Queer is Just Another Socially Constructed Concept...

In high school, two of my really great friends identified as being gay and lesbian.  They were both Mexican.  "Eduardo" came from a traditional Mexican family, while "Cielo" came from a single-parent household.  Their lives at home were a bit different, but their experiences in society were similar.  Eduardo was often called a fag, slut, feminine, and other descriptors genrally used to define women; while Cielo was butch, masculine, etc.  Eduardo experienced much more social hardship than Cielo did.  Perhaps, because it was of his stature, tone, and mannerisms.  Nonetheless, what I realized (and did not realize until I came to college) was that they were battling much more than homophobic remarks.  Their identity was much more than that.  They were not just members of the LGBT community; but rather, identified as being Hispanic too.  Their race caused them to experience some things that perhaps another racial group may not experience.  There is assumption that Hispanics are stern, hard workers, who multiply.  And clearly both of them stood on the outside of the fence. Their "otherness," and "deviant" behavior made them targets for ill remarks.  This is exactly what Cohen points out--there has to be a recognition of of the intersecting components of one's identity.  These intersections rear much different experiences because it is not just one's sexual preference that places them in an inferior position; rather, it is a combination of different labels (such as race, class, gender, etc) that render people invisible.  Place in a position where they are in a constant battle against heteronormative power.  It is important that she explores this field of Queer Theory and Queer Politics.  I always thought that both were essentially the same, in that queer politics derived from queer theory.  After reading the article, I have a much different outlook because she explained the two as two different concepts.  Queer Theory as a field of Gender studies that emerged during the third wave of feminisim.  I did not even know there was a third wave, but evidently this wave is my generation and the struggles, oppression, and injustice that I am met with in today's society.  Again, this field was influenced by Focault and builds on the feminist challenge to the idea that gender is a part of the one's identity, their self.  However, the concept has become socially constructed and has fallen to the debates of "natural" and "unnatural" behavior.  The position of queer theory expands this narrow and dichotomous focus to include any type of sexual activity, sexual identity or sexual preference that has fallen victim to the implications of normative and deviant categories that stem from heteronormativity.  I understand queer theory to be the foundation and queer politics as the enactment or declaration of what these thinkers and activists stand for.  Queer politics celebrates sexual difference and as pointed out by Cohen is against assimilation.  This is very important, especially living in a heterosexist world.  Basically, what this aspect of the politics is arguing is that they will not change or modify who they are to satisfy patriarchal, heteronormative wishes.  Rather, they will command their space and assert who they are by staying true to themselves and their identity.  Queer Politics goals do not just lie in the reformation of the law; rather, they are striving for the transformation of society to ensure that all individuals are sexually liberated.