Bordering Theory

Abstract

Over the last decade and a half the term ‘queer’ has gained prominence both in the academy where its institutional growth has been rapid, especially in the arts and humanities, and in popular usage primarily, though not exclusively, as a form of self-description distinguished from naming oneself gay or lesbian. Such developments have provoked a great deal of critical debate and discussion about the possible consequences for the study of sexuality and gender, for political movements concerned with sexual politics, and for theoretical understandings of identity. In this chapter, I want to draw on some of these debates in considering the relationship between queer theory and feminism.