Straight with a Twist: Queer Theory and the Subject of Heterosexuality [Paperback]

Calvin Thomas (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0252068130 | ISBN-13: 978-0252068133 | Publication Date: October 26, 1999

This engaging collection poses the question, Can straight people think queer? "Straight with a Twist" offers a refreshing look at the relation between queer theory and critical examinations of the construction of heterosexuality. Seeking to proliferate the findings and insights of queer theory, contributors explore the issue of whether and how queer theory can speak for and include the straight. In some of the ways that men have learned from feminism to interrogate the construction of masculinity, straights are learning from queer theory to interrogate constructions of straightness, to question their place in those constructions, and to make critical interventions into the institutional reproduction of the heterosexual norm."Straight with a Twist" responds to the formulations of some of the leading figures in queer theory, considers demonstrations of the queer in television programs ("Seinfeld", for example) and contemporary films, and explores to what extent and in what ways literary texts from Shakespeare to Dorothy Allison are open to queer interpretation. Committed to antihomophobic cultural analysis, "Straight with a Twist" aims to extend the reach of queer theory and humanize the world by making it 'queerer than ever'.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The editor of this volume wanted to 'proliferate' the 'findings and insights' of queer theory, and this is exactly what the contributors accomplish. -- CHOICE, April 2000

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (October 26, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252068130
• ISBN-13: 978-0252068133
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #827,442 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars queering straights, December 18, 2002

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"farm__grrl" (the universe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Straight with a Twist: Queer Theory and the Subject of Heterosexuality (Paperback)

Like the increased visibility and rush to study 'whiteness' in the wake of critical race theory's interventions, this edited collection proposes to make heterosexuality visible in the wake of queer theory. Applying queer theory to the contruction of heterosexuality in its many forms allows a break with the normative. The writers here thus work to make visible "queer straights" and further disrupt heteronormative institutions and discourse. While scattered among a broad array of subjects (from Seinfeld to Shakespeare), the papers work well together to show how queer theory can be usefully applied to the analysis of norming institutions and identities. Some may object to the claiming of a queer identity by "straights,"; others will find that the authors make their case and do progressive work by extending the bounds of queerness.