You will prepare and submit a term paper on Main Point of Queer Theory. Your paper should be a minimum of 2000 words in length. Queer theory is different, however. It is different in that it does not look at gay and lesbianism as being compartmentalized. It recognizes that sexuality is fluid and that people who are gay and lesbian may not necessarily have rigid sexuality. More importantly, queer theory is not focused strictly upon gay and lesbian issues per se. Rather, it brings a queer sensibility to many areas of modern life, even areas that are not traditionally thought to be associated with gay and lesbian issues – such as economics, for instance. Queer theory also is interested in looking at heterosexual literature with a queer lens, so that, for instance, a certain piece of literature or art could be interpreted in a way that would encompass queer theory. In other words, queer theory is much more of a sweeping theory than gay and lesbian theory, therefore it potentially has a much larger reach. Moreover, it has the possibility of transforming sociological studies in a greater way than gay and lesbian theory has. This essay will examine queer theory, what it is, and how it is different than gay and lesbian theory. It will also examine some examples of queer theory, and how queer theory recognizes the fluidity of gender constructions, and how gender is, in general, a construct of culture, which is opposed to sex, which is innate. Just like a person is born male or female, but is not necessarily would be considered to be the gender of his or her birth, so do gays and lesbians blur the cultural construct of the genders.

According to Turner (2000), queer theory addresses how lesbians, gays and transsexuals raise questions about how we understand sex, the sexes and gender. Sullivan (2003) states that sexuality is not natural, but, rather is discursively constructed, and is understood in ways that are culturally and historically specific.