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Queer ecology is a bridge between ecological criticism and queer theory. The word ecology is derived from the Greek word oikos, which means ‘home’ or ‘surroundings’ and summed as the study of organisms relationship to each other and to their physical, environmental surroundings. The word queer is derived from the German word quer, which means ‘transverse’, ‘oblique’, ‘sideways’, or more understandably “a moment of unfamiliarity” or not at home. These two words based on those definitions seem like they would seldom correlate. However the fact of the matter is that we would normally want to separate the two based on our foundations in understanding nature, the human experience, environmentalism, and gender and sex. This is even more of an imperative reason as to why Queer ecology needs to exist. As Morton said, “Ecology is Queer Theory and Queer Theory is Queer Ecology.”
There is no one static definition on what it means for any organism, especially humans in all our complexities to be queer because we often categorize queer people as “other” when they probably should be integrated into our normative viewpoints. Queer is a product of various theories influenced by cultural pressures into the structures we create and it is an alternative.
“Ideas and practices of nature, including both bodies and landscapes, are located in particular productions of sexuality, and sex is, both historically and in the present, located in particular formations in nature. The critical analysis of these locations and co-productions is what we mean by “queer ecology…” (Mortimer-Sandilands, pg.4)
Queer ecology (and queer theory) challenges what sexualities we deem as “natural” or “normal” and our biology diverting from social, physical, and conce...
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...sented as more than just deviance, but a way in to comparable differences to what are the societal and sexual norms of “typical” attractions and behaviorisms. This is the outlying interdisciplinary approach to the nebulous idea of queer ecology. In sum, clarifying the definition of queer and how queer ecology influenced and diverted from more biased structures to ecology has a positive effect on future studies, despite its own shortcomings. It provides a more fluid and approachable, albeit complex framework for many people.
Works Cited
Mortimer-Sandilands, C., and Bruce Erickson. Queer Ecologies: Sex, Nature, Politics, Desire. Indiana University Press, 2010.
Morton, Timothy. "Guest Column: Queer Ecology." PMLA 125.2 (2010): 273-282.
Roughgarden, Joan. Evolution’s Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People. Berkeley: U of California P, 2009.
Alex Johnson wrote a short story “How to Queer Ecology: One Goose at a Time” that revolved around the idea of human and nature. Spoke about how the two are connected where sexuality, culture and science are part of the seven steps to queer ecology. Johnson asked questions such as “Where is the line between what is Nature and what is Human? Do I spend equal times in the parking lot and the forest? Can I really say the parking lot is separate from the forest? What if I end up staying in the parking lot the whole time? What if it has been a long drive and I really have to pee?” allowing the readers to not only consume information but cross-examine what the readers have read. Before reading the short story I always believe there was a slight line
They mention the transition of “the closet,” as being a place in which people could not see you, to becoming a metaphor over the last two decades of the twentieth century used for queers who face a lack of sexual identity. Shneer and Aviv bring together two conflicting ideas of the American view of queerness: the ideas of the past, and the present. They state as queerness became more visible, people finally had the choice of living multiple lives, or integrating one’s lives and spaces (Shneer and Aviv 2006: 245). They highlight another change in the past twenty years as the clash between being queer and studying queerness (Shneer and Aviv 2006: 246-7). They argue that the active and visible contests over power among American queers show that queers now occupy an important place in our culture. They expand on the fact that queerness, real, and performed, is everywhere (Shneer and Aviv 2006: 248). This source shows the transformation in American culture of the acceptance of queerness. It makes an extremely critical resource by providing evidence of the changes in culture throughout the last two decades. Having the information that queerness is becoming more accepted in culture links to a higher percentage of LGBTQ youths becoming comfortable with their sexual identity. However, compared to the other sources, this
In relation to how sexual minorities like lesbians are marginalized by the power elite in society, Judith Butler explains the politicization of sexuality through the performance of sexual identity by constantly rearticulating and re-establishing heterosexuality as the norm. Ironically, the term “heterosexual” cannot claim authority as ...
In an effort to legitimize all subcategories of sexuality considered deviant of heterosexual normatively, queer theory acknowledges nontraditional sexual identities by rejecting the rigid notion of stabilized sexuality. It shares the ideals of gender theory, applying to sexuality the idea that gender is a performative adherence to capitalist structures that inform society of what it means to be male, female, gay, and straight. An individual’s conformity to sexual or gendered expectations indicates both perpetration and victimization of the systemic oppression laid down by patriarchal foundations in the interest of maintaining power within a small group of people. Seeking to deconstruct the absolute nature of binary opposition, queer theory highlights and celebrates literary examples of gray areas specifically regarding sexual orientation, and questions those which solidify heterosexuality as the “norm”, and anything outside of it as the “other”.
Halperin, David. "Is There a History of Sexuality?." The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader. Ed. Henry
In “Breeding Culture, Barebacking, Bugchasing, Giftgiving” Tim Dean (2008) explores the factors behind the emergence of the titular gay subcultures. He argues that, “somewhat akin to the category of queer, barebacking is defined by its resistance… to heterosexual norms… [and] gay norms as well” (p.1). In other words, barebacking queers dominant notions of sex. This is exemplified through the reconceptualization of bottoming - which would traditionally be conceived as the passive/female role in both heterosexual and queer communities – within the barebacking community becomes a hyper-masculine act.
Milstein, Susan A. Taking Sides Clashing Views in Human Sexuality. Ed. William J. Taverner and Ryan W. McKee. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.
“The unprecedented growth of the gay community in recent history has transformed our culture and consciousness, creating radically new possibilities for people to ‘come out’ and live more openly as homosexuals”(Herdt 2). Before the 1969 Stonewall riot in New York, homosexuality was a taboo subject. Research concerning homosexuality emphasized the etiology, treatment, and psychological adjustment of homosexuals. Times have changed since 1969. Homosexuals have gained great attention in arts, entertainment, media, and politics. Yesterday’s research on homosexuality has expanded to include trying to understand the different experiences and situations of homosexuals (Ben-Ari 89-90).
The Phylogeny of Homos Manus is a collection of photos which feature an aspect of gay culture in regards to body categorization. The gay community currently stereotypes individuals by the use of animals. Animals are chosen based on physical attributes such as body hair and muscle mass. The use of animal descriptions and clans plays a large role in on-line dating through applications such as Grindr and Scruff. A single animal clan can reveal multiple traits about an individual's physical appearance and can be seen as a playful way to celebrate many kinds of body types. This collection of photographs reveals the positive and negative aspects of clan ideology. This piece references concepts such as animal eroctism,
Queer can be defined as the term that is used for different aspects and purposes. In past, it was used in place of words that represented strangeness or abnormality. However, in fashion studies queer was defined to demonstrate lesbians and gay individual.
Somerville, Siobhan. "Scientific Racism and the Invention of the Homosexual Body." Gender, Sex, and Sexuality. New York: Oxford University, 2009. 284-99. Print.
Osmundson, Joseph. "'I Was Born This Way': Is Sexuality Innate, and Should It Matter?" Harvard Kennedy School. N.p., 2011. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. .
In sociology, the LGBT community is viewed as a subculture to the dominant world culture. The community is generally accepted by the dominant culture and although the group has some of its own beliefs and rituals/traditions, it still adheres to the fundamental beliefs and cultural expectations of the dominant culture. Before being considered a subculture, homosexual relationships and variations of sexual orientation were classified as devian behaviort. Even before that, someone who experienced homosexual thoughts or tendencies was labeled as mentally ill. The idea of homosexuality being a mental illness appeared in the DSM until 1987. There are still remnants of homophobia today but the consensus (at
In fact, I feel queer activists could benefit from such ambiguous status as one of the premises of queer theory suggests that identity is fluid. With such an ever-changing identity, queer activists can promote idea-defending positions they may be able to counter the persuasive sexual identity and sexual power in society. These groups can benefit from positive activism as they purport that their identity as ways of doing versus ways being.
The concept of sexual orientation, which is a person’s romantic and emotional attraction to another person, is a modern sociological construct (Macionis, Jansson, Benoit, & Burkowicz, p. 190, 2016). The predominant classifications of this concept are heterosexuality, meaning the sexual attraction to someone of the opposite sex, and homosexuality, the sexual attraction to someone of the same sex (Macionis et. al., p. 190, 2016). With the large majority of society’s acknowledgment towards these two sexual identities, it leaves little to no room for those who find themselves in neither ends of these categories, to receive any sort of recognition. More specifically, the visibility for those who establish themselves as bisexual, defined as the sexual attraction to people of both genders, face misconceptions from a portion of society (Macionis et. al., p. 190, 2016). Whether it may be from heterosexuals or homosexuals, someone who falls in between the two identities seem to encounter greater difficulties in gaining social acceptance. Despite having its place in the term, LGBTQ, which is an abbreviation for the community of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and people of other sexual orientations and