ABSTRACT
Queer theory is more closely aligned with the study of gender and sexualities. Like gender theory, however, it has deep roots in feminist discourse, and like feminism emerges from identity politics and social activism. An important starting point for more contemporary gender theory was Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, wherein she posits: “One is not born a woman, one becomes one.” Judith Lorber’s work is an important starting point for beginning any discussion of contemporary gender theory. Her work very much evolves from the interactionist sociological tradition wherein our social interactions are seen to create our social realities. Queer theory remains something many thinkers have written about but few have fully embraced epistemologically. Steven Seidman writes extensively on this topic and has looked at the struggle of queer theory to find acceptance among those who view human sexuality in binary terms. Gay and lesbian theory of the late 1970s focused primarily on homosexual identities and the meaning of homophobia.
