Queer Theory: Deviance Or Deviant To The Norm

Queer theory can be defined as the ongoing cultural critique of the heteronormative social hierarchy. Queer theory looks at, and studies, the political critique of cultural behavior that falls into either a normative or deviant category. The word "queer" itself has a primary meaning of "odd," or "out of the ordinary" (according to Webster). So by definition queer theory concerns itself with any and all forms of sexuality and sexual identity that are "queer" or deviant to the norm. Theorists also analyze normative behaviors and identities to help define what is "queer" and the reasons why society labels these actions as deviant. Thus queer theory expands the scope of its analysis to all kinds of behaviors, including those which are gender bending
Matthew Shepard was kidnapped and beaten by two males because of his sexuality. Matthew’s death inspired playwright Moises Kaufman and the members of the Tectonic Theatre Project to travel to Laramie and conduct hundreds of interviews with townspeople about Matthew’s life and death. From these interviews the company created a piece of documentary theatre. That took the compiled interviews and turned them into a performance where eight actors portrayed more then sixty characters in a series of short scenes. The Laramie Project deals with themes of homophobia, hate, violence but it also projects a message of hope and
This unseen social conditioning has interweaved homophobia into cultural dogma and passes it down to future generation through intuitions such as schools, religion, politics and even the family unit. In Fear of a Queer Planet, Michael Warner takes a look at the oppressive language that is centered around the family ideology. Warner uses the “heterosexual rationale, that if everyone were queer, the race would die out (i.e. Don’t be queer)” to try and illuminate how deep rooted homophobia really is within society. However, when we take a closer look at that statement the irony relives itself. In order for this statement to hold any truth it must mean that all intercourse is in fact meant for reproductive means. Living in the twenty-first century we that to be false. So exactly where did this hate or fear of difference originate? There is a point within the play where the Reverend tells a member of a the Tectonic Theatre Project that part of the punishment of the men whom took Matthew Shepard’s life should be to explain why they hated Matthew and where their hate originated from. However, both Warner and The Laramie Project conclude that this hate of queer is so engraved with in social theory that it is hard to pin point the exact cause. If this hate is a so engrained in our society, is there any way to change