Intersections Between Feminist and Queer Theory This page intentionally left blank Intersections Between Feminist and Queer Theory Edited by Diane Richardson Janice McLaughlin and Mark E. Casey University of Newcastle, UK Editorial matter, selection and Introduction © Diane Richardson, Janice McLaughlin and Mark E. Casey 2006 Individual chapters © the authors 2006 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2006 978-1-4039-4531-0 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2006 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-52294-1 ISBN 978-0-230-62526-6 (eBook) DOI 10.105 7/9780230625266 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Intersections between feminist and queer theory / edited by Diane Richardson, Janice McLaughlin, and Mark E. Casey. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Homosexuality – Philosophy. 2. Feminist theory. I. Richardson, Diane, 1953– II. McLaughlin, Janice, 1968– III. Casey, Mark E. HQ76.25.1585 2006 306.76Ј601—dc22 2006040123 10987654321 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 Contents Acknowledgements vi Notes on Contributors vii Introduction: At the Intersections of Feminist and Queer Debates 1 Janice McLaughlin, Mark E. Casey and Diane Richardson 1. Bordering Theory 19 Diane Richardson 2. Heterosexuality, Sexuality and Gender: Re-thinking the Intersections Stevi Jackson 38 3. The Return of the Material: Cycles of Theoretical Fashion in Lesbian, Gay and Queer Studies Janice McLaughlin 59 4. On the Evolution of Queer Studies: Lesbian Feminism, Queer Theory and Globalization 78 Linda Garber 5. Boys will be … Bois?: Or, Transgender Feminism and Forgetful Fish 97 Judith Halberstam 6. The Value of a Second Skin 116 Rosemary Hennessy 7. Refiguring the Family: Towards a Post-Queer Politics of Gay and Lesbian Marriage 136 Chet Meeks and Arlene Stein 8. Practically Between Post-Menopause and Post-Modern 156 Angelia Wilson References 174 Index 189 v Acknowledgements We would like to thank the original contributors to the ‘Sexualities, Cultures, Identities: New Directions in Gay, Lesbian and Queer Studies’ conference we held in January 2003 in the Centre for Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Newcastle. Some of the papers pre- sented on that day are contained here, and others are published in a special edition of Sexualities (Nov. 2004) we edited. The papers presented here take forward debates on sexuality, gender, feminisms and queer theory in a new and exciting direction. We have enjoyed working with the chapter authors, each of whom is making a vital contribution to the debates in question. We also appreciate the hard work and efforts of the authors and their ability to work within the time limits we set. We would also like to thank Palgrave and, in particular, Melanie Blair our hard working and extremely patient editorial assistant and Jill Lake for their support and guidance during the production of the book. Mark E. Casey would like to thank everyone he has worked with on this book, and in particular his parents – Eddy and Shirley for their support over the last few years which he greatly appreciates. Janice McLaughlin would like to thank the Sociology support staff who she has worked with very closely over the last couple of years, while running the undergrad- uate programme, for their support and hard work. Diane Richardson would similarly extend her thanks to all those who have offered help and support on this project, including those who made comments on chapters. University of Newcastle November 2005 vi Notes on Contributors Mark E. Casey Mark E. Casey is a Lecturer of Sociology at the University of Newcastle, UK, where he teaches Comparing Cultures and Regulating Sexuality. His research interests lie within lesbian and gay urban lives, ‘the city’, gay male bar and club cultures and his current research project examining gay male travel, the body and sex in Australia. His publications include ‘De-Dyking Queer Space: Female Heterosexual Access and Visibility within Lesbian and Gay Space’, Sexualities, 7(4), 2004. Mark also writes for lifestyle magazines such as Attitude and The Crack. Linda Garber Linda Garber is Associate Professor of English and Director of Women’s and Gender Studies at Santa Clara University, USA. She is author of Identity Poetics: Race, Class and the Lesbian-Feminist Roots of Queer Theory (2001), Lesbian Sources: A Bibliography of Periodical Articles and Tilting, (1993) the Tower: Lesbians/Teaching/Queer Subjects (1994). Judith Halberstam Judith Halberstam is Professor of English and Director of the Center for Feminist Research at USC, USA. She is the author of several books including Female Masculinity (1998), The Drag King Book with Del LaGrace Volcano (1999) and In a Queer Time and Place (2005). She is currently working on a book about eccentric knowledge titled Dude, Where’s My Theory? The Politics of Knowledge in An Age of Stupidity. Halberstam has also written journalistic pieces for magazines like Girlfriends, The Nation and Bitch. Rosemary Hennessy Rosemary Hennessy is Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of English at the University at Albany, SUNY, USA. She represents the New York state higher education union, United University Professions (UUP), on the Board of the tri- national Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras. She has published widely on contemporary culture theory including Profit and Pleasure: Sexual Identity in Late Capitalism (2000); Materialist Feminism: Class, Difference and Women’s Lives (1997); Materialist Feminism and the Politics of Discourse (2003); and with Martha Ojeda she has co-edited the collec- tion NAFTA From Below: Maquiladora Workers, Campesinos and Indigenous Farmers Speak Back (2005). vii viii Notes on Contributors Stevi Jackson Stevi Jackson is Professor of Women’s Studies and Director of the Centre for Women’s Studies at the University of York, UK. Her main research interests are feminist theory and sexuality, with a particular emphasis on heterosexuality. She is the author of Childhood and Sexuality (1982), Christine Delphy (1996) and Heterosexuality in Question (1999). Recent journal articles include: ‘Why a materialist feminism is still possible (and necessary)’, Women’s Studies International Forum, 24 (2–3), 2001, 283–93 and ‘Sexual Antinomies in Late Modernity’, Sexualities, 7 (2) 2004, 241–56 (with Sue Scott). She is cur- rently working on a series of articles on the gendered self and, with Sue Scott, a book on theorizing sexuality. Janice McLaughlin Janice McLaughlin is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, University of Newcastle, UK. Her research is focused on two interrelated areas. One is the exami- nation of contemporary social theory, which led to her publication: Feminist Social and Political Theory. The other research focus is the exam- ination of the construction of knowledge, meanings and values within healthcare, relating this in particular to professional boundaries, tech- nologies and disability. This work is being taken forward via a number of funded research projects. Chet Meeks Chet Meeks is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Georgia State University, USA where he teaches social theory and sexu- ality. He is currently working on a book about the moral tensions that have animated lesbian and gay politics in America since the 1960s. Diane Richardson Diane Richardson is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Centre for Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Newcastle, UK. She has written extensively about feminism and sexu- ality. She is the author of Theorising Heterosexuality (1996), Rethinking Sexuality (2000) and, co-edited with Steven Seidman, the Handbook of Lesbian and Gay Studies (2002). She is currently co-editing, with Vicki Robinson, a third edition of Introducing Gender and Women’s Studies. Arlene Stein Arlene Stein is a Professor of Sociology and Gender Stud- ies at Rutgers University, USA. Her books include The Stranger Next Door: The Story of a Small Community’s Battle Over Sex, Faith, and Civil Rights and Sex and Sensibility: Stories of a Lesbian Generation. She is the editor and co-editor of two anthologies on gender and sexuality. A collection of her essays, Shame on You will be published in 2006. Notes on Contributors ix Angelia Wilson Angelia Wilson lectures in feminist political theory at the University of Manchester, UK. Her publications explore the intersec- tion between feminist political theory, queer theory and policies regulating sexuality. These include Below the Belt, Activating Theory and A Simple Matter of Justice? Current research considers the deconstruction of heteronormative family values and UK, EU and US policy debates surrounding lesbian and gay families..