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Post Modern Feminism

Postmodern feminism and queer theory challenge traditional notions of gender and sexuality, arguing that these categories are fluid and socially constructed rather than fixed. They critique heteronormativity, which privileges heterosexuality and reinforces power dynamics in society. Key theorists like Foucault, Rubin, and Butler contribute to this discourse by exploring the complexities of sexuality and the implications of rigid gender binaries.

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Abdur Rahman
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34 views5 pages

Post Modern Feminism

Postmodern feminism and queer theory challenge traditional notions of gender and sexuality, arguing that these categories are fluid and socially constructed rather than fixed. They critique heteronormativity, which privileges heterosexuality and reinforces power dynamics in society. Key theorists like Foucault, Rubin, and Butler contribute to this discourse by exploring the complexities of sexuality and the implications of rigid gender binaries.

Uploaded by

Abdur Rahman
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Post Modern Feminism

&
Queer Theory
5. Postmodern Feminism & Queer
Theory -'Beware: Deconstruction Ahead'
• Postmodernism - a late 20th-century movement characterized by
broad skepticism, relativism; a general suspicion of reason; and an
acute sensitivity to the role of ideology in asserting and maintaining
political and economic power
• Post-modern feminism challenges gender categories as dual,
oppositional, and fixed, arguing instead that sexuality and gender are
shifting, fluid, multiple categories
Queer Theory
• The idea of “heteronormativity,” which pertains to “the institutions,
structures of understanding, and practical orientations that
make heterosexuality seem not only normal but also privileged”
• Heteronormativity is a worldview that promotes heterosexuality as the
normal and/or preferred sexual orientation, and is reinforced in society
through the institutions of marriage, employment, and adoption rights,
among many others
• Heteronormativity is a form of power and control that applies pressure
to both straight and gay individuals, through institutional arrangements
and accepted social norms
• Queer theory tends to challenge the hegemony of hetertonormativity
Core Theorists
• Some of the core theorists in the development of queer theory include Michael
Foucault, Gayle Rubin, and Judith Butler
• For instance, Foucault refuses to accept that sexuality can be clearly defined, and
instead focuses on the production of sexuality within structure of power and
knowledge
• Gayle Rubin demonstrates the way that certain sexual expressions are made more
valuable than others, and by doing that, allowing those who are outside of these
parameters to be oppressed.
• Judith Butler argues in her book Gender Trouble that gender, like sexuality, is not an
essential truth obtained from one’s body
• She further argues that the strict belief that the there is a “truth” of sex makes
heterosexuality as the only proper outcome because of the coherent binary created
of “feminine” and “masculine” and thus creating the only logical outcome of either
being a “male” or “female
Critique

• Queer theory is interdisciplinary and therefore creates new ways of


thinking in how sexuality shapes and is shaped by other factors- sex-
gender- language-history-socialization-literature- media , e.g.
Romantic love
• According to Postmodern feminism and queer theory , equality will
come when there are so many recognized sexes, sexualities, and
genders that one can't be played against the other
• Postmodern feminism and queer theory examine the ways societies
justify the beliefs about gender

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