Or in other words, not that straight men who perform cunnilingus are
"closer to" or "more like" lesbians who perform cunnilingus than they are
to gay men or straight men who don't engage in this activity, but that
because sexual acts cut across conventional sexual identities, they reveal
the arbitrariness of those categories, and that erotic desire is not just
about who you want but also about what you want to do.
On Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 2:01 PM, Ryan Paul <ryanspaul@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I'm not sure where this particular idea appears in Sedgwick, but I would
> imagine that it is not expressed or intended in as reductive a way as you
> note. To me, it resonates with the generally propensity of queer theories
> to challenge sexuality as a stable identity and to refuse to reduce
> sexuality to the gender of the choice of sexual object. By putting emphasis
> back on the actions themselves and cutting across the constructed
> identities of straight, gay, bi, etc., we can perhaps better grasp desire's
> fluidity and remove it from a heteronormative or reproductive teleology.
>
> Best,
> RSP
>
>
> On Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 1:52 PM, Nathaniel Roberts <npr4@xxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>
>> "...individuals who practice similar sorts of sex acts have more in
>> common
>> with one another than those who happen to be of the same gender."
>>
>> Really? Taken literally this seems to be saying that: 1) straight men who
>> perform cunnilingus have more in common with lesbian women who do the same
>> than they have with straight and gay men who don't, 2) straight women who
>> perform fellatio have more in common with gay men who do so than with
>> straight women who don't, 3) straight men who like to fuck their
>> girlfriends up the ass have more in common with gay men who fuck other
>> men.
>>
>> This sounds pretty reductive to me. But surely Sedgwick must have
>> something
>> else in mind, no?
>>
>> Nate
>>
>> > > From: princeptiffany@xxxxxxxxxx
>> > > To: foucault-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> > > Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 16:37:19 +0100
>> > > Subject: [Foucault-L] Need reference: Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > Hi everyone,
>> > > In "Revisiting Bodies and Pleasures", Judith Butler claims :
>> > > "Queer theorist Eve
>> > > Sedgwick suggests that it may be individuals who practice similar
>> sorts
>> > of sex
>> > > acts have more in common with one another than those who happen to be
>> of
>> > the
>> > > same gender. In this way, sexual alliances that cut across gender
>> appear
>> > to take the place of
>> > > gender-based solidarities, and queer activism, though indebted to
>> > feminism,
>> > > takes its distances from feminism through this formulation that
>> Foucault
>> > in
>> > > part inspired."(Theory, Culture, Society, avril 1999, 16 (2): 11-20,
>> URL
>> > <http://tcs.sagepub.com/content/16/2/11>)
>> > > I guess Sedgwick's statement is hiding in her Epistemology of the
>> > closet, but I'm struggling to find the relevant passage.
>> > > Is someone aware of such a passage ?
>> > > Thank you in advance,
>> > > Tiffany P.
>> > >
>> > > _______________________________________________
>> > > Foucault-L mailing list
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Foucault-L mailing list
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Dr. Nathaniel Roberts<
>> http://www.mmg.mpg.de/departments/religious-diversity/scientific-staff/dr-nathaniel-roberts/
>> >
>> Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity
>> Herman-Föge-Weg 11
>> 37073 Göttingen
>> Germany
>> +49 (0) 551-4956-0
>> _______________________________________________
>> Foucault-L mailing list
>
>
>
"closer to" or "more like" lesbians who perform cunnilingus than they are
to gay men or straight men who don't engage in this activity, but that
because sexual acts cut across conventional sexual identities, they reveal
the arbitrariness of those categories, and that erotic desire is not just
about who you want but also about what you want to do.
On Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 2:01 PM, Ryan Paul <ryanspaul@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I'm not sure where this particular idea appears in Sedgwick, but I would
> imagine that it is not expressed or intended in as reductive a way as you
> note. To me, it resonates with the generally propensity of queer theories
> to challenge sexuality as a stable identity and to refuse to reduce
> sexuality to the gender of the choice of sexual object. By putting emphasis
> back on the actions themselves and cutting across the constructed
> identities of straight, gay, bi, etc., we can perhaps better grasp desire's
> fluidity and remove it from a heteronormative or reproductive teleology.
>
> Best,
> RSP
>
>
> On Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 1:52 PM, Nathaniel Roberts <npr4@xxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>
>> "...individuals who practice similar sorts of sex acts have more in
>> common
>> with one another than those who happen to be of the same gender."
>>
>> Really? Taken literally this seems to be saying that: 1) straight men who
>> perform cunnilingus have more in common with lesbian women who do the same
>> than they have with straight and gay men who don't, 2) straight women who
>> perform fellatio have more in common with gay men who do so than with
>> straight women who don't, 3) straight men who like to fuck their
>> girlfriends up the ass have more in common with gay men who fuck other
>> men.
>>
>> This sounds pretty reductive to me. But surely Sedgwick must have
>> something
>> else in mind, no?
>>
>> Nate
>>
>> > > From: princeptiffany@xxxxxxxxxx
>> > > To: foucault-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> > > Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 16:37:19 +0100
>> > > Subject: [Foucault-L] Need reference: Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > Hi everyone,
>> > > In "Revisiting Bodies and Pleasures", Judith Butler claims :
>> > > "Queer theorist Eve
>> > > Sedgwick suggests that it may be individuals who practice similar
>> sorts
>> > of sex
>> > > acts have more in common with one another than those who happen to be
>> of
>> > the
>> > > same gender. In this way, sexual alliances that cut across gender
>> appear
>> > to take the place of
>> > > gender-based solidarities, and queer activism, though indebted to
>> > feminism,
>> > > takes its distances from feminism through this formulation that
>> Foucault
>> > in
>> > > part inspired."(Theory, Culture, Society, avril 1999, 16 (2): 11-20,
>> URL
>> > <http://tcs.sagepub.com/content/16/2/11>)
>> > > I guess Sedgwick's statement is hiding in her Epistemology of the
>> > closet, but I'm struggling to find the relevant passage.
>> > > Is someone aware of such a passage ?
>> > > Thank you in advance,
>> > > Tiffany P.
>> > >
>> > > _______________________________________________
>> > > Foucault-L mailing list
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Foucault-L mailing list
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Dr. Nathaniel Roberts<
>> http://www.mmg.mpg.de/departments/religious-diversity/scientific-staff/dr-nathaniel-roberts/
>> >
>> Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity
>> Herman-Föge-Weg 11
>> 37073 Göttingen
>> Germany
>> +49 (0) 551-4956-0
>> _______________________________________________
>> Foucault-L mailing list
>
>
>