and in 1991 Duberman left for the City University of New York, where he founded its Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies.
A 1993 alumnus gift evolved into the faculty committee-administered
Fund for Lesbian and Gay Studies, which developed a listing of courses
relevant to lesbian and gay studies called the "Pink Book" and
established a small lending library named for Boswell. The committee
began to oversee a series of one-year visiting professorships in 1994.
Anti-Gay Curriculum Laws
Anita
Bryant, a popular face in the media and widely known by the public, was
at the forefront of the “Save Our Children” movement in 1977, born in
response to an Oklahoma ordinance criminalizing discrimination due to
sexual preference. This campaign aimed to discourage the hiring of
homosexual schoolteachers, Bryant claiming that they would molest the
children and wrongfully serve as an example that any marriage outside of
a one between a man and a woman is respectable. The movement and its
publicity gained Bryant much public support and eventually resulted in
the overturning of the gay rights ordinance just half a year after it
was implemented.
Bryant’s campaign caught the attention of California state
senator John Briggs, who eagerly expressed his interest in expanding the
Save Our Children campaign to his state, which initially took the form
of Proposition 6 or the Briggs Initiative. This initiative allowed for
employment discrimination against those who engaged in homosexual
activity in public, or publicly encouraged or promoted homosexual
activity towards co-workers and their students. Unlike Bryant’s movement
which focused solely on gay teachers, Briggs’ campaign could be applied
to homosexual and heterosexual people alike, since his initiative
discriminated against the discussion of homosexual behavior, which could
be done by anyone. Briggs’ initiative was ultimately denied in 1978.
Yale–Kramer controversy
In 1997, writer and AIDS activist Larry Kramer
offered his alma mater Yale $4 million (and his personal papers) to
endow a permanent, tenured professorship in gay studies, and possibly
build a gay and lesbian student center. His requirements were specific,
as Yale was to use the money solely for "1) the study of and/or
instruction in gay male literature..." including a tenured position,
"and/or 2) the establishment of a gay student center at Yale..."
With gender, ethnic and race-related studies still relatively new, then-Yale provost Alison Richard
said that gay and lesbian studies was too narrow a specialty for a
program in perpetuity, indicating a wish to compromise on some of the
conditions Kramer had asserted.
Negotiations broke down as Kramer, frustrated by what he perceived to
be "homophobic" resistance, condemned the university in a front-page
story in The New York Times.
According to Kramer, he subsequently received letters from more than
100 institutions of higher learning "begging me to consider them".
In 2001, Yale accepted a $1 million grant from his older brother, money manager Arthur Kramer, to establish the Larry Kramer Initiative for Lesbian and Gay Studies.
The five-year program aimed to bring in visiting faculty, host
conferences and lectures, and coordinate academic endeavors in lesbian
and gay studies. Jonathan David Katz
assumed the role of executive coordinator in 2002; in 2003 he commented
that while women's studies or African American studies have been
embraced by American universities, lesbian and gay studies have not. He blamed institutionalized fear of alienating alumni of private universities, or legislators who fund public ones. The five-year program ended in 2006.
In June 2009, Harvard University announced that it will establish an endowed chair in LGBT studies. Believing the post to be "the first professorship of its kind in the country," Harvard President Drew G. Faust called it "an important milestone". Funded by a $1.5 million gift from the members and supporters of the Harvard Gay & Lesbian Caucus, the F. O. Matthiessen
Visiting Professorship of Gender and Sexuality is named for a mid-20th
century gay Harvard American studies scholar and literary critic who
chaired the undergraduate program in history and literature. Harvard
Board of Overseers member Mitchell L. Adams said, "This is an
extraordinary moment in Harvard's history and in the history of this
rapidly emerging field ... And because of Harvard's leadership in
academia and the world, this gift will foster continued progress toward a
more inclusive society."
Academic field of queer studies
The
concept of perverse presentism is often taught in queer studies classes
at universities. This is the understanding that queer history cannot
and should not be analyzed through contemporary perspectives. Ways to find out how people historically identified can include studying queer community archives.
While queer studies initially emerged in the North American and,
to a lesser extent, European academy and mostly relates to Western
contexts, it recently has also developed in other parts of the world.
For instance, since the 2000s there has been an emergent field of Queer
African Studies, with leading scholars such as Stella Nyanzi (Uganda),
Keguro Macharia (Kenya), Zethu Matebeni
(South Africa), S.N. Nyeck (Cameroon), Kwame E. Otu (Ghana), and Gibson
Ncube (Zimbabwe) contributing to the development of this field. Their
work critiques the eurocentric orientation of Western queer studies, and
examines the longstanding traditions of sexual and gender diversity,
ambiguity and fluidity in African cultures and societies.
Queer studies at non-U.S. universities
Brazil
At Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
(UFMG) in Brazil there are many initiatives on Queers Studies. UFMG
offers a multidisciplinary program on Gender and Sexuality for undergrad
students: "Formação Transversal em Gênero e Sexualidade: Perspective
Queer/LGBTI" (https://www.ufmg.br/prograd/). In its Faculty of Law, ranked amongst the best in the country, Marcelo Maciel Ramos established in 2014 Diverso UFMG - Legal Division of Gender and Sexual Diversity (www.diversoufmg.com)
and a study group on Gender, Sexuality and Law, which is now led also
by Pedro Nicoli. Diverso UFMG organizes since 2016 the Congress of
Gender and Sexual Diversity (Congresso de Diversidade Sexual e de
Gênero: www.congressodiverso.com)
that has become one of the biggest and most important academic events
on Women and LGBT studies in Brazil. At the Faculty of Philosophy and
Social Sciences, Marco Aurélio Máximo Prado has been running since 2007
Nuh UFMG (Human Rights and LGBT Citizenship Division), a successful
initiative on LGBT studies.
China
Fudan University,
located in Shanghai, China, opened the country's first course on
homosexuality and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) prevention
in 2003 entitled "Homosexual Health Social Sciences". In an article
focusing on this college course, Gao and Gu utilize feedback from
participants, detailed interviews with professors, and a review of
course documents to discuss China's first course with homosexuality at
its core. Their article analyzes the tactics used to create such a
course and the strategies used to protect the course from adverse
reactions in the press. The authors especially take note of the effects
of the course on its attendees and the wider gay community in China. The
authors note that "Homosexual Health Social Sciences" was described as a
"breakthrough" by South China Morning Post and Friends' Correspondence,
a periodical for gay health intervention. Surveys were given to
attendees of the class and many responded that the class helped them
understand the homosexual perspective better. One student stated that
"Even if we cannot fully understand these people, we need to respect
them. That is the basis for real communication." Many of the course
attendees admitted that the course changed their lives. One Chinese
police officer had been hiding his sexuality his entire life stated "The
course really enhanced my quality of life…" Another man who had been
prescribed treatment for his homosexuality for 30 years heard talk of
the course in a newspaper and expressed "This precious news has relieved
my heart."
"Homosexual Health Social Sciences" was developed to be
interdisciplinary to cover the social sciences, humanities, and public
health. Interdependence on different academic focuses was achieved in
the curriculum by covering "Theories of homosexuality and Chinese
reality", "homosexual sub-culture" and "Men seeking men (MSM)
intervention in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention," in
addition to reading literature with gay characters and themes and taking
field trips to a gay bar. The article goes on to describe the
attendance of this course and its significance by clarifying that the
official registration in the class was low, with only one student in
2003 and two in 2004. Officially registered students were not the only
people attending the classes though because the course was open to the
general public. The average attendance in 2003 was 89.9 and rose to 114
in 2004.
Gao and Gu also reveal the precautions taken by the creators of
the course to shelter the new class from harsh criticism. The authors
depict the creators' fear of attracting too much negative attention from
the Chinese media could adversely affect the course and its
continuation. Most coverage on this course at Fudan University was
delivered in English at the beginning. This phenomenon was explained by
one journalist from China Radio International—Homosexuality is very
sensitive issue in Chinese culture so by discussing it in English, it is
distanced from the conservative Chinese culture. Fudan University led
Chinese academia to develop more comprehensive curriculum that will
educate future health care professionals on the needs of more Chinese
citizens.
South Africa
On
the African continent, South Africa has been setting the trend of
developing queer studies. This is partly due to the country's
constitutional framework, which explicitly protects against
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. One of the leading
South African queer studies scholars Zethu Matebeni,
who is an activist, writer, documentary film maker, and academic,
working as Professor and South Africa Research Chair in Sexualities,
Genders and Queer Studies at the University of Fort Hare. She curated the volume Reclaiming Afrikan: Queer Perspectives on Sexual and Gender Identities (2014) and co-edited the book Queer in Africa: LGBTQI Identities, Citizenship, and Activism (2018).
Present-day issues in the US
The
US Supreme Court has made gay marriage legal but as a result the
discourse has shifted from the issue of legalizing gay marriage to
attacking queer studies and prohibiting certain conversations around the
queer community. Attempts are now being made in school settings to
prohibit teachers from encouraging same-sex relationships, sex before
marriage, and therefore leaving same-sex relationships outside the
definition of marriage. This also results in a regulation on the
education of safe sex, HIV, and AIDS.
Homophobic curriculum laws have continued to be present in
schools in recent years across the US. In 2017, studies showed that 20
states had implemented anti-gay laws affecting school curriculums. These
included laws that made it mandatory for teachers to educate from an
anti-gay standpoint, and ones that gave teachers the freedom to choose
between using these homophobic curriculums or not including sex
education in their curriculum at all. Many states also have curriculum
laws that require teachers to educate their students from the viewpoint
that abstinence before marriage is the sole option for safe prevention
against pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. Emphasis being on
abstinence before marriage, this often excludes same sex couples due to
their absence from the definition of marriage in their state.
Book Bans
In
2022, an estimated 5,000 books featuring LGBTQ characters and stories
have been banned from bookshelves, libraries, and classrooms according
to a report by PEN America.
Their research shows that 41% of books banned featured queer
protagonists or secondary characters, 40% featured protagonists or
secondary characters of color, and 22% featured sexual content.
40% of these book bans, regardless of topic, are estimated to be in
direct result of lawmakers’ public opinion and presence, as well as
enacted legislation. PEN America also reports that the overwhelming
majority of these titles are books that fall in the young adult
category, restricting education relating to gender, sexuality,
diversity, and difference from 13-17 year olds.
PEN America also reports that 96% of these bans were put into place
against the National Coalition Against Censorship and ALA’s guidelines.
PEN America reports that Maia Kokabe’s Gender Queer: A Memoir is the most banned title, with bans in 30 districts.
Kokabe’s memoir discusses their experience growing up feeling outside
of the gender binary and not feeling like they fit into their body. It
follows parts of Kokabe’s childhood into their early adult years and
experiences coming to terms with their gender identity and coming out. Gender Queer
was met with a contrast of responses, many expressing gratitude and
love for the sharing of their story, as it was written with an audience
of family, friends, and those that can identify and sympathize with
Kokabe in mind. Others claimed the book is too sexually explicit,
specifically in its illustrations which include that of the human body,
but no sex scenes.
In an interview with NPR, Kokabe discusses how they felt they included
the appropriate amount of illustrations to tell their story accurately
and due to their importance in the representation of their journey with
gender and sexuality. They also express their stance that they
illustrated the book in a much less explicit manner than it could have
been had it been written by a different author.
Attempts to educate and fight against these book bans have been
taking place across the country. Free libraries, library pop-ups, and
book giveaways have been go-to methods for grassroots organizations and
activists to make banned books accessible. Little Free Library members
install wooden curbside mini-library boxes and fill them with books of
their choice. These books are available to take for free for any passers
by. In 2022, the organization reported 140,000 Little Free Libraries
had been installed across the nation, with 87% of their owners stating
that they make banned books available in their boxes. Bookstore owners
and booksellers have been taking actions into their own hands and giving
their books away, covering some costs out of their own pocket and
gaining donations both in person and through social media. Authors and
publishers have started taking similar actions, carrying around their
own books, handing them out, and donating to free libraries. While in
most cases a book ban hurts the book’s sale rate and the author’s
exposure, some bans result in higher publicity and recognition, like in
the case of All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson, now a
bestseller. Publicity on its ban put it on the radar of many readers who
would otherwise have never found it, and it is now in its 10th
printing. In an increasingly accessible digital age, digital libraries
and book websites are also making banned books more accessible. Free
library apps, like the Brooklyn Public Library, allow digital library
cards and access to readers which can be used from any device anywhere
in the country.
Don't Say Gay or Trans'' Bill or Act
The
Parental Rights in Education Act (HB 1557), also known as the "Don't
Say Gay or Trans'' Bill or Act, was signed by Florida governor Ron
DeSantis on March 28, 2022. The act prohibits public schools from
discussing sensitive topics such as sex education, gender identity, and
sexual orientation in grades kindergarten through third grade, and
prohibits any discussion deemed to be not age-appropriate by state
standards. The act does not specify what is inappropriate or who makes
this decision. This act also includes restrictions on a public school’s
ability to protect and maintain the privacy of a student’s gender
identity or sexual orientation from their parents. As a result, school
counselors will be limited in how they serve as a confidential resource
for students. The act also gives parents the right to sue the school
district if they feel their rights have been violated. On May 17, 2023,
DeSantis signed a new bill expanding his measures on LGBTQ education in
schools in the state of Florida, including lengthening the prohibition
of sex and gender topics in kindergarten through eighth grade, as well
as restricting these topics in sixth through twelfth. The bill also
requires that schools teach “that sex is determined by biology and
reproductive function at birth; that biological males impregnate
biological females by fertilizing the female egg with male sperm; that
the female then gestates the offspring; and that these reproductive
roles are binary, stable, and unchangeable.”
There has been an increase in protests as students and parents
across the country respond negatively to the bill, as some assert that
the broad language is meant to specifically target the LGBTQ community.
As a result, some public schools have punished and suspended students
for staging demonstrations on campus. Other educators have faced
backlash for showing support for the LGBTQ community, such as
discussions about gender identity in class and showing movies or
documentaries that showed openly gay characters. Some have been
censored, suspended, and even fired. Equality Florida, an LGBTQ group
that is currently suing the DeSantis administration for the proposed
law, argues that it marks an “extraordinary government intrusion on the
free speech and equal protection rights” in public schools.
The discourse caused by this bill also led to backlash from The
Walt Disney Co. employees, who shared their disappointment in the
company on social media for not speaking out publicly against the bill.
According to Disney CEO Bob Chapek, Disney leaders were opposed to the
bill "from the outset, but we chose not to take a public position on it
because we thought we could be more effective working behind-the-scenes,
engaging directly with lawmakers — on both sides of the aisle." He has
stated that Disney has pledged 5 million dollars to the Human Rights
Campaign (HRC) in support of protecting LGBTQ rights, but the HRC has
declined to accept the money until they further their commitment to
supporting the LGBTQ community.
On February 1, 2023, College Board, the organization that is
responsible for creating standardized tests such as the SAT and AP,
revealed the changes that it made to its African American studies
course. This came after Florida governor Ron DeSantis and the Republican
party condemned the class and banned the original version from Florida
schools. The new version is without names of major events in
contemporary history, mention of the Black Lives Matter movement, black
feminism, black queer theory, critical race theory, or
intersectionality. According to a College Board representative, however,
“To be clear, no states or districts have seen the official framework
that will be released on February 1, much less provided feedback on it.”
However, College Board has historically given in to many conservative
leaders demands in other courses, such as AP United States History,
where readings would focus less on colonial settler’s harm towards
indigenous people and more on founding fathers and their religious
influences.
42 different versions of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill have been
proposed since 2021 in 22 state legislatures, including Arkansas,
Georgia, Indiana, and many others. All of these bills similarly prohibit
discussion and inclusion of LGBT Q related topics. These bills are also
associated with many other bans that have taken place in Florida and
many other states, such as bans on gender affirming medical care, pride
flags in public places, drag shows, and others.
Intersectionality
As
more and more universities and schools begin to add more resources and
classes for students to take about queer studies, there is also a
growing recognition that gender, sex, and identity also coincides with
race, nationalities, class, disabilities, etc. This overlap is also
known as “intersectionality”, a word that has roots in black feminist
activism. This term was coined by Columbia professor and activist
Kimberlé Crenshaw. According to Crenshaw, “Intersectionality is a lens
through which you can see where power comes and collides, where it
interlocks and intersects. It’s not simply that there’s a race problem
here, a gender problem here, and a class or LBGTQ problem there. Many
times that framework erases what happens to people who are subject to
all of these things.” The word intersectionality was added to the Oxford
Dictionary in 2015.
While this was originally used as a term to describe the specific
type of oppression that African American women face, it has grown
relevant to many other groups of people. According to them, “The theory
of “intersectionality” — which posits that individuals simultaneously
experience oppression based on multiple social categorizations, and that
this oppression is multiplicative — has made queer studies more
inclusive.” The idea of intersectionality came to be after second wave
feminism, which is thought to only benefit straight, white, middle-class
women. Third wave feminism became the springboard for
intersectionality, when there became an awareness that women faced
different types of oppression based on their race, gender, and class.
Kimberlé Crenshaw maintains the fact that the idea of intersectionality
and true feminism is lost if black women continue to be overshadowed by
their white counterparts. The idea of intersectionality began when
discussing feminism, but has grown to be relevant in many other subjects
such as LGBTQ discrimination.
Future of Queer Studies
Many
contemporary scholars are theorizing how Queer Studies can address the
issue prevalent in academia where the lived experience and issues of
white U.S. subjects are centered while the experiences of other
identities, specifically non-white, trans and transnational, are
marginalized. The collection of essays in Charting the future of queer studies in communication and critical/cultural studies: new directions and pathways (2021)
considers how imperative it is to "take a transnational and
decolonizing turn to move away from solely white and US-centric ways of
conceptualizing queer lives and experiences."
Writings like this are examples of Queer (post)colonial studies
as an emerging lens through which to consider how the production of
academic knowledge is influenced by domination, oppression, and history
of imperialism and colonialism in order to contribute to the field in
ways that "refuse Western heteronormative structures".
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