From my understanding of the readings, antisocial thesis in queer theory is a thesis that presents queerness and queer people as being deeply conflicted, contradictory and incompatible with normative sociality. It is a thesis that coincides with Leo Bersani’s definition of sex as “anti-communitarian, self-shattering and anti-identitarian” (PMLA 823). This way of thinking about sex creates a “shift from projects of redemption, reconstruction, restoration, and reclamation and toward what can only be called an antisocial, negative, and anti-relational theory of sexuality” (PMLA 823). Societal imposition has formed a heteronormative narrative surrounding sex and sexual practices which is where queer theory becomes antisocial in nature as sex is centered around pleasure rather than reproduction.
So how do we begin to make sense of our politically incorrect erotic desires? (Rodriguez, 342)
In relation to the “antisocial thesis,” “politically incorrect desires,” as Rodriguez terms, reinforces the negative theory of sexuality and belief that queerness is incompatible with normative sociality as there exists many sexual desires that do not fit into society’s norms and that are considered “unnatural.” The sexual fantasies that Rodriguez refers to almost always contains a power dynamic, whether that be a racialized one or one centering around gender and hyper-masculinity. These sexual fantasies are largely accepted in society and have become the norm to the point where they are no longer seen as being antisocial or damaging. She seeks to disrupt the narrative and calls into question the very nature, nuance, and connotation of what antisocial means in regards to both queer theory and heteronormative discourse on both sexual practices and fantasies.
Sources:
Caserio, R. L., Edelman, L., Halberstam, J., Muniz, J. E., & Dean, T. (2011). The antisocial thesis in queer theory. Modern Language Association, 121(3), 819-828.
Rodriguez, J. M. (2011). Queer sociality and other sexual fantasies. GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, 17(2-3), 331-348.