Copyright © 2016. Icon Books, Limited. All rights reserved.

Barker, M. (2016). Queer : A graphic history. Icon Books, Limited.

Created from concordia-ebooks on 2023-07-31 13:43:41.
 Published in the UK in 2016 by
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ISBN: 978-178578-071-4
Text and illustrations copyright © 2016 Icon Books
Copyright © 2016. Icon Books, Limited. All rights reserved.

The authors have asserted their moral rights.

Edited by Kiera Jamison
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any
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Printed by Clays Ltd, St Ives plc

Barker, M. (2016). Queer : A graphic history. Icon Books, Limited.

Created from concordia-ebooks on 2023-07-31 13:44:07.
 HOW WE THINK ABOUT SEX

These moments in history – and many others – have left us with the set of common
understandings of sex and sexuality that we have now, embedded in the culture:
Copyright © 2016. Icon Books, Limited. All rights reserved.

Queer theory began by revealing all of these assumptions to be flawed, as well as

showing how they helped to maintain a certain status quo.
27

Barker, M. (2016). Queer : A graphic history. Icon Books, Limited.

Created from concordia-ebooks on 2023-07-31 13:42:00.
 KEY ASSUMPTION 1:
IDENTITIES ARE FIXED AND ESSENTIAL

This assumption can be questioned because of how contextual sexual identities and
practices are: they’re understood and experienced in very different ways at different
points in time, and across different cultures and communities. Also, recent research has
found that sexuality is fluid. Many people’s experiences of their sexuality changes over
the course of their lifetimes. Many adopt different identity terms at different times.
Copyright © 2016. Icon Books, Limited. All rights reserved.

Queer theory goes beyond

these points to challenge the
whole notion of individual
identity.

28

Barker, M. (2016). Queer : A graphic history. Icon Books, Limited.

Created from concordia-ebooks on 2023-07-31 13:42:29.
 KEY ASSUMPTION 2:
SEXUALITY AND GENDER ARE BINARY

Neither sexuality nor gender is experienced as binary (clearly either/or) by everyone.

When researchers ask people to place themselves on a continuum of sexual attraction,
at least a third of people generally fall somewhere between “exclusively gay/lesbian” and
“exclusively straight”. More recent research from Tel-Aviv University has found that a
similar proportion of people experience themselves to some extent as the “other” gender,
as “both” genders, or as “neither”.
Copyright © 2016. Icon Books, Limited. All rights reserved.

Queer theory goes even further

than this in questioning the
whole concepts of sexual and
gender identity, and the links
between the two.

29

Barker, M. (2016). Queer : A graphic history. Icon Books, Limited.

Created from concordia-ebooks on 2023-07-31 13:42:39.
 KEY ASSUMPTION 3:
NORMAL AND ABNORMAL SEX CAN USEFULLY BE DISTINGUISHED

Historical shifts in which sexualities have been regarded as “normal” and “abnormal”, and
“functional” and “dysfunctional”, bring the whole idea of distinguishing people on this
basis into question.

We can also question what is meant by “normal”. Many of the currently listed “paraphilias”
(abnormal sexual desires) are very common, are practised by people consensually,
and are associated with psychological well-being. So why regard them as abnormal?
With major surveys finding that half of all people report having a sexual problem, is it
normal to be “sexually dysfunctional”? Or does the very idea of sexual function create
dysfunctions?
Copyright © 2016. Icon Books, Limited. All rights reserved.

Queer theory goes beyond these questions to critique the “regimes of normativity” and
“power relations” that such distinctions are based on.

30

Barker, M. (2016). Queer : A graphic history. Icon Books, Limited.

Created from concordia-ebooks on 2023-07-31 13:42:52.