Queer theory

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I attended an Oxbridge college open day recently and one of the directors of studies (the academic who will be in charge of the students in their subject, as far as academic matters are concerned) specialises in queer theory and I think in post feminism too. I'm not sure how much of a concern this is - either in respect of that particular course, or in respect of the college as a whole. Wondering about people's views on this?

Depends what the subject is... If the subject is say queering feminism then they would be an excellent choice. Hard sciences less so.

Why would this be a concern?

The DoS will normally only rarely teach the students and won't be pushing any particular agenda on them. The students will be exposed to a wide variety of lecturers and supervisors who have all sorts of different political views, and the teaching and examining is usually geared to particular historical periods, and not designed to expound or reward any particular political view.

It's not really any concern at all to be honest, I wouldn't worry. You have more to worry about from the student body!

Is this in English, MML or another subject?

@BlueberryCheezecake

Why would this be a concern?

Because it is a deeply flawed area of academia, with an offensive slur as part of its name?

(Oh and in the vast majority of the colleges, the fellows are all very traditionalist old white men; and the students are all woke, at least the arts and humanities ones. It's definitely not the fellows you have to worry about!)

Given some of the extreme positions that some queer theorists hold about sex and children, I'd want to know that they've all had enhanced DBS checks.

@MrsOvertonsWindow

Given some of the extreme positions that some queer theorists hold about sex and children, I'd want to know that they've all had enhanced DBS checks.

That really isn't the case. It doesn't help anyone to insinuate things that aren't true.

It doesn't help anyone to insinuate things that aren't true

Hmm. Isn’t that literally the central tenet of Queer Theory?

@MrsOvertonsWindow

Given some of the extreme positions that some queer theorists hold about sex and children, I'd want to know that they've all had enhanced DBS checks.

This. Based on Pat Califia alone.

uncommongroundmedia.com/the-trojan-unicorn-qt-and-paedophilia-part-iii-dr-em/

Academics who work on "queer theory" are normally specialists in gay and lesbian literature.

Paedophilia is not a central tenet of queer theory ffs. Lots of "queer theory" is actually GC or radfem, too: it isn't just one thing or one theorist. It's a term that's been used since the 1980s, and lots of it is not about gender ideology at all. It's a mistake to collapse the term with the recent excesses of trans ideology.

I'm not a queer theorist myself, but I work in a related field and I can assure you your teenagers are far more in danger of woke ideologies from Tumblr or tiktok than reading Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick or whatever.

Because it is a deeply flawed area of academia, with an offensive slur as part of its name?

No it isn't, it's an absolutely commonplace and mainstream area of academic study, as evidenced by the fact it's being offered here by one of the most traditional and prestigious universities in the country.

There's nowt as queer as queer theory

@MidsomerMurmurs

It doesn't help anyone to insinuate things that aren't true

Hmm. Isn’t that literally the central tenet of Queer Theory?

No, it was originally coined as a way of bringing together gay and lesbian cultural history and theories of sexuality. It has only recently been coopted into the whole gender ideology monolith.

To be honest, gender ideology has a lot more to do with the rise of plastic surgery, hardcore porn and the backlash against second-wave feminism, than it has to do with reviving a niche bit of 1990s poststructuralism which was largely interested in readings of gay literature. The genderists' recent adoption of Judith Butler as a poster girl is not really representative of queer theory at all, much of which was about the ways homosexuality and bisexuality has been understood in various ways throughout history (eg. Kosofsky Sedgwick, David Halperin, Alan Bray).

Judith Butler until very recently was extremely out of fashion in universities, and still is for most academics to be honest, except students keep asking to read her because they've read TRAs writing about her on Twitter!

I would not be worried at all about the prospective director of studies's research interests. The student union and social media is where all the indoctrination of students takes place - amongst each other.

Most academics are vehemently pro-freedom-of-speech in Oxbridge, and lots are secretly radfem, GC or just plain old-fashioned (Don't misunderstand me, I'm very GC myself and so are most of my colleagues!)

(and I can guarantee you that no-one is reading Pat Califia (gosh that's a blast from the past, haven't heard of Califia since the 90s. Maybe in the woker parts of the US, but definitely not here!)

Paedophilia is not a central tenet of queer theory ffs
Look back at the thread. Nobody said it was. Also it’s pretty disingenuous to pretend the last few years haven’t happened. If we want to hark back to the 90s and earlier, whatever happened to “Women’s Studies” as an academic field?