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Queer heterosexuality is
heterosexual Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" ...
practice or
identity Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), an ...
that is controversially called
queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the l ...
. "Queer heterosexuality" is argued to consist of heterosexual,
cisgender Cisgender (often shortened to cis; sometimes cissexual) is a term used to describe a person whose gender identity corresponds to their sex assigned at birth. The word ''cisgender'' is the antonym of '' transgender''. The prefix '' cis-'' is L ...
and allosexual persons who show nontraditional
gender expression Gender expression, or gender presentation, is a person's behavior, mannerisms, interests, and appearance that are associated with gender, specifically with the categories of femininity or masculinity. This also includes gender roles. These cate ...
s, or who adopt gender roles that differ from the hegemonic masculinity and
femininity Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviors considered f ...
of their particular culture. The concept was first discussed in the mid-1990s, critically within
radical feminism Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a radical re-ordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts, while recognizing that women's experiences are also affected by other ...
, and as a positive identification by Clyde Smith in a paper delivered at a conference in Amsterdam in 1997;; most papers cite these two as their entry point into the discussion. in 2003, ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
'' published an article called "The Queer Heterosexual", which has since been cited by others using the term. The idea that any heterosexual can be called "queer" is highly contested. Some in the LGBTQ+ community consider the use of the term "queer" by heterosexual people to be an offensive misappropriation, involving members perceived not to experience oppression for their sexual orientation or gender identity appropriating aspects of queer identities perceived as "fashionable" or attractive, and disregarding the concurrent oppression experienced by those they appropriate from.


Feminist criticism and queer theory

Kitzinger and Wilkinson argued that the rehabilitation of heterosexuality through "'queer' heterosexuality" as "a concept derived from postmodernist and queer theory" is seen as flawed from a radical feminist perspective. Acknowledging that 'queer heterosexuality' is rarely explored in detail, they explain that "the notion of the 'queer heterosexual' had become established in queer theory", gaining currency not because people are convinced it is possible or desirable, but "because queer heterosexuality is a necessary component of ' gender-fucking'" in Butlerian terms. 'Queer heterosexuality' becomes named in the project as destabilising all such categories, and moving towards a world where categories such as 'heterosexual' are rendered redundant. The queer theory was created to understand the concepts of gender, besides the binary- male and female. In a 2004 paper, Annette Schlichter describes the discourse on queer heterosexuality as aiming at "the de- and possible reconstruction of heterosexual subjectivity through the straight authors' aspiration to identify as queer". In the paper, a genealogy of queer heterosexuality is outlined, pointing out that "the queer critique of sexual normativity is both bound to the history of specific identities and committed to the destabilization of sexual identities—including those that have become hegemonic", while "critics concerned about issues of lesbian visibility and difference occasionally raise the specter of the queer heterosexual ... as an indication of the queer project's perversion of social and political identities and their relations to power." Putting to one side the question of whether the idea of homosexual contagion is necessarily homophobic, Guy Davidson uses the article from the
Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
as an example of how the idea of queer subversion of heterosexuality can have "politically positive implications", specifically in relation to Tristan Taormino's writing on celebration of the
LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...
movement's queering of heterosexual sex practices the production of the "queer heterosexual". In ''Straight writ queer'', the authors acknowledge that the queer heterosexual is only starting to emerge from the closet, seeking in the book to "identify and out the queer heterosexual" in historic and contemporary literature and to identify "inherently queer heterosexual practices" which critique heteronormativity and open up possibilities for the future. The examples in the book include
anchorite In Christianity, an anchorite or anchoret (female: anchoress) is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. While anchorites are ...
s, the
Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusati ...
and
Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as '' Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...
as examples of queer heterosexuals. "Male masochism disavows a masculinity predicated on phallic mastery, and hence becomes a strategic site for queer heterosexual resistance to heteronormativity". In a 2018 paper, Heather Brook compares how the term '
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
' is similarly oxymoronic to 'queer heterosexuality'. They both challenge and connect to essentialist understandings of heterosexuality. However, where 'same-sex marriage' aims to gain
social capital Social capital is "the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively". It involves the effective functioning of social groups through interpersonal relationships ...
from the normativeness of heterosexual marriage, 'queer heterosexuality' pulls on the fluidity of queerness. Brook describes how both terms incite fear of appropriation and the pejoration of a gendered understanding of societal institutions. Specifically, when straight people use 'queer', a term which was reclaimed by the community it now describes, to describe their heterosexuality, it straightens the word within the social consciousness. Brook posits that queer heterosexuality forces an exploration of how heteronormative institutions like marriage can be defined outside of binary oppositions like "hetero and homo; men and women; queer and straight".


Examination of masculinity

In 2005, Robert Heasley explored queer heterosexuality among a group of men that he identifies as "straight-queer males." According to Heasley, these men are self-identified heterosexuals who do not find social spaces dominated by traditionally masculine personalities to be comfortable. Heasley believes that a lack of understanding of masculinity can be addressed by creating a terminology to describe non-hegemonic masculine behavior. He lists seriously discussing homosexuality, being held or cuddled, hand-holding, dressing femininely, and expressing emotional openness among the behaviors displayed by straight-queer males. Men who have been surveyed about their "mostly straight" behavior gave various reasons for this self-identification: some felt constrained by traditional models of gender and sexual orientation, others found men attractive. Some had a small amount of sexual interest in men but no desire for romantic
same-sex relationship A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countrie ...
s or intercourse, while others felt romantic but not sexual interest in other men.


Controversy

As 'queer' is generally defined either as a synonym for
LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...
, or defined as "non-heterosexual", the term 'queer heterosexual' is considered controversial. Some LGBT people disapprove of the appropriation of 'queer' by cisgender heterosexual individuals, as the term has been used as a slur to oppress LGBT people. Straight celebrities self-identifying as queer have also faced backlash, with some arguing that their identities constitute "playing" with the "fashionable" parts of being LGBT, without having to suffer the resulting oppression of being LGBT, thus trivializing the struggles experienced by queer people. Critics of the term compare the use of 'queer heterosexual' to the appropriation engaged in by celebrities like Madonna, who used
vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...
dancing - a style and subculture originating amongst
gay men Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual and homoromantic men may also dually identify as gay, and a number of young gay men also identify as queer. Historically, gay men have been referred to by a number of different terms, includin ...
, particularly
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
and Latino gay men - in her performances, profiting from the use of it while the style's originators did not. Daniel Harris, author of ''The Rise and Fall of Gay Culture'', said that people who call themselves a 'queer heterosexual' "are under the impression they're doing something brave. . . . I'm a little sick that straight men would use those (terms)". Sky Gilbert referred to Calvin Thomas as "a little heterosexual male desperately wishing to be a card-carrying member of the gay community." Gay reviewer Jameson Fitzpatrick said of
James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. For his role in '' 127 Hours'' (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Franco is known for his roles in films, such as Sam Raimi's ''Spider-M ...
's ''Straight James / Gay James'': "I can't imagine the difficulty of being a straight, cis person who isn't fooled by the foundational fictions of hetero- and cisnormative power structures and doesn't wish to perpetuate them—except to say that I can't imagine that difficulty could possibly be greater than the various violences that many queer people still face today. This might be key to the problem that persists in Franco's claim to queerness, and what about it that rankles so many gay men: a lack of perspective." Fitzpatrick said he knew many people who might qualify as a queer heterosexual, but none who would use the label for themselves, and none who would "flaunt their privilege" as Fitzpatrick viewed Franco as doing in his book. A discussion of Franco and queer heterosexuality by Anthony Moll rejects the idea that Franco's art is queer: "From the concept of the interview between his straight self and his gay selves, to his ham-handed attempt to discuss queer heterosexuality, Franco comes across as a novice queer theorist who is talking through interesting, yet ultimately incomplete, ideas".


See also

*
Androgyny Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in ...
*
Cross-dressing Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself. Cross-dressing has play ...
*
Effeminacy Effeminacy is the embodiment of traits and/or expressions in those who are not of the female sex (e.g. boys and men) that are often associated with what is generally perceived to be feminine behaviours, mannerisms, styles, or gender roles, rath ...
* Feminization * Gender bender *
Gender variance Gender variance or gender nonconformity is behavior or gender expression by an individual that does not match masculine or feminine gender norms. A gender-nonconforming person may be variant in their gender identity, being transgender or non-b ...
*
Non-binary gender Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typica ...
*
Sex and gender distinction Though the terms '' sex'' and ''gender'' have been used interchangeably since at least the fourteenth century, in contemporary academic literature they usually have distinct meanings. ''Sex'' generally refers to an organism's biological sex, while ...
* Social construction of gender *
Third gender Third gender is a concept in which individuals are categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither man nor woman. It is also a social category present in societies that recognize three or more genders. The term ''third'' is usuall ...
*
Tomboy A tomboy is a term for a girl or a young woman with masculine qualities. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and actively engage in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men. W ...
*
Two-spirit Two-spirit (also two spirit, 2S or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, , umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-varia ...


References


Further reading

* Clyde Smith, “How I Became a Queer Heterosexual,” in Calvin Thomas, "Straight with a Twist: Queer Theory and the Subject of Heterosexuality", 60–67 (2000) * Robert Heasley
"Crossing the Borders of Gendered Sexuality: Queer Masculinities of Straight Men"
in Chrys Ingraham, Ed., ''Thinking Straight: The Power, Promise and Paradox of Heterosexuality'' (Routledge: UK: 2005 Page 109) * Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, ''Tendencies'', Duke University Press (1993) * Ann Powers, “Queer in the Streets, Straight in the Sheets: Notes on Passing,” Utne Reader, November–December 1993 * Roberta Mock, "Heteroqueer ladies: some performative transactions between gay men and heterosexual women," ''Feminist Review'' 75, pp. 20–37 (2003) * Elizabeth Grosz, “Experimental Desire: Rethinking Queer Subjectivity,” in ''Supposing the Subject'', ed. Joan Copjec, Verso (1994) {{Sexual identities Gender identity Gender roles Heterosexuality Queer theory Cultural appropriation