Queer studies panel questions norms

Author: Rachael Jennings

Who are you? Why are you here at Middlebury? What categorizations make up your identity and why do those groupings exist? On Monday, April 7, as part of the Gaypril series, a Queer Studies Panel took place in Hillcrest to stir up questions like these and raise awareness about the depth and profundity of Queer Studies in a dynamic world.

Beyond recent news like the pregnancy of transgender Thomas Beady and other issues of popular culture, Associate Professor of German Roman Graf, Assistant Professor of Sociocultural Anthropology and Women and Gender Studies Laurie Essig and Women and Gender Studies Chair Sujata Moorti formed the diverse and knowledgeable panel that initiated deeper questions of identity.

Essig began the hour by explaining to the circle of about 25 listeners how Queer Studies originated. Coming into academic awareness in the 1980s, the theory followed feminism. However, its predecessor -- feminism - relies on thee conception that socially constructed boundaries exist and need to be broken. Queer theorists view the world in much more fluid categories.

"It is about exploring the questions," remarked Essig. "'How did we ever start to think that there are gay or straight people? How did we ever start to think that there are even men or women?'"

Further, though the movement could not have occurred when it did without feminism, Moorti explained that Queer theory is constantly pushing against feminism. She brought up famous artist Frida Kahlo - feminists declared that as a woman she should be celebrated, the gay and lesbian movement adopted her with the knowledge of her many - and often homosexual - affairs, yet the Queer theorists asked, "Why is it so important to fix her as homosexual or bisexual? Why is it expected that we should find this in her art? If you remove the categories, what happens?"

Queer studies essentially examine life outside of its categories and norms. As Graf described, theorists study "things that don't line up. It is anything not 'straight' and normed," he said, "It shows that things are not naturally normed. It also shows that things can be un-normed."

The panelists used the example of a baby's birth. Queer theorists believe that in our current culture if a baby is born ambiguous in any way, the doctors "fix" the uncertainty - the birth certificate needs to be stamped. The child is determined to be either male or female and then influenced to follow the according normative example. In this way, culture, politics and economics forces people to "be" either one gender or the other from birth.

In fact, the first question Essig asks her students is usually, "What is your gender and how do you know?"

Queer theorists trace the archaeology of knowledge back to what first decided that humans should be separated into female and male camps, bisexual, homosexual and heterosexual classes.

Essig elaborated that there is comfort in categorization and gave a personal example. At a meeting, Essig once identified as "queer" and when the minutes were typed up it read "gay" instead.

"Queer theory's purpose is to shake up the answer of 'I am ... anything!'" remarked Essig. "Any claim like that you make needs to be taken from three steps back. You need to ask, 'Why am I this?' and 'Who isn't included in this category?'"

Provoking many questions, the professors received many questions in turn. A common question of the attendees was just how to incorporate Queer theory into life and academia at Middlebury.

The panel suggested that the College obtain a grant to effectively train the professors in Queer theory, or bring an expert in for a seminar devoted to its study. The current deficiency at Middlebury is a lack in professors who sustain an adequate knowledge base.

"That is how you force the school to react," said Graf. "You ask questions. If they don't know how to answer, they need to learn." The panelists agreed that pressure, however, not only needs to be placed not on just professors but the administration as well.

"It's not something you can't do," said Essig. "We can all be queer. It is not just about sexuality. Ask the questions: 'When did happiness become what we pursue? Where did capitalism begin?'"

Yet the problem comes in the idea of creating a Queer Studies Department. Queer theorists do not condone the departmentalization of anything, and that is why most agree that a center would be most appropriate. "When Women's Studies was departmentalized, it lost its bite," explained Moorti. "It has become quite disengaged with the lives of women. A new norm is constructed all of the time, and that is the issue."

Apart from forming a center, the panel emphasized the integration of Queer theory into every department, as now it is only actively represented by three professors.

Another question raised was the notion of choice - do queer theorists believe that volition determines if an individual is gay or straight?

The panel agreed that according to Queer theory, to whom we are attracted is a product of socialization. If there is any biological basis, one can only reach it through culture. Using the terminology "gay or straight" in itself goes against the theory, as those words presume that there are defined "men" and "women."

Graf answered this question astutely - "Your erotic object choice is informed by your surroundings," he said. "And why are we talking about who we are having sex with instead of what we like to do?"

One student, Chrissy Etienne '08, commented, "If you ask me if I am a lesbian or not, I would respond that it depends on the second." Etienne, like many, explained that one does not always only like women or men ­- it depends on many factors.

However, popular culture has accepted and embraced what Graf called "hetero-normed homosexuals." He remembered that there was a gay couple pictured on the cover of a magazine.

Who were they? "Two affluent white men and their adopted children," said Graf. "How hetero-normal can you get? Do I have to come out twice - once to say that I am gay and once to say that I do not want to get married?"

Assistant Director of Admissions Shawn Rae Passalacqua explained that once homosexuality was accepted, it became "normal" and the activism died down. "There is no activism anymore because the 'image' is comfortable," he said.

Queer theory begs individuals to make themselves uncomfortable, to break down barriers and classifications, to step outside of themselves and question the archaeology of everything they know.

"All of this comfort here is to stabilize the issues," said Essig. "We need it to be fluid. We need to keep moving."