I agree with Jarek, that the use of the word queer is less about "fashion" than it is about 1) a deliberate attempt to reclaim (often medicalizing and normalizing) academic discourses about non- heterosexual people and practices and 2) a reflection of the work done by activist groups and movements such as Act Up who challenged the assimilationist message of more mainstream gay and lesbian groups. If you are interested in the use of the word queer and queer theory in general, a great place to start would be with Fear of a Queer Planet edited by Michael Warner or Queer Theory/Sociology edited by (I believe) Steven Seidman. CJ ___________________________________________ C.J. Pascoe, Ph.D. Institute for the Study of Social Change University of California, Berkeley Phone: 510-643-4227 Web: http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~cjpascoe Book: http://ucpress.edu/books/pages/10671.htm Digital Youth: http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu On Apr 30, 2007, at 4:23 PM, J. J. wrote:
"fashion?" "preference" perhaps ... ? I think that at all times we are in search for words that would reflect our changing realities and our changing perceptions ... I just don't find "fashion" as having the right ring to it, to describe the process.
Jarek