Queering Gay and Lesbian Studies

145 Pages·2006·1.26 MB·English

by  Thomas Piontek

Q
ueering
Gay and Lesbian Studies
Thomas Piontek
Queering Gay and Lesbian Studies

Queering Gay and
Lesbian Studies
THOMAS PIONTEK
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS PRESS
Urbana and Chicago
© 2006 by the Board of Trustees
of the University of Illinois
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 c p 5 4 3 2 1
∞ This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Piontek, Thomas, 1958–
Queering gay and lesbian studies / Thomas Piontek.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn-13: 978-0-252-03031-4 (isbn 13 - cloth : alk. paper)
isbn-10: 0-252-03031-1 (isbn 10 - cloth : alk. paper)
isbn-13: 978-0-252-07280-2 (isbn 13 - paper : alk. paper)
isbn-10: 0-252-07280-4 (isbn 10 - paper : alk. paper)
1. Gay and lesbian studies. I. Title.
hq75.15.p56 2006
306.76'6—dc22 2005012430
For B. B.

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1. Forget Stonewall: Making Gay History Perfectly Queer 7
2. Queering the Rhetoric of the Gay Male Sex Wars 30
3. How Gay Theory and the Gay Movement Betrayed
the Sissy Boy 52
4. Queer Alternatives to Men and Women 67
5. Redrawing the Map of the Gender-and-Sex Landscape:
Gender, Identity, and the Performativity of Queer Sex 81
Conclusion 95
Notes 99
Works Cited 119
Index 129

Acknowledgments
For their insightful comments and their encouragement during the
conceptual stage of this project, I acknowledge the members of the now-de-
funct “Crazed Researchers” writing group: Lynda Behan, Anne Bower, Scott
Lloyd DeWitt, Marcia Dickson, and Beverly Moss. Throughout the past four
years Anne Bower has remained a fiercely loyal friend and an astute and
generous critic who offered much love and support, for which I am deeply
grateful.
The University of Illinois Press provided engaged and generous reports
from two anonymous readers. I thank both of them for the seriousness with
which they treated the book prospectus and the initial manuscript. The read-
ers’ comments have shaped the final project in important ways. Throughout
the entire process, I have greatly appreciated Dr. Willis Regier’s enthusiastic
support for my project as well as his intelligence and patience. Last but by
no means least I thank Bruce Bethell, whose formidable skill as an editor has
improved the manuscript considerably.
Several people contributed in a variety of ways to this project, offering
friendship, candid criticism, or both. In particular I thank past and present
members of the Whitman Circle (Tim Baio, Don Baun, Bob Gordon, Steve
Kraynak, Bob Rice, Bud Sawyer, Ken Treadway, and Jack Wisniewski), Andy
Aucoin, Henrik Christensen, Howard Fradkin, Patti Lather, Linda Mizejewski,
and Doug Zielinki. Finally, throughout these past two years of preparing the
manuscript, my partner, Malcolm Cochran, responded to my ever-changing
moods with patience, love, and humor. I thank him for understanding my
way of looking at the world and letting me get to know and appreciate his.