Queer Politics Chapter 18

In this Chapter Halperin discusses the negativity associated with gay politics as well as the various ideas of why homosexuality does not have to be taboo or frowned upon. Homosexuality is viewed as an object - it is spoken about but cannot speak. Halperin wants to move homosexuality into the subject status so that it has a voice and reality to itself.

In the 19th century movements towards acknowledging and accepting homosexuality began. Halperin elaborates on the thoughts of Foucault throughout this chapter. In 1977 Foucault explained in an interview that he; "believes that the movements labeled 'sexual iberation' ought to be understood as movements of affirmation 'starting with' sexuality." Not only homosexuality but sexuality in general was not acceptable to talk about. This movement towards equalization and new topics of discussion was very upsetting to many in the homosexual community. Many felt labeled and misunderstood, an inability to speak for ones' self. Halperin goes on to describe gay politics; "Gay liberation is not the upside-down reflection of medical pathologization, nor is it the exact opposite of homophobic stigmatization and oppression. Gay liberation, rather, is a surprising, unexpected dynamic, and open-ended movement whose ultimate effects extend beyond its immediate tactics. Gay politics is not a politics of pure reactivity, then, even thought its condition of possibility are admittedly rooted in an oppressive regime of power/knowledge. It is a reversal that takes us in a new direction" (Pg. 199). Gay liberation comes with fresh ideas and new inventive ways of finding equality -- it's not merely reacting to the disgust and disapproval of the public, it's working ahead of it. Moving homosexuality from the position of object to subject means changing the way many look and think they understand homosexuality into a place where it is it's own bank of knowledge.

Homosexuality is being left without an essence, it's simply described as everything heterosexuality is not. Homosexuality has to be viewed not by what it is but rather by where it is found and how it operates in those positions. Defining something as queer is merely to describe it as anything out of the ordinary, anything that is not part of the 'norm.' Queer then is used to describe anyone who is or 'who feels marginalized because of his or her sexual practices.' Examples are married couples who choose not to have children, or married couples with disobedient children. Therefore this exploration is about becoming queer, not about becoming homosexual. Halperin states that, "The problem of inventing queer relationships can be further complicated by additional factors, such as differences between the partners in age or race or class or nationality: there exist no readily available social formulas for mediating and negotiating those differences" (Pg 202). To go on, "Self-invention is not a luxary or a pastime for lesbians and gay men: it is a necessity. And it is therefore part of the acquired practice of what Foucault called 'becoming homosexual'" (Pg. 202). Therefore, creating ones' self is necessary in order to push through boundaries that will arise in the future for anyone who is doing what is out of the norm. Coming to terms with ones' sexuality and self make it easier to work through minor details like inter-racial relationships or diverse ages.

Halperin goes on to discuss in great detail Foucault's discussion regarding S/M -- being a queer pastime. Foucault explains that those who participate in S/M are not in it for aggression but rather to open up new horizons for pleasure and taking away the generalization of pleasure to only the genital region. Foucault calls this 'desexualization' or 'degenitalization.' Seeking pleasure through means other than sexually. Understanding that we are human beings in a sexual body not sexual beings in a human body. This entails liberating ourselves from the 'notion of sexuality,' by finding ourselves outside of our bodies. "By shattering the subject of sexuality, queer sex opens up the possibility for the cultivation of a more impersonal self, a self that can function as the substance of ongoing ethical elaboration -- and thus as the site of future transformation" (Pg. 205). If we merely let go of the labels and the pre-conceived notions of 'who we are' we can move on to a more intimate knowledge of ourselves which only opens the door for more intimate knowing of ourselves as humans.