MDSA01H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Human Sexuality, Clairvoyance, Aestheticism
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Critical Media Studies: An Introduction (2nd edition)
Study Guide (Chapter 9)
9. Queer Analysis
Queer Theory: An Overview- is an interdisciplinary perspective that seeks to disrupt socially
constructed systems of meaning surrounding human sexuality.
Queer- an intentional term – liteall, stage, odd, outside the o
Sexuality- is an enduring emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction toward others based
upon their gender or sex.
Heteronormativity- A system of inequality that perpetuates a binary understanding of
heterosexuality and homosexuality in which heterosexuality is privileged.
Heteooatiit efes to a diese set of soial paties that futio to
pepetuate the heteoseual/hooseual ia ad to piilege heteoseualit.
Homophobia- Homophobia is the hatred or fear of homosexuals - that is, lesbians and gay
men - sometimes leading to acts of violence and expressions of hostility. Homophobia is not confined to
any one segment of society, and can be found in people from all walks of life.
Stigmatization- to set some mark of disgrace or infamy upon
The closet- Quee theoist Ee Kosofsk “edgik put its the ga loset is ot a
feature only of the lives of gay people.
Binaries- this binary must exist if heterosexuality is to be considered normal or
desirable, the second function of heteronormative social practices.
Sexual othering- The process of stigmatizing homosexuality (or really any non-
heterosexual practice) in order to privilege heterosexuality. Or as abnormal
Key queer theorists
Michel Foucault- outlines his theory of sexuality as a discursive construction, or a
product of social forces and ways of talking about the world at a given historical moment. The
sodomite had been a temporary aberration; the homoseual as o a speies. Fouault
suggests that seualit, udestood as a ualit of oe’s pesoal idetit, is a podut of lass
warfare in the eighteenth century.
Discursive construction- a social construction made invisible. Natural, normal,
and ideed iologial its disusie aspets.
Judith Butler- we cannot understand the soul as something sacred unless we first
characterize the body as that which can hold something sacred. People act according to
the gender conventions of a given society, and acting in accordance with these
conventions over a period of time produces a sense of gender identity as a personal or
internal quality.
Gender performativity- The idea that gender, rather than a coherent
component of identity incorporated through socialization, is in fact a bodily performance of
discourse that exists only because people believe it is significant.
Sexual Stereotypes in US Media pg 221
Heterosexuality
Normal/natural- Heterosexuality become natural simply by functioning as the
overwhelmingly present type of sexual identity in popular media texts.
Loving/monogamous- Heterosexuality is linked with monogamy. Heterosexual
relationships in love movies ending in marriage.
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find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Queer theory: an overview- is an interdisciplinary perspective that seeks to disrupt socially constructed systems of meaning surrounding human sexuality. Queer- an intentional term lite(cid:396)all(cid:455), (cid:862)st(cid:396)a(cid:374)ge(cid:863), (cid:862)odd(cid:863), outside the (cid:374)o(cid:396)(cid:373) Sexuality- is an enduring emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction toward others based upon their gender or sex. Heteronormativity- a system of inequality that perpetuates a binary understanding of heterosexuality and homosexuality in which heterosexuality is privileged. Hete(cid:396)o(cid:374)o(cid:396)(cid:373)ati(cid:448)it(cid:455) (cid:862)(cid:396)efe(cid:396)s to a di(cid:448)e(cid:396)se set of so(cid:272)ial p(cid:396)a(cid:272)ti(cid:272)es that fu(cid:374)(cid:272)tio(cid:374) (cid:894)(cid:1005)(cid:895) to pe(cid:396)petuate the hete(cid:396)ose(cid:454)ual/ho(cid:373)ose(cid:454)ual (cid:271)i(cid:374)a(cid:396)(cid:455) a(cid:374)d (cid:894)(cid:1006)(cid:895) to p(cid:396)i(cid:448)ilege hete(cid:396)ose(cid:454)ualit(cid:455). (cid:863) Homophobia- homophobia is the hatred or fear of homosexuals - that is, lesbians and gay men - sometimes leading to acts of violence and expressions of hostility. Homophobia is not confined to any one segment of society, and can be found in people from all walks of life. Stigmatization- to set some mark of disgrace or infamy upon.
