Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Cati Kalinoski
Alisa Sniderman
28 February 2017
Would you hold it against me if I couldnt stand for this? Jack Smith1
Queer identities have come under attack, as many marginalized voices have, in these early
weeks of the Trump presidency. With the looming threat of a vice-president who is known for his
discriminatory marriage ideals and xenophobic practices, the recent roll-back of the transgender
bathroom laws allowing anyone to use a bathroom that matches their gender identity, and a general
lack of respect for people who identify as non-male from our commander in chief: we have a right
to be scared. The Womens March had a strong initial showing of support including great strides and
highlighted major issues within the intersections of gender and queerness. These acts of protest are
necessary, as Gessen writes, to take control of ones body, ones time, and ones words, and in
doing so to reclaim the ability to see a future2 which is an effective, but dangerously powerful tool
to utilize in a national era of shifting politics and culture. In the march, marriage and a heterosexual
and male-identified conception of love and acceptance was emphasized as mothers, daughters,
wives, and sisters marched3. The compulsive heterosexuality is not only present but dominant,
1
Smith, Jack. "Statements, Ravings and Epigrams." Queer: Documents of Contemporary Art. Ed. David
Getsy. London, Cambridge: Whitechapel Gallery, The MIT, 2016. 29-31. Print.
2
Gessen, Masha. Why we must Protest. Literary Hub, November 21 2016, 2016
3
I speak mainly from my own experience here, but would encourage analysis on the content of such
speeches which are available on youtube.com.
Kalinoski 2
and the march is a good benchmark to gauge where we exist in history. The LGBTQ+ community is
strong, but will have to band together and find new ways of world building4 in order to survive the
next four years and beyond, which include banding together with our feminist counterparts. We
must use the momentum of the march and other movements that are developing in the wake of
crisis and take space in the social that has been colonized by the logics of white normativity and
heteronormativity5 as an addition and compliment to the work that is currently being done.
In this paper I will articulate the history and use of marriage as a pitfall for the queer identity
in society and how we must look deeper into the issue and find new routes of critique, strategy, and
queerness and how those social forms articulate and determine the queer identity in media and
culture through films such as Blue is the Warmest Color, Show Me Love, and Tricias Wedding. Then, we
will examine how to break these forms and liberate the queer identity through new and radical
modes of such queerness. I will be looking at the question of what effective strategies and steps can
be taken in a world of compulsory heterosexuality, and how historical attempts at liberation like
camp can contribute to our learning. Particular attention will be paid to how historical strategies
were co-opted and what methods we can use to avoid or adapt to the ever-shifting power dynamics
in the world.
Before I start, I would like to clarify terms and usage of terms. Queer in this essay will
refer to the academic writing of and contemporary usage of the term in lived experience. This term
comes out of a movement to reclaim a slur that is now widely accepted by academics and the
4
I use the term world building as a mode of thinking and creating environments in which we, as a
margined group, do belong so as to combat and temper the dangerous worlds we live in now. This is
taken from reading on Jos Estabon Muoz in both his books Disidentifications and Cruising Utopia.
5
Muoz, Jos Esteban. "Preface: Jack's Punger." Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of
Politics. Vol. 2. Minneapolis, London: U of Minnesota, 1999. Ix-Xiv.
Kalinoski 3
emerging generations non-sexually conforming youth. It lives outside of the categorical world of
present that seeks to confine and limit those with aberrant sexualities through strict identity politics,
and the term queer is less an identity than a critique of identity.6 Most accurately, I take Sedgwicks
words as foundational in this essay: Queer to me refers to a politics that values the ways in which
meanings and institutions can be at loose ends with each other, crossing all kinds of boundaries
rather than reinforcing them.7 LGBTQIA+ will be used as a term of power that is accepted by the
current areas of control. In the previous administration, we have seen the influx of new legislation
for the LGBTQIA+ community and protections8, yet these inclusions have been superficial, as will
be discussed in a later section of this essay, and simply give the illusion of power. LGBTQIA+ has
come to mean those who dont see themselves as weird or abnormal even though they are
attracted to people of the same gender or a gender-nonconforming individual; to them, the term
queer implies and has been used derogatively to mean in the past. The term queer accepts this
challenge of strangeness, embraces it, and decides that normal isnt a world in which they wish to
live in, which will be a reoccurring look at what queer is and can be in this essay. Queer then
becomes a recognition that the fear of the un-normal is also a source of power.9 Some would
argue that queer and LGBTQIA+ are the same, it simply semantics that separates them. I echo the
sentiment of the work of Monique Wittig in The Straight Mind in her statement that Lesbians are
not women,10 in that semantics not only matter, but are everything to developing identity and
6
Jagose, Annamarie, ed. Queer Theory. Melbourne: University of Melbourne Press, 1996.
7
Sedgwick, Eve Kosofsky. "Thinking Through Queer Theory." Ochanomizu University Web Library-
Institutional Repository (2001): 1-11. Ochanomizu University.
8
Terkels article on Huffington Post "Obama Leaves A Monumental Legacy on LGBTQ Rights is
a succinct article about what Obama has done and what could change under a Trump
administration.
9
Getsy, David. "Introduction: Queer Intolerability and Its Attachments." Queer: Documents of
Contemporary Art. Ed. David Getsy. London, Cambridge: Whitechapel Gallery, The MIT, 2016. 15.
10
Wittig, Monique. The Straight Mind. The Straight Mind and Other Essays. Boston: Beacon Press,
1992. 32.
Kalinoski 4
reality. In addition, in this essay the use of LGBT as a term in will only be used in reference to
terms used in the works cited, and not preferred terminology as it is a limiting shorthand for a very
Yet, queer is not static and in the words of Jos Estabon Muozs opening lines of Cruising
Utopia, Queerness is not yet here.11 I define queer in hope and expectation of change and moving
forward. It is about not accepting the present and finding a way into the systems of the present but
about the rejection of a here and now and an insistence on potentiality or concrete possibility for
another world.12 Muoz is an icon in the world of queer studies, and sets forth the most effective
and positive interpretation of existing in the world that will be sought after in this essay. Together,
we will attempt to get closer to queerness, to achieve an educated mode of desiring that allows us
to see and feel beyond the quagmire of the present.13 He sets up a Blochian approach to utopia:
one in which we address the potentiality and the not-yet-conscious14 in concrete methods moving
forward in hope, yet never lose the expectation of disappointment. Disappointment, to Bloch and
Muoz, is a reality that cannot be avoided and shouldnt be. Regardless of whether the measure
taken reaches its goal, the enacting of step to make a concrete utopia a reality is an indispensable to
the act of imaging transformation.15 In this formation of worlds, Muoz criticizes todays
hamstrung pragmatic gay agenda16 and says we must move beyond this in order to be radical, which
he defines as leaving the here and now. Queerness will continue to be evolving with every move
towards the future, and even in the face of co-option will be on the horizon. In this essay, we will
11
Muoz, Jos Esteban. Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity. New York: NYU Press,
2009. 1.
12
Ibid 1.
13
Ibid 1.
14
Ibid 3.
15
Ibid 9.
16
Ibid 10.
Kalinoski 5
create these worlds and in the process will be defining the term the essay is dealing with. In doing so,
we will be moving closer to the horizon. [T]he horizon is out there, and you can see it if you
squint.17
In 2015, the LGBTQ+ community obtained a major victory when became known as gay
marriage was passed through the Supreme Court,18 yet this victory distracted from larger social
issues within the queer community that have led to the co-option of the queer identity through the
It is no secret that those in power dont represent the people, and very rarely do they
represent the queer community. In Zoe Leonards famous I Want a Dyke for President she writes
I want to know why we started learning somewhere down the line that a president is always a
clown: always a john and never a hooker.19 The queer has always lived outside of the norm, they are
not normal (perhaps heteronormal is more appropriate). For most the question [was never]
raised, whether different context, or other things being equal, women would choose heterosexual
coupling and marriage; heterosexuality is presumed as a sexual preference20 and from here, we get
the coming out ritual that terrorized queer teens and adults alike. Rich goes on to explain that this
conception of marriage as between a cis-man and cis-female has been entrenched into our perceived
economic futures as well,21 making it nearly impossible for women to live on their own and for
17
Wortham, Jenna. When Everyone can be Queer, is Anyone? The New York Times, July 12, 2016,
2016. This is in direct reference to Muoz in an incredibly well-written article that highlights major
debates and serves as a good benchmark for queer history.
18
"Obergefell v. Hodges." S.Ct. 135, no. No. 14-556 (2015): 1732.
19
Leonard, Zoe. "I Want a Dyke for President." Queer: Documents of Contemporary Art. Ed. David
Getsy. London, Cambridge: Whitechapel Gallery, The MIT, 2016. 114. Print.
20
Rich, Adrienne. "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence." Signs 5, no. 4 (1980): 633.
21
Ibid 641-642. She also clarifies that these determined economic futures manifest from pre-existing
sexist and homophobic tendencies which is an interesting comment on the origin of oppressive
structures and our own turn towards a neo-liberal society.
Kalinoski 6
because those who make the rules are keeping the power away from those who do not have the
power.
Marriage, to those outside of power, then becomes an institution not only not made for
queer people but inherently harmful. Vaginal Davis proudly proclaims in her manifesto Bourgeois
marriage is nothing but licensed prostitution.22 Marriage was created as an economic justification to
subvert the sexism in women before queer and trans individuals were even remotely close to
punctuating the vocabulary of the modern societal individual. And, for queer individuals, you had to
be of certain economic background to be able to live outside of this norm. Additionally, this type of
relationship came with the social stigma that in certain cases could mean death23. In recent times, it
has become the thing for not only straight individuals but companies24 to be inclusive of queer
folks (beware: not doing so could result in losing your liberal card) without actually hearing what
they are asking for. Who ever said that marriage is what queer people were asking for? The passage
of gay marriage further muddies the waters in our nationally turbulent transitional political space.
Marriage is a classic great divider in queer vs. LGBTQIA+ theories and thought. To the
LGBTQIA+ camp, marriage is a step forward and way into a society that previously shunned them.
They feel accepted, normal; what they always wanted. Yet, the conservatives are still the defenders
of family values in marriage, which have historically excluded same-sex couplings let alone even give
22
Davis, Vaginal. "Twee and Sympathy: A Manifesto." Queer: Documents of Contemporary Art. Ed.
David Getsy. London, Cambridge: Whitechapel Gallery, The MIT, 2016. 222. Also, Engels speaks to
this in The Origin of the Family writing: civilization brings forth is double-edged, double-tongued,
divided against itself, contradictory: here monogamy, there hetaerism, with its most extreme form,
prostitution (35).
23
NEED CITE
24
Jenna Worthams article in the New York Times give a good example of the June gay pride
parades: companies like Netflix, McDonalds, Apple, Salesforce and Walmart spend
tremendous amounts of money to include their branded floats in the parades.
Kalinoski 7
lip service to gender-nonconforming couplings. Sedgwick explains that the LGBTQIA+ conception
of politics that has become mainstream is both separatist in its labeling and assimilationist in its
proposals.25 In this way, the LGBTQIA+ community becomes complicit in their own harm by
buddying up with their own opposition. These individuals are asking to be (and achieving at being)
included in systems that are actively hurting them, and in that way separating themselves from
systems of support in their communities in dire times. It has been reported that hate crimes against
Many in the queer community have bemoaned these cries for inclusion from marriage to the
military. Queers are not looking to assimilate, simply to exist. Richard Fung writes a moving piece
Beyond we are just like you, the you of television. Beyond stable identities. Beyond
LGBTQ. Beyond a civil rights agenda. Beyond marriage. Beyond the military. Beyond the
neoliberal consensus. Beyond our rights at the expense of theirs. Beyond corporatization.
Beyond pinkwashing. Beyond Pride. [] Beyond rote formulas. Beyond tokenism. Beyond
the people of colour version of Beyond the Third World version of Beyond waving the
flag of difference to defeat difference. Beyond stereotypes. Beyond positive images. Beyond
monoculture.27
Fung outlines a view of the world that is remorseful but hopeful, and a perfect example of Muozs
the present and finding a way to the future becomes necessary, and as Fung writes becoming the
same as the straight standing next to you is not the way to do it. He pleads that we reimagine people
and Muoz would argue that in doing so that we are reimagining worlds. Directly, Fung is
bemoaning the failed attempts through marriage and military inclusion, and we must oblige.
25
See Thinking Through Queer Theory 9.
26
Mykhyalyshyn, Iaryna and Haeyoun Park. "L.G.B.T. People are More Likely to be Targets of Hate
Crimes than any Other Minority Group." The New York Times, June 16 2016, 2016, sec. U.S.
27
Fung, Richard. "Beyond Domestication." In Queer: Documents of Contemporary Art, edited by David
Getsy. London: Cambridge: Whitechapel Gallery, 2016. 225.
Kalinoski 8
One early use of world building strategies was through the use of camp culture. As
Matthew J. Jones writes to define camp is the least campy thing in the world.28 Alas, for the sake
of delineating and critiquing strategies for resistance, we must. This nave,29 extravagant,30 amoral,31
and dandy32 concept is one that exists outside of culture and in itself. It a form of culture that
defines itself as separate, but intimately interrogates the world that created the need for it. It is not
consciously self-aware, but retrospectively informative. It is, in short, well-meaning bad art. This new
sensibility33 gave way to a new mode of communication and expression for the gay community that
is outside of popular culture but can be an effective method of articulating these concepts.
performance of a queer individual goes through every day as an existence of resistance. Performance
is a precarious term to use, as it implies that we are performing everyday which has been a topic of
question in the field of performance studies. In defining performance, Erving Goffman writes
that A performance may be defined as all the activity of a given participant on a given occasion
which serves to influence in anyway of the other participants.34 When looked at in this way, as is
28
Jones, Matthew J. Enough of being Basely Tearful: Glitter and be Gay and the Camp Politics of
Queer Resistance. Journal of the Society for American Music 10, no. 4 (2016): 422.
29
Sontag, Susan. "Notes on camp." Camp: Queer Aesthetics and the Performing Subject: A Reader (1964):
58.
30
Ibid 59.
31
Ibid see note 34 on page 61.
32
Ibid see note 45, 46, and 48 on pages 62-63. This word is also a common historical euphemism for
the term queer, so in merely the definition we can draw the connection between the queer style and
life and the use of camp. A commonly cited and etymological perspective on dandyism I would
recommend Chapter 1 of Stan Hawkinss The British Pop Dandy (Hawkins, Stan. The British pop dandy:
masculinity, popular music and culture. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2009. 15-36).
33
I am borrowing this words from Joness Enough of being Basely Tearful referred to in
footnote 4.
34
Goffman, Erving. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York City: Random House, 1996.
Kalinoski 9
the norm of most cultural studies35, performance defines space, interactions, and history in a unique
way. Muoz describes the turn to aesthetics in queer history as nothing like an escape from the
social realm36 and reinstates that the queer aesthetic frequently contains blueprints and schematic
of a forward-dawning futurity.37 In this way, performance as a tactic is special, and aids in Muozs
core theory of creating worlds38. Camp, then, is an all-encompassing view of performance. It is never
simply one thing: A sensibility, a mode of engagement, a marker of personal identity, and a sign for
queer community, camps polysemy and indeterminacy make it fabulously frustrating and endlessly
fascinating.39 This is what give camp its power- it is malleable and usable. It creates worlds and
transforms people. It is the expression of queer frustration manifested through glitter. Participating
in camp is speaking with a queer accent40 about subjects that are important to queers, and in its
often comedic effect you can feel the grains of history and rage. In the 90s it was even used as a way
combat homophobia surrounding the AIDS epidemic41. Getsy writes that Once the performative
force of queer is taken on with pride and insubordination, the veneer of enforced normalcy cracks42
and camp is the perfect cracking of the normal. Camp is what marriage wants to be: a subversion
35
See Performance and Cultural Politics for a better understanding of how performance politics plays
into everyday life.
36
Muoz, Jos Esteban. Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity. New York: NYU Press,
2009. 1.
37
Ibid 1.
38
Here I am brought to one of my favorite quotes from Disidentifications: Performance engenders,
sponsors, and even makes worlds. Muoz, Jos Esteban. "The White to Be Angry: Vaginal Crme
Daviss Terrorist Drag." Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics. Vol. 2.
Minneapolis, London: U of Minnesota, 1999. 111. Print.
39
Jones, Matthew J. "Enough of being Basely Tearful: Glitter and be Gay and the Camp
Politics of Queer Resistance." Journal of the Society for American Music 10, no. 4 (2016): 443.
40
Ibid 425.
41
Gould writes on page 196 in her book Moving Politics: Emotion and ACT UPs Fight Against AIDS:
In the face of homophobia and other indignities, AIDS activists camped it up and explains how
camp was used as a measure of defense and utilized to convey powerful emotions in complex ways.
42
Getsy, David. "Introduction: Queer Intolerability and Its Attachments." Queer: Documents of
Contemporary Art. Ed. David Getsy. London, Cambridge: Whitechapel Gallery, The MIT, 2016. 15.
Kalinoski 10
from within. While gay marriage celebrates the inclusion in a group and assimilates its violent
traditions, camp takes the harmful traditions of its authority and creates a new way of living while
actively critiquing its features. In this way, it is echoing on a grandiose level how a queer person goes
throughout their day. They are constantly aware of the structures around them, but are actively using
The film Tricias Wedding43 is a fabulous example of how camp can be used in art to create
worlds and create spaces of queer liberation. The film is centered around the wedding of a highly
recognizable conservative figure at the time of the films release: Tricia Nixon, Richard Nixons
daughter. The film itself is a drug induced drag show, in which the performers The Cockettes mimic
great stars of their day from politicians to movie stars to the pope. The high-jinks, while wild, are a
reflection back at the world what these queer individuals are receiving: absurdity. Living in San
Fransisco pre-Harvey Milk and having lived through the hippie era of America where legitimate
concerns about the Vietnam war were overshadowed by the counter-culture era and Richard Nixon
was following the democratic and generally progressive LBJ. No marginalized group felt heard with
the election of Nixon, and the queer community in San Francisco was blooming, ready for a catalyst.
The Cockettes were that catalyst. The Cockettes were known for giving out free or nearly free tickets
to their drag shows, and when the venue wanted to charge they would sneak audience members in
through the back door.44 They were pioneers in camp, unafraid to exist and challenge the
43
Tricia's Wedding. Movie. Directed by Milton Miron. USA: 1971. Film.
44
This ticket information comes from the documentary The Cockettes. Weber, Bill and David
Weissman. The Cockettes. Vol. Documentary. USA: Grandelusion Co., 2002.
Kalinoski 11
Conclusion.
Bibliography
Note: Bolded citations are citations that have yet to be integrated into the paper, but are intended to
be.
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Getsy. London, Cambridge: Whitechapel Gallery, The MIT, 2016. 221-222. Print.
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45
This is a reference to a recent single by the same name from PWR BTTM, a well-known queer
group composing of two fabulous trans rockers who have most recently played at SXSW.
Kalinoski 12
Gessen, Masha. Why We Must Protest. Literary Hub, November 21 2016, 2016.
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