Queer Theory is a post-modernist approach to analysis that attempts to deconstruct existing preconceptions of\u00a0sexuality and gender as they relate to larger structures such as social interactions, political institutions, and power dynamics. \u00a0It also helps to redefine expressions of sexuality and gender outside of the typical binaries, i.e. Homo\/Heterosexual, Male\/Female.<\/p>\n
I think Queer Theory could be a useful topic of study for other Audio \/ Music Engineering majors simply to bring awareness of or to create a general context by which to understand and relate to people whose gender expression and\/or sexuality falls outside of the typical binaries. \u00a0For those working directly with artists, e.g. recording\/mixing engineers or producers, it is absolutely essential to be able to relate to and communicate effectively with the artist you are helping create art with. \u00a0In a traditionally cisgendered male dominated field, it is essential that engineers understand and help to facilitate and solidify the message of the artist. \u00a0With queer artists starting to become more and more visible in mainstream media, studios need to function not only as places of business but also safe spaces for artists of all gender identities \u00a0and sexual orientations.<\/p>\n
Cathy Cohen as a queer woman of color has a great deal of insight into the necessity for the intersectionality of queer politics. \u00a0She argues that marriage and homosexuality plus the ideology of white supremacy were reconfigured to justify the exploitation and regulation of black bodies. \u00a0One such example of this reconfiguration is evident in the illegality of mixed race marriages which remained in place from colonial times until 1967 with the notion of keeping the white race “pure” at the center of its enforcement (454). \u00a0In this way black Americans became even more “other” to whites and without the legal intervention that eventually allowed mixed race marriage would remain even more segregated. \u00a0This argument ties into Cohen’s discussion of coalition politics in that it presents a parallel to the illegality and suppression of gay marriage with a similar argument involving purity, thereby tying two marginalized groups together and relating their struggles rather than feeding into the divisive dichotomy of straights vs. queers. \u00a0Coalition politics is difficult in this way as it necessitates cooperation and a shared sense of marginalization in order to properly draw all groups into the “fight”. \u00a0In the case of the AIDS ACT UP coalition, the universality of the issue and the unified resistance against the government’s and biomedical industries’ response to the epidemic was the motivator for all different groups of people to join in. \u00a0However without such a wide-scale crisis it is harder for marginalized people of all races, sexual orientations, and classes to step outside of their usual spaces and social spheres.<\/p>\n
Citation: Cohen, Cathy J. “Punks, Bulldaggers and Welfare Queens: The Radical Potential of Queer Politics?”, GLQ<\/i>, vol. 3, \u00a01997, pp. 437-465.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Queer Theory is a post-modernist approach to analysis that attempts to deconstruct existing preconceptions of\u00a0sexuality and gender as they relate to larger structures such as social interactions, political institutions, and power dynamics. \u00a0It also helps to redefine expressions of sexuality and gender outside of the typical binaries, i.e. Homo\/Heterosexual, Male\/Female. I think Queer Theory could … <\/p>\n