Abstract
In a recent issue of The New Republic, Martha Nussbaum singled out Judith Butler for a particularly venomous attack. Nussbaum's criticism was very simple: good theory leads to practical political action, and Butler's theories do not. Nussbaum's criticism of Butler echoes a general criticism leveled against the emerging field of queer theory. Many advocates of sexual rights have suggested that poststructuralist approaches do not have practical political application. In this essay, the authors argue that Butler's work points to a new political pragmatism. In the past, many advocates of sexual rights have focused on essentialized notions of sexual identity. A politically pragmatic approach, informed by Butler's theories, can shift the debate so that the issue of homophobic discrimination, rather than sexual identity, becomes a primary focus of the sexual rights movement.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Alexander, J. (1999). Beyond identity: Queer values and community. Journal of Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Identity, 4, 293-314.
Blumenfeld, W. J. (1996). History/hysteria: Parallel representations of Jews and gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. In B. Beemyn and M. Eliason (Eds.). Queer studies: A lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender anthology. New York: New York University Press.
Brookey, R. A. (1996). A community like Philadelphia. Western Journal of Communication, 60, 40-56.
Butler, J. (1990). Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. New York: Routledge.
Butler, J. (1991). Imitation and gender insubordination. In D. Fuss (Ed.), Inside/out: Lesbian theories, gay theories (pp. 13-31). New York: Routledge.
Butler, J. (1995). Contingent foundations. In S. Benhabib, J. Butler, D. Cornell, and N. Fraser, Feminist contentions: A philosophical exchange (pp. 35-57). New York: Routledge.
Farber, D., & Sherry, S. (1996). The pariah principle. Constitutional Commentary, 13, 257-284.
Hamer, D. (1994). The science of desire: The search for the gay gene and the biology of behavior. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Kennedy, J. (1996). Romer v. Evans: Opinion of the court. United States Supreme Court Reports, 134, 855-875.
Leland, J. (2000, March 20). Shades of gay. Newsweek, 135, 46-49.
Leland, J., & Miller, M. (1998, August 17). Can gays 'convert'? Newsweek, 132, 47-50.
LeVay, S. (1993). The sexual brain. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press.
Miller, D. H. (1998). Freedom to differ: The shaping of the gay and lesbian struggle for civil rights. New York: New York University Press.
Nussbaum, M. (1999, February 22). The professor of parody. The New Republic, 220, 37-45.
Phelan, S. (1994). Getting specific: Postmodern lesbian politics. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Solomon, A. (1993). Dykotomies: Scents and sensibilities. In A. Stein (Ed.), Sisters, sexperts, queers (pp. 210-17). New York: Plume Book.
Walters, S. D. (1996). From here to queer: Radical feminism, postmodernism, and the lesbian menace (or, why can't a woman be more like a fag?). Signs, 21, 830-69.
Watney, S. (1995). Gene wars. In M. Berger, B. Wallis, & S. Watson, (Eds.), Constructing masculinity (pp. 157-166). New York: Routledge.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Brookey, R.A., Miller, D.H. Changing Signs: The Political Pragmatism of Poststructuralism. International Journal of Sexuality and Gender Studies 6, 139–153 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010102409631
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010102409631