Moran’s investigations into feminist theory offer an interesting probe into queer theory. He notes society’s need to categorize and diagnose sexuality: “from the late nineteenth century onward, the homosexual became a named category or species, whereas previously same-sex love had just been an activity undertaken by a wide variety of people” (97). Sexuality not only needs to be defined and categorized, but also it becomes tied to personality, becomes “entangled in much wider issues… of masculinity, capitalism, and national identity” (99).
At the Trans? Fine By Me talk I went to recently, one of the speakers mentioned a man who was gay who was assaulted. However, she noted, this man was not assaulted for his sexuality. He was not with his partner, and therefore the assailant would have no way of knowing his sexuality. Rather, he was assaulted because the assailant believed he failed at his gender. He was believed to not be actively expressing his masculinity enough, and because of this, the assailant believed he was homosexual. Thus, his masculinity tied directly to his sexuality, as Moran suggests is a common fault.
I have five siblings. One of my sisters is bisexual, one of my brothers is transgender, and one of my brothers is gay. However, I do not often tell people these facts because people seem to define them by their sexuality/gender. Sam becomes my “bisexual sister,” rather than my sister who is bisexual. Ollie because my “transgender brother” rather than my brother who is transgender. And Jesse becomes my “gay brother” rather than my brother who is gay. This diction bothers me because I know their sexuality not only becomes a defining characteristic to their beings, but people tie their sexuality and gender to personality, masculinity and femininity.
Because Jesse is gay, people I describe him to immediately assume he is more feminine, even though sexuality and gender are two completely separate things. Instead of simply being a male attracted to individuals of the same sex, he is assumed to be girly, a fan of shopping and gossip, feminine. Jesse will always be one of the best men I will ever know (and far more ‘manly’ than most of the heterosexual men I know), but friends in school will belittle his masculinity because of preconceived notions about his sexuality.
Moran’s brief dip into queer theory has proved to be the most interesting argument in the book. He questions our need to define sexuality, to tie to sexuality to masculinity and femininity, and reminds me that there is far more than two genders and two sexes. I could probably 600 more blog posts about queer theory.