The Fracturing of LGBT Identities under Neoliberal Capitalism
In: Historical MaterialismSearch for other papers by Peter Drucker in
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Abstract
Historians have linked the emergence of contemporary lesbian/gay identities to the development of capitalism. A materialist approach should also look at different forms of sexual identity, and their connections with specific phases of capitalist development. Marxist long-wave theory can help us understand how the decline of Fordism contributed to shifts in LGBT identities, speeding the consolidation of gay identity while fostering the rise of alternative sexual identities. These alternative identities, sometimes defined as ‘queer’, characterised by sexual practices that are still stigmatised, by explicit power-differentials and above all by gender-nonconformity, are particularly common among young and disadvantaged working-class strata. The growing diversity of identities is a challenge to any gay universalism that neglects class, gender, sexual, racial/ethnic and other differences, to the currently dominant forms of lesbian/gay organising, and ultimately to the prevailing division of human beings into gay and straight.1
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3.
See, for example, D’Emilio 1983a.
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4.
See, for example, Hennessy 2000; Sears 2005.
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5.
Floyd 2009, p. 2.
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6.
Altman 2003.
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7.
For example, Seidman 1997, p. 195.
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8.
Reynolds 2003.
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10.
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12.
See, for example, Chauncey 1994, pp. 334–46.
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13.
Bérubé 1983.
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15.
Althusser 1971, p. 162.
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16.
Floyd 2009.
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17.
Marx 1968, p. 182.
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18.
Rich 1983; Wekker 1999. Fernbach (Fernbach 1981, pp. 71–5) gave an early and clear account of the uniqueness of lesbian/gay identity among historically existing forms of same-sex sexuality. Greenberg 1988 provides the most comprehensive survey available of the range of same-sex sexualities.
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19.
Butler 1999.
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20.
Floyd 2009, pp. 57–66.
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21.
D’Emilio 1983a.
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Floyd 2009, pp. 43–5, following Foucault 1978, pp. 118–23.
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Katz 1995.
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Foucault 1978, p. 121.
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Chauncey 1994.
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Warmerdam and Koenders 1987, pp. 125, 153, 169; Floyd 2009, pp. 167–8.
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D’Emilio 1983b.
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Drucker 2000a, pp. 26–7.
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For example, Seidman 2011.
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Heaphy 2011.
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McDermott 2011, p. 64.
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Browne 2011.
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Puar 2007, pp. xxiv, 38–9.
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Mepschen, Duyvendak and Tonkens 2010.
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Badgett 1997, p. 81.
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Sears 2005, p. 106.
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Escoffier 1997, p. 131.
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Jacobs 1997.
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| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 5311 | 653 | 41 |
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| PDF Views & Downloads | 2957 | 293 | 10 |
The Fracturing of LGBT Identities under Neoliberal Capitalism
In: Historical MaterialismSearch for other papers by Peter Drucker in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
Historians have linked the emergence of contemporary lesbian/gay identities to the development of capitalism. A materialist approach should also look at different forms of sexual identity, and their connections with specific phases of capitalist development. Marxist long-wave theory can help us understand how the decline of Fordism contributed to shifts in LGBT identities, speeding the consolidation of gay identity while fostering the rise of alternative sexual identities. These alternative identities, sometimes defined as ‘queer’, characterised by sexual practices that are still stigmatised, by explicit power-differentials and above all by gender-nonconformity, are particularly common among young and disadvantaged working-class strata. The growing diversity of identities is a challenge to any gay universalism that neglects class, gender, sexual, racial/ethnic and other differences, to the currently dominant forms of lesbian/gay organising, and ultimately to the prevailing division of human beings into gay and straight.1
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 5311 | 653 | 41 |
| Full Text Views | 1975 | 129 | 5 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 2957 | 293 | 10 |
