Only human nature after all?

Abstract

This chapter presents a discussion of conflicting and competing definitions of the term ‘queer’ as signal for controversy within the lesbian and gay community, with the representation of gays and lesbians in television dramas. It suggests that there is a proliferation of opposing and contradictory meanings for this term, while it may be considered a ‘subversive repetition’ of a derogatory term that opens up an identity category; it does not always signify a progressive fashion for everyone. This includes consideration of the concept of a queer or ‘camp’ aesthetic and of the practice of ‘queer reading’. Furthermore, it offers an analysis of the television series, Queer as Folk, which argues that if this drama can be considered ‘progressive’, this is not simply a matter of its use of a postmodern or camp aesthetic but of an interplay between formal devices associated with these ‘sensibilities’ and a certain level of referential realism.