On the surprising queerness of norms: Anthropology with Canguilhem, Foucault, and Butler

Abstract

“Norms” seem like a handy concept in the anthropological toolkit for describing, analyzing, and understanding ethnographic data. But contemporary anthropology rarely investigates the concept of the norm itself. This article critically examines norms as analytical constructs and argues for a more precise vocabulary that differentiates between related terms, such as “normality,” “normativity,” or “normalization,” that circulate loosely in anthropological discourse. To do so, it draws from Georges Canguilhem, Michel Foucault, and Judith Butler to show the affordances and pitfalls of their analytics for anthropologists. It particularly reveals the value of Canguilhemian understandings of normativity to keep us alive to the surprising queerness of norms in action.