Homosexualtiy and Heterosexuality

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Homosexuality and heterosexuality have become major subject matters throughout the early twenty-first century. However, these qualities have previously existed and have preoccupied the minds of countless theorists and critics for several years. Homosexuality is not only a common aspect in the twenty-first century world, but has also been developing into a literary critique know as “queer theory.” The theory consists of evaluating the unity between male and female counterparts within the same individual. Queer theory functions in a way that ultimately discards differences between gender and sexuality among characters. Some theorists “use the term to apply specifically to gender and sexual orientations (such as transgender) that challenge or complicate the presumed alliance between sexual identity and gender identity” (Grant 363). Queer theory originated around the 1990s when heterosexuality began to be challenged by psychological and cultural aspects of individuals and society. As the theory emerged, Alexander Doty recognized the ability to comprehend texts trough the perceptions of queer theory (Grant 363). Judith Butler, a theorist and philosopher, is also associated with the rise of queer theory. Butler conveyed the idea that “gender is a fluid variable, with no independent existence of its own, and it shifts and changes depending on a person's context” (Ruttenberg 317). Butler believes that certain actions weaken a binary gender system; thus, a more “equal” society may ascend in which individuals are not limited to certain male and female roles (Ruttenberg 317). Cross-dressing, dressing in clothing typically worn by members of the opposite sex, has also affected the idea of queer theory. As a result, the differences of gender...

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...ference Library. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
Ruttenberg, Danya. "Butler, Judith." Encyclopaedia Judaica. Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. 2nd ed. Vol. 4. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 317. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 May 2014.
Shakespeare, William. Twelfth night; or, What you will.. [Rev. ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1954. Print.
"Transvestite." Gender Issues and Sexuality: Essential Primary Sources. Ed. K. Lee Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 185-187. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
"Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare." Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Michael L. LaBlanc. Vol. 74. Detroit: Gale Group, 2003. 187-297. Literature Criticism Online. Gale. OUR LADY OF LOURDES ACADEMY. 15 April 2014 http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/ LitCrit/olla123/FJ4094150004

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