I think this is fascinating (and I feel deeply sorry for Semanya). Queer
theory doesn't, in my opinion, deal with lived experience
and bodies very effectively.
Katrina - your email included the idea of coming out and gay communities
in queer theory - actually
queer theory was initially at least (other people please comment) trying
to break down the idea
that there was a single clear identity that could be called gay or
homosexual and which was revealed by
coming out. I am not surprised this is not clear as the language of
queer theory can be almost
hopelessly obscure to those who haven't been trained or worked in theory
(and
that includes lots of other academics).
I have listened in the past to people applying queer theory and I do
think it can offer useful ideas.
Eric is posing a real problem about lived bodies - most men are bigger
than most women (though some men are
smaller than some women)- usually I encounter this in relation to
questions about can we deal with
this fundamental difference in a society which is trying to be more
egalitarian and usually is trying
to ensure men and women are treated as the same. But sport has dealt
with this by treating them as
different and creating separate sites for males and females to compete.
How does queer theory address this?
Cheers,
Hera
Eric Anderson wrote:
> Hi Katrina,
>
> Please note, I'm a queer academic, too. And I, and others, have been
> wrestling with this for a decade. I note that your 'interventions' are
> simply a kindler way (which we all agree) of handling the Catch-22,
> not remotely a strategy for dealing with it. It is academic fluff, not
> a legitimate political strategy to solve the problem. And are you
> really, 'sure,' others have an answer? I've read and contributed to
> this literature,and I''m strangely not as 'sure' as you are. I hardly
> think I should be admonished for my attitude. What's the definition of
> lunacy? trying the same thing over and over again hoping it will work.
>
> This issue challenges the utility of the sex bender binary in sport,
> but it also challenges to political efficacy of queer theory.
> Intersex, trans and gender identity differences challenge the sex
> binary in sport, and this challenges women's professional sport.This
> is one case (other than being more ostensive) where queer theory is
> pressed to inform policy. As sad as that is.
>
> Eric
>
>
> ______________________________________________________
> Eric Anderson, PhD
> University of Bath
>
> www.EricAndersonPhD.com <http://www.ericandersonphd.com/>
>
> <http://www.ericandersonphd.com/>
> In a message dated 9/16/2009 9:13:59 A.M. GMT Daylight Time,
> [log in to unmask] writes: <http://www.ericandersonphd.com/>
>
> Hi all,
>
> I do not research sport at all but I do research issues of trans and
> intersex embodiment. I have been inspired to contribute to this
> discussion by Eric Anderson's posting.
>
> Eric, you provide a nice outline of some of the issues relating to
> testing and categorising of athletes, and I am glad that you give
> examples of similarly devastating sporting 'outings' that have
> happened
> to GLB sports people. However, I was concerned by some of the
> things you
> wrote.
>
> The way you refer to the gender-in-sport issue as a catch-22, arguing
> that 'you must still have a sex test' and 'there is no way to have it
> both ways' seems to suggest that we are all stuck in this fixed
> (binary,
> sex-policed) framework. As queer academics, we have been fighting
> this
> battle for quite some time and it does not help to settle back
> into such
> ways of thinking. What we need here is some creativity and will to
> take up the challenge, not resignation to the 'facts' or the
> 'logic' of
> the situation.
>
> Interventions that could be made here might include:
>
> * obliging sporting authorities to handle such cases more sensitively
>
> * urging journalists to report such cases more sensitively
>
> * promoting voices within the sporting world that keep issues of
> sexed
> embodiment and gender identity on the agenda - that keep challenging
> sporting bodies to deal better with this - rather than pretending
> it is
> a new and shocking issue each time someone like Semenya appears on
> the
> international stage
>
> * using legal challenges, if necessary, to ensure that privacy in
> such
> cases is maintained, and that these issues are dealt with carefully
> rather than becoming sensational news
>
>
> I am sure there are people working in this field who are far
> better able
> to come up with workable interventions, but in order for that to
> happen,
> we need to NOT start from a position of thinking that this is an
> inevitable or logistically insurmountable dilemma.
>
> This is a dilemma that requires creative queer thinking, taking into
> account the fact that such athletes as Semenya are very likely not to
> want to have anything whatsoever to do with terms such as 'queer' or
> 'intersex'. Nevertheless, we are in a position to come up with some
> productive critical thinking here, and I'm glad that others in the
> critsex list have been doing that.
>
> Katrina Roen
>
> --
> *******************
> Katrina Røn (Ph.D.)
> Associate Professor in Societal Psychology
>
> Institutional affiliation:
> Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway.
>
> Postal Address:
> Psykologisk institutt, Postboks 1094 Blindern, 0317 Oslo, Norge.
>
> Office:
> Harald Schjelderups hus, Forskningsveien 3 A, inngang 1, S0326
>
> Tel: (47) 22 84 50 18
> fax: (47) 22 84 50 01
> email: [log in to unmask]
> Webpage: http://www.psykologi.uio.no/pres/kroen.html
>
> *********************
>
> Do you know about the new journal: 'Psychology & Sexuality' which
> will
> be published by Taylor & Francis from January 2010?
>
> Psychology & Sexuality will advance knowledge and understanding of
> lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, heterosexual and queer issues in
> psychology and allied disciplines. The journal will be inclusive,
> publishing good quality quantitative and qualitative work, and
> adopting
> a broad understanding of psychology.
>
> Journal Website:
> http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/rpse <http://www.ericandersonphd.com/>
>
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