Sociology as bridge over troubled waters: establishing a link between the principles of lesbian and gay studies and queer theory

Abstract

Lesbian and gay studies emerged in the late 1950s and provided what several academics considered a homogeneous representation of the lesbian and gay community. Based on the critique of this view, queer theory came to the fore during the early 1990s, as a political initiative to highlight the diverse nature of homosexual experiences. Both paradigms heralded indefatigable insights into the lives of these two sexual minorities, yet without a necessary bridge between the homogeneous and the heterogeneous. The objective of the article is to provide a theoretical contemplation of how the manner in which the principles that lesbian and gay studies and queer theory respectively exude, may complement each other so as to offer a link between the 'homogeneous' and the 'diverse', pertaining to the lived experiences of gay men and lesbian women.

The role of selfreflexivity on the part of gay male academics on South African university campuses

“…Such examples of social inquiry underline the necessity for an intersectional focus through a 'queerer sociology', as advocated by Colebrook (2009), Hall (2005) and Plummer (2003. In my own work (Rothmann 2012) this reciprocal and mutually beneficial relationship has been considered, which should enjoy elaboration in both theory and praxis -between the contributions of proponents of lesbian and gay studies and queer theory. A queerer sociology may manifest a merger of dualisms which include the modern and postmodern/ poststructuralist, the homogeneous and diverse, the community and individual as well as subjugation with transcendence (Richardson and Monro 2012).…”

A social constructionist approach to resilience for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and/or questioning academics and students in South African universities

“…Drawing on my own work (Rothmann 2012(Rothmann , 2017 and that of Francis (2017b), Grace (2006Grace ( , 2017, Plummer (2003Plummer ( , 2011Plummer ( , 2015 and Van den Berg (2016), among others, I wish to foreground how LGBTIQ+ academics and students, through acknowledging homogeneity (based on an assimilationist view), could inadvertently encourage an emphasis on heterogeneity, intersectionality and a critique of heteronormativity, as it relates to their unique expierences on South African university campuses. Thus, Grace (2017) argues that one may consequently be able to enage with both the repressive and enabling factors characterising the everyday lives of such individuals.…”