Difference, Identity and the Other: Sexuality

Difference, Identity and the Other: Sexuality

How do we define our sexuality? Do we define it or is it defined for us? What does it mean to be heterosexual, homosexual or queer? How is this “othering” used to maintain social control? What are the implications of this for feminism (for example, Are gay men still oppressors or dominant because they are men)? Is our sexuality a fundamental part of who we are (essentialist position) and even biologically determined? Or is it something we are socialized into accepting or feeling (social constructionist)? Or is it a choice of expression or identity? Is it more theoretically useful to think of sexuality in terms of individual or collective identity or in terms of how it structures and orders social life? What does it mean to have a queer sexual ethic?
[In :Seidman, Steven & Alexander, Jeffrey C. The New Social Theory Reader. 2nd Edition. (London: Routledge), 2008.]
Butler, Judith. “Imitation and Gender Insubordination”, [1991] pp. 166-178.
Fuss, Diana. “Theorizing Hetero-and Homosexuality”, [1991] pp.390-395(from Inside/Out)
Seidman, Steven. “From Identity to Queer Politics: Shifts in Normative Heterosexuality”, [2001] pp. 396-404. (from Citizenship Studies)
Young, Iris Marion. “Justice and the Politics of Difference”, [1990] pp.261-269

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