Queer is a state of mind”: Identity constructions of self-identified queer people in relation to lived experiences of gender and sexuality

Abstract

‘Queer’ can refer to a noun, adjective, verb and adverb (Giffney, 2009). Although in the English-speaking world probably most known as derogatory term for (mainly) gay men, ‘queer’ has been used in numerous ways. Associated with a U.S. and UK queer movement, it has been a reclaimed term signalling a politics radically different from ‘mainstream’ lesbian and gay politics. Furthermore, it has made its way into academics under the umbrella of ‘queer theory’ which aim is said “to make theory queer, not just to have a theory about queers” (Warner, 1993: xxvi). However, a relative neglect becomes apparent when reading into all these stories about queer; namely regarding those people who (nowadays) claim a queer identity. Though sociology has taken up queer theory’s ‘challenges’, and sometimes adds the ‘Q’ onto the more well-known abbreviation of LGBT; a gap in empirical research exists regarding self-identified queer people. This dissertation explores ‘queer’ through the eyes of self-identified queer people by asking how they construct their identities in relation to lived experiences of gender and sexuality. A theoretical background lays out queer’s multiple meanings, or status as ‘essentially contested concept’ (Gallie, 1956), and provides a background to how ‘queer’ has been approached in both queer theory and sociology. Following the cross-sectional research design of this study; fourteen face-to-face semi-structured interviews were carried out with people self-identified as queer. A central aspect of the methodology is a focus on how participants gave meaning to their identification, and narrated ‘difference’ in their stories, in relation to lived experiences of gender and sexuality. The data-analysis made visible the way participants gave meaning to their queer identification, through a refusal of stable ‘boxes’ and through accounts of queer ‘freedom’. Furthermore, the relational aspects of queer are stressed; both with regards to other labels or terms, with regard to coming to a queer self-understanding, and in differentiating between queer and non-queer spaces and scenes. Some frictions around social norms within the queer community, as well as critiques regarding its potential for political and social change question the ‘radical’ potential of queer; as addressed in the conclusion.