Queer Theory Research Articles

Inheriting womyn’s land 1 : ‘thinking-with’ feminist lineages in a messy archive

In the past several years, a new generation of feminist and queer theorists has helped to cultivate renewed attention to the work of 1970s lesbian theory and activism. This renewed attention requires careful engagement with contested archives, particularly when navigating racisms and biological essentialisms of the past that continue to haunt feminisms in the present. In this article, I ask what it means to inherit and care for the contested archive of the womyn's land movement and the potentialities it preserves for future feminist theorising while remaining committed to trans inclusion and antiracist and anticolonial praxis. Drawing from the papers of womyn's land culturemakers Ruth and Jean Mountaingrove, I argue for a more complex understanding of what it means to ‘inherit’ this work for feminists interested in lineages of land-based feminist thought. By more fulsomely accounting for the possibilities that emerge from non-biological and queer forms of intergenerational exchange at play on the land, I argue for the vitality of the ‘messiness’ of this archive as a source of its own feminist pedagogy, proposing a process of ‘thinking-with’ these archives as part of a web of engagements rather than a linear genealogy.

Neuroqueer in/and social work: A scoping review of theory and practice

Abstract Neuroqueer is an emerging concept that brings queer theory and queering practices towards the interwoven experiences of neurodiversity, disability, gender, and sexuality. This review sought to understand how neuroqueer is conceptualised and applied in research and explore how social work could benefit from engaging with neuroqueer research and discourse. Using a scoping methodology, this review mapped ‘neuroqueer’ in empirical research across thirteen databases, with eighteen articles selected for inclusion. Data was charted following Arksey & O’Malley’s approach, and analysis included a descriptive summary of the charted data, and a reflexive thematic analysis following Braun & Clarke. We found that neuroqueer is used in diverse qualitative research across disciplines, but not yet in social work research. Neuroqueer defied a single definition across empirical research, however, our analysis identified three overarching themes—(1) neuroqueer as a framework for understanding the inseparability of queerness and neurodivergence; (2) neuroqueering as creative practices that upend and transgress social and disciplinary norms; and (3) neuroqueerness for embodied experiences of queerness and neurodivergence. In considering implications for social work, there are opportunities to bring social work strengths in community practice and systemic advocacy to build counter-narratives, resource collective care efforts, and (neuro)queer existing affirming care models.

"It's Very Cisnormatively Structured": An Interpretive Description of Undergraduate Nursing Students' Experiences of Gender Inclusive and Affirming Practices.

This study explores the experiences of undergraduate nursing students learning about transgender and gender diverse (TGD) health. We discuss nursing education's perpetuation of discrimination and erasure of TGD people and upholding of gender norms (cisnorms) is not sufficiently preparing students to care for TGD patients. Further, this rampant cisnormativity harms TGD nursing students. This interpretive description drew on queer theory and Hafferty's three levels of curriculum and engaged 18 undergraduate nursing students in initial and 13 in follow-up focus groups or interviews. Three key themes included (1) cisnormativity is perpetuated in nursing education through pervasive power and norms across the three levels of curriculum; (2) "The Trans Problem": Transgender and gender diverse people are othered in nursing education; and (3) Welcoming the other: Individual educators who welcome and affirm TGD people are crucial. Critical recommendations from students to advance gender inclusive and affirming practices are provided, including normalizing gender diversity in formal nursing education, the importance of accountability and representation in schools of nursing, and the need for nursing governing bodies to disrupt cisnormativity.

Queer visions: deconstructing heteronormativity in Fairytales for Lost Children

ABSTRACT The research analyses how Diriye Osman’s Fairytales for Lost Children depicts queer African identities. It examines how the author subverts gender conventions and stereotypes through his narrative. Using a qualitative literary analysis, the study examines gender identity and sexuality, followed by cultural influences within narratives. The paper investigates the flexibility of sexual identity development within its setting of African literature by deconstructing the heteronormative binary using queer theory as the primary conceptual platform. This study highlights the complexity of queer African experiences through an extensive examination of Osman’s stories, as well as the ways that literature can provide a forum for underrepresented voices to be heard and understood.

A Queer Feminist Perspective on the Early Neolithic Urfa Region: The Ecstatic Agency of the Phallus

Abstract The archaeological settlements of the Early Neolithic Urfa region in Türkiye have garnered academic and public interest since the 1990s due to their large-scale stone architecture and rich iconography, particularly featuring phallic imagery. While mainstream narratives suggest a male-centred society in the region, feminist and queer theory approach such interpretations with a critical eye. By challenging traditional ‘male-centred society’ narratives through the lens of queer and feminist theories, this study offers a critique of existing methodologies that fail to historicize archaeological data. By recontextualizing the phallic iconography through the lens of sexuality, this study proposes a new interpretation: the phallus was not a symbol of male power, but an agent facilitating spiritual transcendence, enabling ecstatic experiences and serving as a conduit between the material and spiritual realms.

“Trying to tell it all to you”: creating queer spaces through poetic organising

PurposeIn this paper, I examine what “queer spaces” might constitute, and their value to queer people and to organisations. I propose that “queer spaces” might be based on the concept of “poetic organizing”, and the poetic commitment of “trying to tell it all to you”.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is theoretical, autoethnographical and poetical.FindingsPoetic organising is not the assertion of one’s own experience but the attempt to share it with another in ways that the other can make sense of, and connect in some way to their own experience. It invites us to both disrupt and to be disrupted and, in the mutuality of such co-disrupting, to find ways to better live with the other, and to accommodate one another. I outline the grounds and key principles of poetic organising, and how it queers how we normatively organise, including how we organise difference.Originality/valueThe paper extends previous incorporations of poetry into MOS by moving from looking at organisations through a complementary poetic lens (how can poetry make us look/see differently?), to the more radical practice of organising poetically (how can poetry make us do and be differently?). This also has implications for queer theory and practice as queer people or Allies in allowing our queerness itself to be queered, and recognising how what we seek to queer for our own “liveable lives” has implications for those lives of others.

The Role of Canadian Queer Theater Festivals on Queer Identity and Expression

This study examines the role of Canadian queer theater festivals as unique sites of adult education and social movement learning. Traditionally, social movement learning has focused on informal mentoring or formal instruction in protests, workshops, and lectures, aiming for mass societal transformation. However, newer approaches emphasize personal transformation, with social movements adopting adult education to impact social, political, and cultural life. Theater festivals, especially those centered on queer themes, offer inclusive, accessible, and engaging platforms for sharing experiences, dialogue, and collective social change efforts. These festivals facilitate active learning through workshops, performances, and discussions, allowing participants to engage with social issues creatively. Despite extensive research on Pride festivals, queer theater festivals have been largely overlooked in scholarly discourse. This qualitative study focuses on how attendees of Canadian queer theater festivals learn about queer identities, exploring three key areas: queer culture, identities, and intersections.

Flora’s Space: Archiving Queer Love Through Letters and Affections

ABSTRACT This article delves into the affective lives, desires, and acts of resistance among queer women in late nin eteenth-century Denmark through the love letters of Flora Mathilde Freigaard Larsen to her girlfriend, Agnes Nathalie Olsen. Both women were registered as “public women,” signifying their involvement in sex work under Denmark’s regime of “statutory prostitution,” which tightly regulated women’s sexual activities. By exploring Flora’s letters, preserved in police archives, this article illuminates the fragmented traces of working-class (queer) women’s histories. Grounded in affect and queer theories, the article challenges the traditional narrative of queer history as a linear progression from repression to liberation. It highlights the complexities of queer women’s lives at a time when same-sex relations between women fell outside legal scrutiny, revealing a nuanced interplay of desire, joy, and community within contexts of institutional control. It argues that a focus on rebellious affect within the archive reveals counter-disciplines fostered through community, belonging, and love. By foregrounding the voices and experiences of women who resisted sexual and gender norms, the article advances queer historiography, advocating for an archival approach embracing ambivalence and optimism to enrich queer historical narratives.

Unfolding the layers of LGBTQ+ identity, resilience, and multicultural perspectives in Vietnam.

My personal narrative, intertwined with the theoretical acumen of Queer Theory and intersectionality framework, is used within this article as one way of underlining the critical role of lived experiences in forming an insight into LGBTQ+ identity and informing the strategies necessary to support this community. Drawing on Queer Theory, particularly the work of scholars like Jagose, which highlights the fluidity and complexity of identity, this research will analyze the intersectional challenges faced by individuals in specific non-Western regions, particularly in Southeast Asia. These experiences are examined through the employment of a reflexive thematic analysis approach, identifying recurring themes such as (1) gender nonconformity in childhood, (2) the pain of bullying and social pressures, (3) cultural transition and self-acceptance, (4) family support and unspoken understanding, and (5) interaction with LGBTQ+ Communities in Africa and the MENA Region.

Toward an Abolitionist Epistemology

Abstract: The theoretical underpinnings of police and penal abolition can provide important epistemological guidance to social science researchers. A review of the conceptual frames of abolition and the social science theories underlying it provides a basis for an abolitionist epistemology that incorporates insights from queer theory, critical race theory, feminism, historical materialism, and postcolonial theory. An exposition of existing studies that conform to these theoretical frameworks shows this approach’s value.

Experiences and Perceptions of Gynaecological Violence: A Descriptive Exploration of the Phenomenon from Survivors’ Standpoints

In the context of increasing movements against gender-based violence, resentment against sexism and disrespect within the medical field has gained attention. Using an exploratory qualitative approach, this study aims to provide a comprehensive description of gynaecological violence (GV) from survivors’ perspectives. The convergence of critical thinking, queer theory, and intersectional feminism underscores the importance of understanding diverse and marginalised perspectives as well as individual narratives. Nine participants from Québec (Canada) shared their stories through individual, semi-structured interviews. Phenomenology was used to analyse the deep and nuanced lived experiences, enabling the capture of the essence of GV. The findings first highlight the negative experiences faced by participants, encompassing situations where they felt deprived of choices, unheard, treated insensitively, dehumanised, abandoned, and gaslighted. The results then trace the line between participants’ negative experiences and GV, revealing how perceptions of violence are formed. Finally, a phenomenological description of GV is provided, offering insights into how the phenomenon can be personally experienced by individuals. This study bridges a gap in the literature, provides a foundation for future research and advocacy, and presents recommendations. It calls for reevaluating practices in gynaecological health services to ensure they are inclusive and respectful.

Exploring Gender Diversity and Trauma- and Violence-Informed Sport for Development

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated gender-based violence (GBV) rates in Canada, especially affecting young women and gender-diverse youth. Trauma- and violence-informed physical activity and sport for development (SFD) are recognized strategies for supporting survivors of violence, preventing GBV, and challenging gender norms. This paper explores the potential of trauma- and violence-informed approaches with a Canadian SFD organization, focusing on programs aimed to promote gender diversity and address GBV. Grounded in intersectional feminism and queer theory, findings from interviews with SFD staff and participants (n = 15) revealed challenges in maintaining a trauma- and violence-informed approach in a heteronormative sporting space. In conclusion, further research on trauma-informed SFD is crucial due to increasing GBV rates in sport.

A Pre-Raphaelite Bromance: The Influence of Dante Gabriel Rossetti on the Queer Works of Edward Burne-Jones

In this paper I explore the artistic and personal association between eminent Pre-Raphaelite artists Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Edward Burne-Jones, through the lens of queer theory. I put forward the idea that Burne-Jones was battling with queer desire for his idol and tutor, drawing upon the lengthy correspondence between the two men held at the Bodleian library, among other sources. Though this love appears to be unrequited, I explore the notable influence it may have had upon the androgynous works of Burne-Jones – including his two versions of The Annunciation (1857–61 and 1879), the Pygmalion Series (1873–75), The Depths of the Sea (1886) and The Sirens (1872–1898). Whilst some works, such as the Annunciations, are strikingly similar to Rossetti's in both style and composition, others reveal the tutor's influence in a more subtle manner. In many cases Rossetti drew Burne-Jones directly to the source material or subject matter, but there appears to be a deeper connection: the Pygmalion series and The Sirens, among others, contain queer undertones which hint at suppressed romantic feelings on the part of Burne-Jones.

Censorship Public and Censorship Private: Authority, Authenticity, and Acceptability in the Early Production History of Brian Friel’s Philadelphia, Here I Come!

The early production history of Brian Friel’s breakout play, Philadelphia, Here I Come! (1964), is, in many respects, a story of public and private censorship. By recovering that history through original archival research, I bring into focus a revealing snapshot of the artistic concerns and professional anxieties of an emerging playwright on the eve of his rise to international prominence. Friel’s experience of the dying days of UK stage censorship, at a time when the partial decriminalization of sex between men was being debated in the Houses of Parliament, offers rare insight into the relationship between the play’s production history, the intersectional politics of acceptability, and the queer history of these islands. Drawing on material from the Brian Friel Papers (National Library of Ireland) and the Lord Chamberlain’s Plays and Correspondence (British Library), this article sheds new light on a turning point in Friel’s career at a time when the politics of queer representation were also on the threshold of significant change.

Annual review article: Rethinking heteronormativity in entrepreneurship studies research

This review article critiques how entrepreneurship scholars have engaged with heteronormativity. Research on entrepreneurship and heteronormativity is emergent and largely confined to the literature on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ) entrepreneurs. Despite generating valuable insights into heteronormativity’s impact on LGBTQ entrepreneurs, there is unevenness in how it is conceptualised in terms of definition and deployment. Elaborated in a set of critical observations, this article argues that the choices entrepreneurship scholars make about how heteronormativity is (not) defined and utilised are clearly consequential for any analysis of its dynamics in and outside the entrepreneurship domain. To progress debate and research, this article conceptualises heteronormativity as analytical category that is steeped in queer and feminist theory. This review calls for clearer and deeper conceptual engagements with heteronormativity and a more encompassing approach to the study of heteronormativity that also focuses on its relationship with heterosexuality and heterosexual entrepreneurs.

Redefining Identity: A Critical Analysis of Transgender Representation in Khuda Mera Bhi Hai

This study examines the representation of transgender individuals in the popular Pakistani drama series Khuda Mera Bhi Hai (2016), aired on ARY Digital. The study investigates how Pakistani dramas portray the challenges faced by transgender people and advocate for gender equality. Using queer theory as a theoretical framework, the research analyzes how transgender characters are socially constructed and represented in Pakistani media. The study employs a descriptive qualitative research method, analyzing dialogues featuring transgender characters from YouTube. The character of Noor serves as a key focus, illustrating the real-life struggles of transgender individuals in society. The study adds to the larger conversation on gender inequality and media representation by demonstrating how television dramas can question and uphold social standards. The findings reveal that while Khuda Mera Bhi Hai sheds light on the hardships faced by transgender people, it also perpetuates certain stereotypes, offering both a critique and a reflection of the real-life issues transgender individuals endure. This research provides important insights into the role of media in shaping public perceptions of gender and identity in Pakistan.

Faith and fluidity: examining religion and queer realities in African literature

ABSTRACT In African societies, religion influences the perceptions of sexuality, which often marginalizes Queer identities. This paper aims to study the contentious relationship between religion and sexuality in contemporary African queer works like Gods Children Are Little Broken Things (2022), Speak No Evil (2018), You Have to Be Gay to Know God (2018) and La Bastarda (2016). These works represent the societal attitudes toward queer individuals and how these attitudes perpetuate stigmatization and reinforce heteronormative norms. The paper employs textual analysis as a methodology to establish a relationship between the selected texts and their engagement with the core religious beliefs of the African communities. The framework of the study, Gender and Queer theory, gives gravity to the key findings of the paper, which attests that religious and sexual conflict often results in feelings of guilt and identity crisis among Queer youth. This paper simultaneously attempts to bring up the fact that writers like Siya Khumalo, Arinze Ifeakandu, Trifonia Melibea Obono, and Uzodinma Iweala, through their works, are increasingly finding ways to resist heteronormative pressures and embrace their unique identities.

Exploring how queer teachers of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) negotiate sexuality in the classroom

This article presents a small-scale qualitative research project that explores how four queer teachers of English for speakers of other languages negotiate sexuality in the classroom and considers how it shapes their understanding of themselves, their students and their teaching practice. The project employs the conceptual tools of queer theory and a poststructuralist approach to policy studies as a means to illuminate some of the discourses employed by these teachers. Using semi-structured interviews to generate data and a thematic analysis, the article discusses how the teachers conceive of ‘outness’ as being desirable but threatening to classroom dynamics. It also explores some of the assumptions behind this, suggesting that, through parallel constructions of the English for speakers of other languages student as homophobic, and of the UK as tolerant, a discourse of homonationalism emerges.

Networks of queer reproduction in Sappho magazine (1972–1981)

ABSTRACT In 1978 the London Evening News ran a series of ‘exposés’ on the UK lesbian organization and magazine Sappho and their Artificial Insemination by Donor (A.I.D) network. This article situates the Sappho A.I.D network in relation to the many literary, artistic and activist groups that Sappho also helped to establish and participated in. By considering for the first time the connections between Sappho’s poetic, political and fertility clinic practices, this article contributes to growing scholarship on queer reproduction and stresses the role of feminist print media networks as vital nodes for altering reproductive possibility and life. Although evidently before IVF, before the Internet and before HIV/AIDS-related queer activism and queer theory, this article argues that Sappho evidences forms of interdependency useful for imagining beyond today’s liberal reproductive politics, focused around questions of access, choice and rights. This new study of Sappho magazine proposes feminist media activism in transition as a conscious methodological movement in the reading across the nodes of literary experimentation, family creation and activist struggle, as well as a self-reflective transiting in time to address the politics of recovering Sappho today.

Princesses, Tomboys and ‘gender theory’: film, family and school as symbolic battlegrounds in the culture wars of twenty-first-century France

ABSTRACT Superficially, two French-language films—Alain Berliner’s Ma vie en Rose (1997) and Céline Sciamma’s Tomboy (2011)—mobilise the same subject matter: a gender-transgressive child exploring gender performativity. Yet in a counterintuitive turn, only the latter film generated serious post-release controversy, including petitions against its scholastic distribution. This article aims to explain that distinction and examine why Tomboy alone became such a cultural-political lightning rod. To that end, it details the shifting cultural and political circumstances that, in 2010s France, saw Tomboy as the embodiment of threats to French institutions including, above all, the family. By digging into the tenets of French republicanism imagined to be menaced—especially the education system, where Tomboy had in 2012 been conscripted into a film-based curricular programme—this article homes in on just how Tomboy became such a flashpoint. Furthermore, this article looks not just to context but also to these films’ forms and plots themselves to clarify how each one reinforces or challenges the philosophical buttresses of ‘Frenchness’. With the assistance of existing scholarship on Céline Sciamma alongside political (Robcis), queer (Perreau) and postcolonial (Tévanian) theories, this article understands films like Tomboy and Ma vie en Rose as rich texts with symbolic importance far beyond their fictional scopes.