Queer Theory

In an article on lesbian photography, Jan Zita Grover analyses the positions taken by women and society in viewing lesbian sexual imagery in relation to a “burden of scarcity” (Grover 187).  With this Grover explains that within the mainstream culture of today’s world, lesbian women can be seen as being represented as either sexual deviants or rendered completely invisible within society.  They are represented as being outside of the stereotypes of our patriarchal society. In being outside of this narrow and familiar box of heterosexual stereotypes, Grover suggest that the scarce images that explore lesbian desire have an extra and heavy burden of expectation placed upon them. Grover states, “So few representations, so many expectations how can any image can possibly satisfy the yearning that it is born into?” (Grover 187).  Lesbians within imagery are often “un-represented, under-represented or mis-represented” (Grover 187).

The scarce images of lesbian desire and sexual practices do not represent all of lesbian bodies as they often portray a specific characteristic of a specific group or identity.  The burden of scarcity still exists today.  Images and even people take on the burden of representing a larger group as a whole.

Source:

Grover, Jan Zita. “Framing the Questions: Positive Imaging and Scarcity in Lesbian Photographs.” Stolen Glances: Lesbians Take Photographs, edited by Tessa Boffin and Jean Fraser, Pandora Press, 1991, pp. 184–190.

When referring to “the burden of scarcity” (Grover 187), Jan Zita Grover is speaking about the problematic nature of a certain subject or identity having no precedent for representation in society. As a result of this, there are a variety of viewpoints that may follow, all revolving around the interpretation of the significance of actions within a marginalized group.

For example, when there is no representation, “the unseemly [behavior] of even one member – or one representation – carries a far greater significance, a much heavier burden” (187). This can create pressure on certain individuals to either fit in with/recreate behaviors of others in order to identify with them or even make one feel like their identity and expression isn’t welcome. Both of these perspectives can be seen in response to mainstream media, which largely focuses on cishet, white narratives, characters, and storytelling. Through this, queer people and people of color may feel isolated and pressured to fit within these narratives where their struggle may be a side point, supplementary to the narrative, or completely ignored altogether. This also makes it difficult for those who have existed beforehand to leave a precedent for future generations to go after, a definite problem within queer culture and studies.

Grover, Jan Zita. “Framing the Questions: Positive Imaging and Scarcity in Lesbian Photographs.” Stolen Glances: Lesbians Take Photographs, edited by Tessa Boffin and Jean Fraser, Pandora Press, 1991, pp. 184–190.

In the context of Jan Zita Grover’s “Framing the Question: Positive Imagery and Scarcity in Lesbian Photographs,” the burden of scarcity, in my interpretation, first necessitates a lack of media or popular exposure for or of an under-, mis-, or un-represented group of people. This creates the ‘scarcity.’ The burden is more complex. When it comes to portrayals of these groups of people, since there are not many making the rounds in popular culture, the portrayals that are seen become representative of the group as a whole. For instance, lesbian erotica. In the art exhibition Drawing the Line, by Kiss & Tell as discussed by Grover, the same lesbian couple was portrayed “in a variety of sexual desires and practices ranging from hugging and soft kissing through whipping, bondage and voyeurism.” [1] People’s recorded responses were limited to analyzing the particular pictures and the acts within, rather than the larger ‘picture’ if you will, of the fact that the depicted couple was the same as in previous images. These reactions were therefore to a representation of a romantic/sexual action rather than to the action itself. This brings us to the burden of scarcity. Without mass exposure, people only have small bits of information to go off of when interpreting the lived experiences of un-, under-, and mis-represented groups.

Such lacks of exposure persist to this day with the dominance of the white male in the film industry, for instance, among many others. As summarized by an article on two studies published by USC and UCLA, “When evaluating race and ethnicity of characters in film and television, 71.1 percent were white, 12.2 percent black, 5.8 percent Hispanic/Latino, 5.1 percent Asian, 2.3 percent Middle Eastern and 3.1 percent considered “‘other.'” [2] This whitewashing of media leads to a scarcity in exposure to the lived experiences of marginalized and oppressed groups thereby creating the burden of scarcity in the media that is released and in the privileged public’s interpretation of marginalized peoples.

[1] Grover, J. Z. (1991). Framing the Questions: Positive Imaging and Scarcity in Lesbian Photographs. In Stolen Glances: Lesbians Take Photographs(pp. 184-190). London: Pandora.

[2] Austin, P. (2016, February 22). Hollywood Whitewashed: White Men Dominate Film Industry, Studies Confirm. Retrieved from https://patch.com/california/hollywood/hollywood-whitewashed-white-men-dominate-film-industry-studies-confirm-0

Jan Zita Grover writes about “the burden of scarcity” to explain the negative way in which underrepresentation can affect a group of people.  Particularly focused towards lesbians, Grover notes the tendencies in North America to “downplay the sexual component in the lesbian community and instead emphasize its spiritual or emotional basis” (Grover 186).  Grover also discusses an interactive photography exhibit, Drawing The Line, which displays assorted lesbian sexual practices desires that was poorly received  even by lesbians who Grove claims objected to the photos due to a desire to monitor and censor other viewer’s experience.  Grove notes that the desire to censor this work, for these lesbian women, stems from underrepresentation of lesbians in mainstream media, and particularly sexual representations of women with other women, making the current representations hold a much greater weight than they should.  Grove calls for a wider range of lesbian women to be represented and also a wider range of sexual practices.

I do believe this burden of scarcity does exist in today’s media, particularly for LGBT people.  Oftentimes minority groups are underrepresented or misrepresented in mainstream media, perpetuating stereotypes or simply excluding them from popular culture.  Although there is more representation of LGBT people than ever before in film and to a certain extent, television, the burden of scarcity can still play into misconceptions about LGBT people, especially for those unwilling to seek out other media where LGBT people are more frequently represented.  For example: someone who only watches ABC network television shows may think all gay men are like Modern Family‘s Mitchell and Cameron (effeminate, bourgeois,  and melodramatic).

In Framing the Questions: Positive Imaging and Scarcity in Lesbian Photographs, Jan Zita Grover discusses the concept of “the burden of scarcity” (Grover, 187). When representations of a given group are in short supply, that rarity can distort the public perception of the group by overrepresenting or underrepresenting certain aspects of the group. One example cannot possibly capture an entire group of people with different identities and experiences, but society could view a single photograph or statement as representative of a large group. The burden of scarcity, therefore, is the burden of the expectation that a single object or action can meet all of the varied, and sometimes conflicting, expectations places upon it. It also refers to the pressure for members of underrepresented groups to act as ambassadors of their group and to police their actions to avoid negatively impacting the perception of their group.

The burden of scarcity still exists. Though this is obviously a small sample size, I have personally policed myself to represent groups I am a part of well. Until the last month of my senior year, I was the only openly queer person in my high school, and I felt a lot of pressure because of it.

Reference

Jan Zita Grover, “Framing the Questions: Positive Imaging and Scarcity in Lesbian Photographs”

In Jan Zita Grover’s article on lesbian photography, she speaks about “the burden of scarcity” in relation to lesbian sexual imagery. To explain what this means, one must first understand the context in which it is being discussed. In our patriarchal society, lesbians are consistently either represented as deviant bodies or not represented in society. The lesbian body is almost seen as a deviant object in the stereotypes of the current patriarchal society. Grover mentions that there are typical issues when things are in short supply, including problems with hoarding and placing too much “value and power to whatever commodity has become or is designated as scarce” (p.187). In turn, Grover seems to be suggesting that there are high expectations for the limited number of images that represent lesbian desires. These scarce images cannot properly symbolize all lesbian bodies, but rather a select few that only have a portion of the population’s characteristics and do not take into account different subcultures. As an example, she compares movies, which depict white heterosexual women in a particularly negative light that would cause shame if they were the only models available. However, this is not the case and there are many representations of heterosexual white women in movies that they can pick from.

-CB

Grover, J. Z. (1991). Framing the Questions: Positive Imaging and Scarcity in Lesbian Photographs. Stolen Glances. (pp. 184-190). Ontario, Canada: Pandora Press.

The phrase “burden of scarcity” refers to the fact that a lack of representation of a group of people results in the expectations of the depictions that do exist of a group never quite being met. This is most often true because of sheer fact that diversity cannot be expressed in the number of texts or images that currently represents a group, ultimately causing misrepresentation. I definitely the burden of scarcity is still an issue because the majority of content, whether it belongs to the category of literature, television, art, or any other medium, is still being produced by white, cisgender, heterosexual creators.
For me, the issue of not being satisfied by representations that do exist is especially relevant to Asian American representation. While more and more Asian Americans continue to be cast in movies and television shows, it’s frustrating to continually see Asian Americans take the same roles as sidekicks or scientists. What I find to be necessary to the conversation of representation is not only casting Asian Americans in more diverse roles but also encouraging and supporting Asian Americans to write and direct these narratives themselves in order to create the fullest portrayals of the people who lead similar lives.

Reference:

Grover, Jan Z. “Framing the Questions: Positive Imaging and Scarcity in Lesbian Photographs.” Stolen Glances: Lesbians Take Photographs. Ed. Tessa Boffin, Ed. Jean Fraser. Ontario: Pandora Press, 1991. 184-190. Print.

Boystown in Chicago used to be seen as one of the safest neighborhoods in Chicago. With the hit of the Great Recession of 2007-2009, people started channeling anger and hatred toward the LGBTQ youth of color of Chicago for the decreased rent and property values and an alleged increase in crime (even though police records show an apparent decrease from the previous years). Social media played a large roll in this channeling of racist fears and (white) homonormativity. Facebook groups like Lakeview 9-1-1 and Take Back Boystown frequently saw posts with photos and videos taken of queer POC demonizing them with racist, classist, and transphobic ideologies, blaming them (the others)for the apparent increase in crime and decline in property value in Boystown. [1] Noise complaints, loitering, drug possession, and other petty crimes were used to blame the queer “street youth” of color of Chicago for more violent crimes like assaults and muggings. What was neglected, however, were the loud drunk white gays outside bars, the white drug dealers, the white ‘trouble makers.’ Anecdotes from trans women of color indicate an increase in racism and a willingness of residents to be more open about their racist/transphobic/bigoted attitudes in Boystown, which they mention used to be a place of acceptance and safety. Not that there wasn’t racism in Boystown before, but the effects of social media creating an echo chamber of bigoted hatred toward queer POC were such that these previously suppressed attitudes became more mainstream.

[1] Blair, Z. (2016). Boystown: Gay Neighborhoods, Social Media, and the (Re)production of Racism in E. P. Johnson (Ed.), No Tea, No Shade: New Writings in Black Queer Studies (pp. 287-303). Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press.

In her work, “Equality, Inc.” Lisa Duggan criticizes the recoding of key terms in the history of gay politics due to support and push for homonormativity—politics that does not contest the dominant heteronormative standards and institutions, such as marriage. She criticizes the recoding of the terms such as “equality”, “freedom” and “right to privacy,” stating, “‘equality’ becomes narrow, formal access to a few conservatizing institutions, ‘freedom’ becomes impunity for bigotry and vast inequalities in commercial life and civil society, the ‘right to privacy’ becomes domestic confinement, and the democratic politics itself become something to be escaped” (Duggan 65-66).  To make such a statement, Duggan draws on the example of “Gay Tunnel Vision” as “gay civil rights groups have adopted neoliberal rhetoric and corporate decision-making models” (Duggan 47).  Gay civil rights organization have become to push for gay marriage and support the “increasingly narrow gay, money elite” (Duggan 47).

A specific organization named by Duggan was the Human Rights Campaign. She also draws upon the words of Cato Institute vice president, David Boaz. Boaz argues that gay marriage is preferable to that of domestic partnership. As a gay libertarian, he does not oppose the institution and administration of marriage as one might imagine.  To construct the recoding of the term “right to privacy” to domestic confinement, Duggan draws on the actions of the Independent Gay Forum in spreading the word about their new gay politics that “offers a dramatically shrunken public sphere and narrow zone of ‘responsible’ domestic privacy” (Duggan 53).

Reference:

Lisa Duggan, “Equality, Inc.,” in The Twilight of Equality?: Neoliberalism, Cultural Politics, and the Attack on Democracy. Boston: Beacon Press, 2003. pp. 43-66.