QUEER THEORY: THE RADICAL CRITIQUE OF ASSIMILATION
There is indeed a much sharper and more provocative line of critique within queer theory. Some thinkers argue not only that assimilation makes gay culture more conservative, but that it neutralizes the disruptive potential that homosexuality historically had for society. Below are a few of the most influential formulations of that argument. 1. Leo Bersani: homosexuality as a challenge to social order One of the most radical critiques appears in the essay Is the Rectum a Grave? by Leo Bersani. Bersani suggests that the social panic around homosexuality historically came from the idea that gay sexuality destabilizes traditional structures of power, masculinity, and identity. His provocative argument is roughly: • Heterosexual culture values dominance, identity, and hierarchy • Receptive sexuality (which he associates with male homosexuality) symbolically undermines those values • Therefore homosexuality had a subversive potential According to Bersani, when gay politics focuses on marria...