Mokrovich, Jason Theodore (2005) On a discursive conversation between queer theory and sociology. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/2493/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] On a Discursive Conversation between Queer Theory and Sociology Jason Theodore Mokrovich Submitted in Fulfilment of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Applied Social Sciences Faculty of Law, Business, and Social Sciences University of Glasgow October 2005 ©Jason Theodore Mokrovich, 2005 Contents List of Tables Acknowledgments ii Abstract vi Introduction On a Discursive Conversation between Queer Theory and Sociology 1 By Way of Introduction Purpose 4 The Trajectory of the Thesis 8 Chapter One For a More Careful, Critical Reading (I): Problematising the Subject of Queer Theory 13 Introduction and Purpose 13 Section I: The Conflation of Queer Theory with a Queer Subject 18 i. The Queer Subject 18 ii. The Labour and Economics of the Queer Subject 26 Section II: A Careful, Critical Reading of Queer Theory 35 i. Against Proper Research Objects 35 Chapter Two For a More Careful, Critical Reading (II): Problematising Some Misinterpreted Queer Theoretical Formulations 41 Introduction and Purpose 41 Section I: The Conflation of Queer Theory with Misinterpreted 45 Theoretical Formulations i. Some Misinterpreted Theoretical Formulations 45 ii. A Careful, Critical Reading of Queer Theory 50 Chapter Two, continued Section II: Some More Careful, Critical Readings of Queer Theory 54 I. "If the lesbian and gay subject is deconstructed, then.... " 54 ii. "If queer theory uses the identity term 'queer' as an umbrella 60 term to describe a number of anti-normative sexual identities, then.... " Chapter Three Some Critical Citations: Problematising the Queer Erasure of Sociological Inquiry 67 Introduction and Purpose 67 Section I: The Significance of a Queer Presupposition 71 i. Sedgwick's Queer Presupposition 71 ii. The Working of Sedgwick's Queer Presupposition 75 iii. The Production of Queer Disciplinary Pursuits 76 Section II: Some Critical Citations 82 i. McIntosh: The'Homosexual Role' 82 ii. Gagnon and Simon: Social Structure, Norms, Scripts, and 92 Sexual Behaviour Section III: Some Disciplinary Cross-fertilisation 107 i. Cultural Sexual Scripts and the Voluntarist Subject 107 Chapter Four A Question of Methodology: Problematising Queer Theory's Textualism 118 Introduction and Purpose 118 Section I: A Question of Methodology 124 i. Butler's Take on Drag 124 ii. Butler's Under-analysis of the Social at the Expense of 139 Textualism iii. Normative Drag Subject Positions 142 iv. Other Kinds of Norms and their Relationship 146 v. The Encoding-Decoding Architecture of Drag 147 vi. Queer Theory's Textualism 151 Chapter Four, continued Section II: Some More Disciplinary Cross-fertilisation 159 i. Fieldnotes and Methods 159 ii. The Centrality of a Morphological Ideal 174 iii. The Stages/Processes of Doing 'Good Drag, Real Drag' 177 iv. Postscript: Lights, Camera, Actionl 205 v. Just a Morphological Ideal? 211 Coda Moving in the Direction of Disciplinary Cross-fertilisation 217 The 'Outsider-within Perspective' 217 The `Outsider-within Perspective' as a Way Forward 228 Appendices 231 Appendix A: Interlocutors 231 Appendix B: Face-to-face Interview Questions 233 Appendix C: Postal Questionnaire Questions 237 Endnotes 244 Introduction 244 Chapter One 244 Chapter Two 247 Chapter Three 248 Chapter Four 250 Coda 254 Works Cited 255 List of Tables Tables Table One 231 Interlocutors who formally participated in fieldwork by establishment and sex Table Two 232 Interlocutors who formally participated in fieldwork by establishment and sexual identity Table Three 232 Interlocutors who formally participated in fieldwork by establishment and age band Table Four 233 Interlocutors who formally participated in fieldwork by establishment and race/ethnicity Acknowledgments Throughout the course of the following project, there were many times when I lost faith in it and myself, and I wondered if I would ever complete it or, at the very least, feel that completion was attainable. There were times when I could not put pen to paper. The activity and its investments were testing. Thoughts, feelings, emotions, and imaginings were difficult to capture. The right words were not forthcoming. Sentences, paragraphs, I and sections proved to be even more difficult. There were times when felt isolated. I had no true sense of belonging. I felt I was up against an establishment, up against convention, and I felt lost, yearning to arrive I somewhere, to be housed by someone. There were times when I felt was doing this project for someone else and not for myself. It simply became an activity, a chore that I had to coax myself into doing. I was told by some that it was a means to a greater end that I just had to learn to struggle and cope with. There were times when I became my worst critic, even more so than those who were actually my critics. There were times when I wished I could start all over again and go down a different path, perhaps one that did not involve studying for a doctorate degree. But here I am now, completing the final words, the final sentences, the final paragraphs, and the final section of my project. I have arrived, and I feel as though I have arrived. The project and its process made me stronger, more confident, and a more faithful believer in what it seeks to do, in what it says. I began this project in the face of scepticism, and now I complete it knowing that it needed to be done. This would have never happened without the support of a number of significant social actors. At University of Glasgow, I would like to first and foremost thank my thesis supervisor, Barbara Littlewood. Barbara took on this project with an open mind and proved to be, to say the very least, a careful, critical reader throughout its conception. She gave me space when I needed space, she encouraged me when I needed encouragement, she reassured me when I Acknowledgments iii needed reassurance, she gave me refuge from the thesis when I needed refuge, and she strengthened the thesis when and where it needed strengthened. She always had references and photocopies in hand, and her continued interest in my project kept it alive. I could not have completed it without her support. I would also like to thank Susana Carro- Ripalda, who was literally parachuted in towards the end of the project as a second thesis supervisor. Susana was a scrupulous reader of final draft chapters, and she provided very useful comments and suggestions on subjects that were not her specialisation. She too provided encouragement and reassurance when I needed them. I would like to thank Bridget Fowler, David Frisby, and Harvie Ferguson for assistance with administrative matters. Paul Littlewood, Ruth Madigan, Simon Charsley, and Nicole Bourque also supported my academic endeavours in numerous ways. I would particularly like to thank them for giving me the opportunity to do what I enjoy most about academic life: tutoring/lecturing and learning from students, who, by the way, caught me off guard more often than not. The project was also a product of my undergraduate upbringing at Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon, United States. Particular feminist figures played a key role in the development of my thinking, and I thank them for their continued support and inspiration. They include: Diane Nelson, Deborah Heath, Jean Ward, and Elaine Maveety. Although the project was mainly self-funded (I will literally be repaying a 30-year mortgage), I received some financial assistance from sources that need to be acknowledged: my parents, Stephen and Lynn Mokrovich, my brother, Justin Mokrovich, and my partner, John Dawson. University of Glasgow also fuelled my curiosity when it needed fuelling. The Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Applied Social Sciences funded my travel to revisit my drag field sites in Portland, Oregon in February 1999. The interlocutors who participated in my fieldwork on gay male male- to-female drag also informed the thesis. I wish to express my thanks to Acknowledgments iv the drag artists, staff, and patrons of The Embers Avenue and Darcelle XV who took time out from their hectic lives to participate in interviews, sharing their experiences and knowledge of drag. I would especially like to thank 'Ray,' my key interlocutor, who selflessly supported my research on drag. He ensured that my field work came alive by helping me to do drag for the stage. Friends, family, and colleagues provided a range of support throughout the course of my project: intellectual, emotional, psychological, I social, and material (often food and drink). They kept me sanely intact. am thankful for the company of friends on both sides of the Atlantic: Jessica Reuling, Bridget Weizer, Jenette Purcell, Paul Craig, Pieter Rosenthal, Michael Hibbs, Jan Kolatowicz, Duncan Cumming, Donald Cameron, Rob Reid, Lawrence Healy, Mike Mackenzie, Brian Tomlin, Ian Raymond, Claire Raymond, Jackie Donaghey, and Catriona Mackellar. My best friend, Pat Raymond, in particular, helped me through it all. Her door was always open, and by now there is a permanent indent in her sofa. Particular family members were always there for me and encouraged my academic endeavours: Leighton and Carol Read, Gretchen Burke, Mom Ma Rue Gray, and Justin and Nancy Mokrovich.