1 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:05,900 My name is 2 00:00:05,900 --> 00:00:08,266 Kerstin-Anja Münderlein, and I'm 3 00:00:08,266 --> 00:00:10,133 a lecturer and postdoc at the Chair of 4 00:00:10,133 --> 00:00:11,233 English Literature at 5 00:00:11,233 --> 00:00:12,500 the University of Bamberg. 6 00:00:13,300 --> 00:00:15,266 In this video I'm going to talk about 7 00:00:15,266 --> 00:00:18,033 gender, sex and sexual orientation and 8 00:00:18,033 --> 00:00:19,566 queerness from a Cultural Studies 9 00:00:19,566 --> 00:00:21,666 perspective, and I'll be looking at some 10 00:00:21,666 --> 00:00:23,166 of the terminology with you. 11 00:00:23,933 --> 00:00:25,366 This is going to be a very colourful 12 00:00:25,366 --> 00:00:27,866 video, because we're also looking at Pride 13 00:00:27,866 --> 00:00:30,399 flags, some that are better known and 14 00:00:30,399 --> 00:00:31,966 some that might be new to you. 15 00:00:33,966 --> 00:00:36,000 Have you ever heard the saying "queer as 16 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:37,966 folk"? What do you think 17 00:00:37,966 --> 00:00:39,433 the word "queer" means? 18 00:00:41,133 --> 00:00:42,733 The term "queer" has been in the public 19 00:00:42,733 --> 00:00:45,533 discourse for quite some time now and it 20 00:00:45,533 --> 00:00:46,700 keeps getting used as 21 00:00:46,700 --> 00:00:47,833 a variety of things. 22 00:00:48,866 --> 00:00:50,333 Some people use it to describe 23 00:00:50,333 --> 00:00:52,200 themselves, some use it to describe 24 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:55,533 others, positively and negatively, and 25 00:00:55,533 --> 00:00:57,133 some people use it as an attack. 26 00:00:57,799 --> 00:00:59,200 But what does it actually mean? 27 00:01:01,433 --> 00:01:03,266 In the English language, the word "queer" 28 00:01:03,666 --> 00:01:05,500 written in any of the ways you're going 29 00:01:05,500 --> 00:01:08,066 to see, from the 16th century onwards 30 00:01:08,066 --> 00:01:11,633 denoted something or someone strange or 31 00:01:11,633 --> 00:01:14,533 weird or even questionable and dubious, 32 00:01:15,166 --> 00:01:16,666 in other words, out of the 33 00:01:16,666 --> 00:01:18,466 ordinary in a negative way. 34 00:01:19,633 --> 00:01:21,599 Similarly, people in earlier times have 35 00:01:21,599 --> 00:01:24,766 "come over queer" or "felt queer" when 36 00:01:24,766 --> 00:01:25,833 they were feeling faint, 37 00:01:26,166 --> 00:01:27,566 unwell or not quite normal. 38 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:31,333 In the early 20th century, the term was 39 00:01:31,333 --> 00:01:34,400 specified as a mostly derogatory name for 40 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:36,766 homosexual people highlighting that 41 00:01:36,766 --> 00:01:40,066 "they" were not normal and therefore 42 00:01:40,066 --> 00:01:41,166 potentially dangerous. 43 00:01:43,500 --> 00:01:46,066 For us, in the 21st century, the use of 44 00:01:46,066 --> 00:01:48,266 the term "queer" in a positive sense is 45 00:01:48,266 --> 00:01:50,066 only possible because of the gay rights 46 00:01:50,066 --> 00:01:53,166 movement of the early 1970s, when queer 47 00:01:53,166 --> 00:01:54,966 was reclaimed by homosexual men 48 00:01:54,966 --> 00:01:56,533 protesting for equal rights. 49 00:01:57,566 --> 00:01:59,433 It took another 20 years for the term to 50 00:01:59,433 --> 00:02:01,066 finally shed much of its negative 51 00:02:01,066 --> 00:02:03,933 connotation, so that today we can indeed 52 00:02:03,933 --> 00:02:06,900 use "queer" as a positive term, allowing 53 00:02:06,900 --> 00:02:10,400 the advent of Queer Studies in the 1990s. 54 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:13,333 But we should be aware of its history and 55 00:02:13,333 --> 00:02:15,133 of the fact that it is still often used 56 00:02:15,133 --> 00:02:17,333 by socially conservative groups as a 57 00:02:17,333 --> 00:02:19,333 stigmatising word against the diverse 58 00:02:19,333 --> 00:02:20,333 groups of people who 59 00:02:20,333 --> 00:02:21,733 are labelled "queer". 60 00:02:22,300 --> 00:02:24,633 According to a variety of dictionaries on 61 00:02:24,633 --> 00:02:26,733 current uses of "queer", "queer" and 62 00:02:26,733 --> 00:02:29,199 "queerness" refer to people who, as the 63 00:02:29,199 --> 00:02:30,233 Oxford English Dictionary says, 64 00:02:31,266 --> 00:02:34,133 "have a sexual and gender identity that 65 00:02:34,133 --> 00:02:36,833 does not correspond to or that challenges 66 00:02:36,833 --> 00:02:39,133 traditional, especially heteronormative, 67 00:02:39,133 --> 00:02:41,433 ideas of sexuality and gender". 68 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:45,233 In other words, people who are outside of 69 00:02:45,233 --> 00:02:46,133 the norm of being 70 00:02:46,133 --> 00:02:47,933 heterosexual and cisgendered. 71 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:52,366 The American dictionary Merriam-Webster 72 00:02:52,366 --> 00:02:53,333 is even more 73 00:02:53,333 --> 00:02:55,133 encompassing in its definition, 74 00:02:55,666 --> 00:02:59,566 "of, relating to, or characterized by 75 00:02:59,566 --> 00:03:01,233 sexual or romantic attraction that is 76 00:03:01,233 --> 00:03:04,099 not limited to people of a particular gender, 77 00:03:04,099 --> 00:03:07,599 identity or sexual orientation" 78 00:03:08,699 --> 00:03:12,199 and "of, relating to, or being a person 79 00:03:12,199 --> 00:03:14,966 whose sexual orientation is not heterosexual 80 00:03:15,266 --> 00:03:18,833 and/or whose gender identity is not cisgender". 81 00:03:19,966 --> 00:03:23,366 It provides us with even more terms to 82 00:03:23,366 --> 00:03:26,066 look at. So let's do that! 83 00:03:28,366 --> 00:03:29,933 Despite having been reclaimed by the 84 00:03:29,933 --> 00:03:32,266 queer community, the term "queer" is one 85 00:03:32,266 --> 00:03:34,699 of many slurs which have been applied to 86 00:03:34,699 --> 00:03:36,833 people who fall outside of cisgendered 87 00:03:36,833 --> 00:03:38,233 and heterosexual identities. 88 00:03:38,633 --> 00:03:42,099 You might recognise some here, which also 89 00:03:42,099 --> 00:03:44,166 apply to people who have been seen as 90 00:03:44,166 --> 00:03:46,866 religiously sinful or socially dangerous. 91 00:03:48,366 --> 00:03:49,866 Queer people have experienced both 92 00:03:49,866 --> 00:03:51,500 religious and legal persecution. 93 00:03:52,500 --> 00:03:54,566 Acts of homosexuality between consenting 94 00:03:54,566 --> 00:03:55,966 partners were criminalised 95 00:03:55,966 --> 00:03:57,266 in many Western countries. 96 00:03:58,266 --> 00:04:00,199 Other forms of social control included 97 00:04:00,199 --> 00:04:02,599 the fear of social exclusion and diverse 98 00:04:02,599 --> 00:04:03,599 forms of conversion therapy. 99 00:04:04,633 --> 00:04:07,400 While contemporary society has become 100 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:09,966 more open, queer people are still not 101 00:04:09,966 --> 00:04:10,900 well represented in 102 00:04:10,900 --> 00:04:12,300 various forms of media. 103 00:04:13,133 --> 00:04:16,466 For some, upholding "normality" or 104 00:04:16,466 --> 00:04:17,933 "normativity" is the 105 00:04:17,933 --> 00:04:19,300 central goal of representation. 106 00:04:20,966 --> 00:04:23,399 Explanations as to why diversity is not 107 00:04:23,399 --> 00:04:25,733 generally welcomed by all usually centres 108 00:04:25,733 --> 00:04:27,866 on human beings' tendency to favour the 109 00:04:27,866 --> 00:04:29,399 familiar rather than embracing change. 110 00:04:30,433 --> 00:04:33,466 Power structures tend to be based on a 111 00:04:33,466 --> 00:04:34,899 normative structure of society. 112 00:04:35,833 --> 00:04:38,100 Challenging these norms, or the ideas of 113 00:04:38,100 --> 00:04:40,133 norms in itself, undermines such 114 00:04:40,133 --> 00:04:42,500 structures and exposes the arbitrariness 115 00:04:42,500 --> 00:04:43,833 of power hierarchies. 116 00:04:46,466 --> 00:04:48,466 Besides reclaiming the word "queer", many 117 00:04:48,466 --> 00:04:50,100 people, including activists and 118 00:04:50,100 --> 00:04:52,666 researchers, no longer use the term and 119 00:04:52,666 --> 00:04:54,266 instead have moved on 120 00:04:54,266 --> 00:04:57,433 to the acronym LGBTQIA+. 121 00:04:59,433 --> 00:05:04,500 This stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, 122 00:05:05,399 --> 00:05:10,699 trans, queer, intersex and asexual. 123 00:05:12,133 --> 00:05:13,466 As you can see, the acronym includes 124 00:05:13,466 --> 00:05:16,533 sexual orientations like lesbian, gay, bi 125 00:05:16,533 --> 00:05:18,833 and asexual, as well as the gender 126 00:05:18,833 --> 00:05:21,033 identity trans and even the biological 127 00:05:21,033 --> 00:05:22,399 difference intersex. 128 00:05:23,433 --> 00:05:26,100 A plus sign was added to indicate that 129 00:05:26,100 --> 00:05:28,566 the acronym is not a hermeneutic term and 130 00:05:28,566 --> 00:05:30,100 can and must include other 131 00:05:30,100 --> 00:05:31,866 varieties of non-normativity. 132 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:36,199 And yet, both terms, "queer" and "LGBTQIA+", 133 00:05:36,733 --> 00:05:39,233 still lump gender and sexuality together. 134 00:05:39,966 --> 00:05:41,399 So, let's get them untangled. 135 00:05:42,433 --> 00:05:46,800 In Cultural Studies and elsewhere, we 136 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:48,833 tend to differentiate between a person's 137 00:05:48,833 --> 00:05:51,733 biological sex, usually referring to 138 00:05:51,733 --> 00:05:53,866 their reproductive organs and XY 139 00:05:53,866 --> 00:05:56,366 chromosomes, and gender identity. 140 00:05:57,333 --> 00:05:58,933 While scientific researchers and 141 00:05:58,933 --> 00:06:00,666 anthropologists have debunked the 142 00:06:00,666 --> 00:06:03,233 biological binary, see for example the 143 00:06:03,233 --> 00:06:04,800 articles by Fuentes and 144 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:06,399 Clancy et al. in my works cited, 145 00:06:07,433 --> 00:06:10,300 the belief in a binary of sex is still 146 00:06:10,300 --> 00:06:11,399 prevalent, especially 147 00:06:11,399 --> 00:06:12,766 in conservative thought. 148 00:06:14,100 --> 00:06:15,500 Regardless of whether current biological 149 00:06:15,500 --> 00:06:17,366 research is to be believed or not, 150 00:06:18,100 --> 00:06:20,633 Social, Cultural or Literary Studies work 151 00:06:20,633 --> 00:06:22,733 with gender, as it deals with social 152 00:06:22,733 --> 00:06:23,399 construction of identity. 153 00:06:24,433 --> 00:06:26,899 So, unlike sex, which deals with a 154 00:06:26,899 --> 00:06:28,866 person's genetics and physical anatomy, 155 00:06:29,766 --> 00:06:32,500 gender is based on socially and 156 00:06:32,500 --> 00:06:34,666 individually constructed identities which 157 00:06:34,666 --> 00:06:36,899 claim to be founded on biological sex. 158 00:06:38,166 --> 00:06:40,800 It is this social construct, gender, that 159 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:42,633 we project to the world in gender-based 160 00:06:42,633 --> 00:06:43,800 behaviours, like the 161 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:45,399 ways we dress or speak. 162 00:06:46,433 --> 00:06:48,466 Gender expectations about how men and 163 00:06:48,466 --> 00:06:50,699 women should behave, as men and women, 164 00:06:51,066 --> 00:06:53,399 vary from society to society because 165 00:06:53,399 --> 00:06:54,666 different cultures gender 166 00:06:54,666 --> 00:06:56,500 behaviour in various ways. 167 00:06:58,699 --> 00:07:00,600 The English language differentiates 168 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:02,766 between sex and gender. Other languages, 169 00:07:03,133 --> 00:07:04,833 like German, are now increasingly 170 00:07:04,833 --> 00:07:06,600 adopting the term "gender" to 171 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:07,399 denote the social construct. 172 00:07:08,433 --> 00:07:12,566 We all know the typical binary of 173 00:07:12,566 --> 00:07:14,399 "feminine" and "masculine" ascribed to 174 00:07:14,399 --> 00:07:15,533 women and men respectively. 175 00:07:16,633 --> 00:07:18,366 If the gender assigned to the person at 176 00:07:18,366 --> 00:07:20,500 birth matches their own gender identity, 177 00:07:21,033 --> 00:07:23,666 we call this person "cisgender" or "cis", 178 00:07:24,066 --> 00:07:26,166 going back to the Latin word for "on this 179 00:07:26,166 --> 00:07:28,199 side of" or "on the same side". 180 00:07:29,399 --> 00:07:31,133 Cisgender people either use the pronouns 181 00:07:31,133 --> 00:07:33,399 "she" or "her" when they are feminine or 182 00:07:33,399 --> 00:07:34,399 "he" and "him" when they are masculine. 183 00:07:35,433 --> 00:07:37,500 Being cisgender is regarded as the 184 00:07:37,500 --> 00:07:39,533 cultural norm and thus holds most of the 185 00:07:39,533 --> 00:07:40,866 representation of people 186 00:07:40,866 --> 00:07:42,166 in literature and film. 187 00:07:43,566 --> 00:07:45,266 Trans people are currently targets of 188 00:07:45,266 --> 00:07:47,533 culture wars including trans-exclusionary 189 00:07:47,533 --> 00:07:50,300 feminism, TERF for short, which actively 190 00:07:50,300 --> 00:07:52,666 excludes trans women and regards them as 191 00:07:52,666 --> 00:07:54,300 dangerous for biological women. 192 00:07:55,566 --> 00:07:56,833 Conservative politicians have also 193 00:07:56,833 --> 00:07:59,033 considered transgender people as a threat 194 00:07:59,033 --> 00:08:00,166 to traditional family 195 00:08:00,166 --> 00:08:02,300 values as they have defined them. 196 00:08:03,500 --> 00:08:05,600 Transgender, according to the University 197 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:07,366 of Colorado Boulder's Center for 198 00:08:07,366 --> 00:08:09,500 Inclusion and Social Change, is an 199 00:08:09,500 --> 00:08:13,300 identity umbrella term "describing people 200 00:08:13,300 --> 00:08:15,600 whose gender identity is different from 201 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:17,666 cultural expectations based on the sex 202 00:08:17,666 --> 00:08:19,000 they were assigned at birth". 203 00:08:20,966 --> 00:08:22,766 Despite the increasing cultural awareness 204 00:08:22,766 --> 00:08:24,666 of diversity through public discourse, 205 00:08:25,300 --> 00:08:27,733 media, literature and film, being trans 206 00:08:27,733 --> 00:08:28,699 today is still not easy. 207 00:08:29,733 --> 00:08:31,600 People are not only faced with their own 208 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:33,799 gender dysphoria, the feeling of not 209 00:08:33,799 --> 00:08:35,399 aligning with the gender ascribed at 210 00:08:35,399 --> 00:08:37,799 birth, and questions of what, if any, 211 00:08:38,466 --> 00:08:39,833 medical interventions they may wish to 212 00:08:39,833 --> 00:08:41,866 undertake, but also with 213 00:08:41,866 --> 00:08:43,100 harassment and discrimination. 214 00:08:45,899 --> 00:08:47,200 Trans people and people expressing 215 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:49,233 solidarity with trans people in the face 216 00:08:49,233 --> 00:08:50,799 of discrimination against them often 217 00:08:50,799 --> 00:08:51,700 identify with this flag. 218 00:08:52,733 --> 00:08:57,366 If you want to read more about two trans 219 00:08:57,366 --> 00:08:58,899 people's personal journeys, I can 220 00:08:58,899 --> 00:09:02,266 recommend Juno Dawson's 2017 book "Gender 221 00:09:02,266 --> 00:09:04,166 Games: The Problem with Men and Women, from 222 00:09:04,166 --> 00:09:06,600 Someone Who Has Been Both" and Jamie 223 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:09,666 Raines' 2023 "The T in LGBT+: 224 00:09:10,066 --> 00:09:11,266 Everything You Need to 225 00:09:11,266 --> 00:09:12,433 Know About Being Trans". 226 00:09:13,633 --> 00:09:15,333 Both books not only allude to their 227 00:09:15,333 --> 00:09:17,333 authors' own transitions, but also 228 00:09:17,333 --> 00:09:19,733 provide scholarly material on transness. 229 00:09:21,766 --> 00:09:24,166 Another term that is now well known is 230 00:09:24,166 --> 00:09:26,733 "non-binary". This term denotes people 231 00:09:26,733 --> 00:09:28,700 who do not identify with either of the 232 00:09:28,700 --> 00:09:30,399 binary genders, feminine and masculine, 233 00:09:30,899 --> 00:09:32,899 but either fall somewhere in between or 234 00:09:32,899 --> 00:09:35,733 outside altogether, according to Raines. 235 00:09:35,733 --> 00:09:38,200 "Some people who are non-binary 236 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:40,433 experience their gender as both man and 237 00:09:40,433 --> 00:09:42,600 woman, and others experience their gender 238 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:44,299 as neither man nor woman". 239 00:09:45,700 --> 00:09:47,799 Non-binary people tend to use the pronoun 240 00:09:47,799 --> 00:09:50,533 "they" in English and use this flag. 241 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:54,833 Recently, non-binary people have garnered 242 00:09:54,833 --> 00:09:56,366 more representation in film and 243 00:09:56,366 --> 00:09:57,600 literature, but they are 244 00:09:57,600 --> 00:09:58,600 still often overlooked. 245 00:09:59,700 --> 00:10:02,299 On Non-binary People's Day, on 14th July, 246 00:10:02,866 --> 00:10:04,566 you might want to catch an episode of the 247 00:10:04,566 --> 00:10:08,100 TV series "Heartstopper", based on Alice 248 00:10:08,100 --> 00:10:10,066 Oseman's graphic novels of the same name, 249 00:10:10,566 --> 00:10:11,299 which also features 250 00:10:11,299 --> 00:10:12,399 non-binary characters, 251 00:10:13,733 --> 00:10:14,799 or you can have a read through 252 00:10:14,799 --> 00:10:17,366 Britannica's diverting article "6 253 00:10:17,366 --> 00:10:19,333 Cultures That Recognize More Than Two 254 00:10:19,333 --> 00:10:21,266 Genres", which you find in the works 255 00:10:21,266 --> 00:10:22,733 cited list below this video. 256 00:10:25,166 --> 00:10:27,633 Some more genders we should be aware of: 257 00:10:29,033 --> 00:10:32,766 "genderqueer", "gender-fluid", "agender" and the 258 00:10:32,766 --> 00:10:34,700 biological and sex-related term "intersex". 259 00:10:35,733 --> 00:10:41,200 Genderqueer people "reject notions of 260 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:43,700 static categories of gender, embracing a 261 00:10:43,700 --> 00:10:45,200 fluidity of gender identity. 262 00:10:46,433 --> 00:10:48,266 People who identify as genderqueer may 263 00:10:48,266 --> 00:10:49,966 see themselves as being both men and 264 00:10:49,966 --> 00:10:53,166 women, or neither men nor women, or as 265 00:10:53,166 --> 00:10:53,799 falling completely 266 00:10:53,799 --> 00:10:55,100 outside the gender binary", 267 00:10:56,166 --> 00:10:58,166 according to the University of Colorado 268 00:10:58,166 --> 00:10:59,100 Boulder's Center for 269 00:10:59,100 --> 00:10:59,700 Inclusion and Social Change. 270 00:11:00,733 --> 00:11:03,899 Like non-binary, genderqueer can be used 271 00:11:03,899 --> 00:11:05,799 as an umbrella term to refer to people 272 00:11:05,799 --> 00:11:08,033 falling between or outside of the gender 273 00:11:08,033 --> 00:11:10,100 binary or feminine and masculine. 274 00:11:11,500 --> 00:11:13,233 It is important to note that these two 275 00:11:13,233 --> 00:11:15,200 terms do not denote the same. 276 00:11:17,399 --> 00:11:19,299 Gender-fluid people are people whose 277 00:11:19,299 --> 00:11:22,166 gender is not fixed but changes as a part 278 00:11:22,166 --> 00:11:22,700 of their day-to-day life. 279 00:11:22,733 --> 00:11:27,100 They can "identify as any gender or any 280 00:11:27,100 --> 00:11:27,899 combination of 281 00:11:27,899 --> 00:11:29,799 genders at any given time", 282 00:11:30,766 --> 00:11:32,566 again to quote from the University of 283 00:11:32,566 --> 00:11:33,866 Colorado Boulder's Center for 284 00:11:33,866 --> 00:11:35,299 Inclusion and Social Change. 285 00:11:37,166 --> 00:11:39,166 And finally, the last gender-related term 286 00:11:39,166 --> 00:11:39,899 on this list, 287 00:11:40,399 --> 00:11:42,766 "agender", is defined as such. 288 00:11:44,066 --> 00:11:45,966 Agender people reject the notion of 289 00:11:45,966 --> 00:11:48,366 gender altogether and exist outside of 290 00:11:48,366 --> 00:11:50,233 socially constructed norms entirely. 291 00:11:52,299 --> 00:11:54,200 In literature and film, these three 292 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:55,366 gender identities are 293 00:11:55,366 --> 00:11:57,000 markedly less visible. 294 00:11:59,533 --> 00:12:01,799 Lastly, "intersex" is a term that bridges 295 00:12:01,799 --> 00:12:03,899 the gap between gender and sex by 296 00:12:03,899 --> 00:12:05,500 denoting people born with biological 297 00:12:05,500 --> 00:12:07,600 variation in their reproductive system 298 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:09,766 that does not fit normative assumptions 299 00:12:09,766 --> 00:12:10,700 of how humans develop. 300 00:12:11,733 --> 00:12:11,799 Historically, 301 00:12:11,799 --> 00:12:14,966 the term "hermaphrodite" 302 00:12:15,433 --> 00:12:17,266 has been used to describe an intersex 303 00:12:17,266 --> 00:12:19,733 person, a term which goes back to ancient 304 00:12:19,733 --> 00:12:21,433 Greek mythology but which is 305 00:12:21,433 --> 00:12:22,966 now regarded as derogatory. 306 00:12:24,100 --> 00:12:26,133 This historical term does demonstrate 307 00:12:26,133 --> 00:12:27,866 that people have been aware of wide 308 00:12:27,866 --> 00:12:30,633 variances in human biology for centuries. 309 00:12:33,333 --> 00:12:35,533 Moving on from sex and gender, sexuality 310 00:12:35,533 --> 00:12:36,366 denotes a person's attraction. 311 00:12:37,399 --> 00:12:40,533 This includes the gender of the people to 312 00:12:40,533 --> 00:12:43,233 whom they might be attracted, or even if 313 00:12:43,233 --> 00:12:44,166 they are attracted to 314 00:12:44,166 --> 00:12:46,133 anyone at all, and in what ways. 315 00:12:47,866 --> 00:12:49,566 We're now going to look first at a few 316 00:12:49,566 --> 00:12:50,733 different terms used to 317 00:12:50,733 --> 00:12:52,433 describe people's sexual orientation. 318 00:12:53,333 --> 00:12:55,033 Since most people are more familiar with 319 00:12:55,033 --> 00:12:57,399 non-normative sexual orientations than 320 00:12:57,399 --> 00:12:59,566 with diverse gender identities, we'll 321 00:12:59,566 --> 00:13:01,866 keep this section a bit shorter but 322 00:13:01,866 --> 00:13:03,766 equally colorful because I'll be showing 323 00:13:03,766 --> 00:13:05,399 you the flags associated with these sexual orientations, too. 324 00:13:07,399 --> 00:13:11,133 Besides heterosexuality, the attraction 325 00:13:11,133 --> 00:13:13,733 to the opposite binary gender, the best- 326 00:13:13,733 --> 00:13:15,966 known queer sexuality, is homosexuality, 327 00:13:17,066 --> 00:13:19,200 attraction towards the same gender. 328 00:13:20,333 --> 00:13:23,066 Women often use the term "lesbian", and 329 00:13:23,066 --> 00:13:29,700 men often use "gay". However, the term 330 00:13:29,700 --> 00:13:31,733 "gay" is also used as a 331 00:13:31,733 --> 00:13:33,366 synonym for homosexual overall. 332 00:13:34,399 --> 00:13:38,033 People attracted to their own and other 333 00:13:38,033 --> 00:13:40,266 genders are usually called "bisexual" or 334 00:13:40,266 --> 00:13:42,866 "bi", with that flag, which 335 00:13:42,866 --> 00:13:45,200 is different to pansexuality. 336 00:13:46,033 --> 00:13:48,533 Because being pansexual or pan means that 337 00:13:48,533 --> 00:13:51,733 a person is "attracted to people on 338 00:13:51,733 --> 00:13:52,833 factors other than 339 00:13:52,833 --> 00:13:55,533 gender", as Raines defines it. 340 00:13:56,133 --> 00:13:58,133 So this is a sexuality that is not tied 341 00:13:58,133 --> 00:13:59,066 to the partner's gender 342 00:13:59,066 --> 00:14:00,366 identity but only to their person. 343 00:14:01,399 --> 00:14:05,799 An omnisexual person can experience 344 00:14:05,799 --> 00:14:07,700 sexual or romantic attraction to people 345 00:14:07,700 --> 00:14:09,266 of all sexes and genders. 346 00:14:11,266 --> 00:14:14,100 And lastly, people who feel little or no 347 00:14:14,100 --> 00:14:16,033 sexual attraction to other people are 348 00:14:16,033 --> 00:14:18,033 called "asexual" or "ace". 349 00:14:19,299 --> 00:14:20,799 Since the degree to which people feel 350 00:14:20,799 --> 00:14:22,566 attraction to others in ace people 351 00:14:22,566 --> 00:14:26,033 varies, asexuality is a spectrum which 352 00:14:26,033 --> 00:14:28,000 also includes people who not only feel 353 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:29,266 attraction to a person 354 00:14:29,266 --> 00:14:29,399 they have already formed 355 00:14:30,399 --> 00:14:31,766 an emotional bond with, 356 00:14:31,766 --> 00:14:34,666 which is called demisexuality, as well as 357 00:14:34,666 --> 00:14:36,733 people who either dislike sex altogether 358 00:14:36,733 --> 00:14:38,700 and those who are sex-positive. 359 00:14:39,966 --> 00:14:41,633 Being asexual does not mean that ace 360 00:14:41,633 --> 00:14:43,200 people do not fall in love with other 361 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:45,500 people. A person not feeling romantic 362 00:14:45,500 --> 00:14:46,866 attraction to others is 363 00:14:46,866 --> 00:14:48,633 called "aromantic" or "aro". 364 00:14:49,666 --> 00:14:52,833 Aces can and do fall in love and can thus 365 00:14:52,833 --> 00:14:55,333 be heteroromantic, in love with another 366 00:14:55,333 --> 00:14:57,600 gender, or homoromantic, in 367 00:14:57,600 --> 00:14:58,799 love with the same gender. 368 00:14:59,700 --> 00:15:01,433 While aro and ace representation in 369 00:15:01,433 --> 00:15:03,799 media has been minimal and there are very 370 00:15:03,799 --> 00:15:05,533 few asexual characters to be found 371 00:15:05,533 --> 00:15:08,299 anywhere, this has recently slightly 372 00:15:08,299 --> 00:15:11,133 improved, but asexuality and aromanticism 373 00:15:11,133 --> 00:15:12,666 are still far from common knowledge, 374 00:15:13,100 --> 00:15:14,233 which is partly due to 375 00:15:14,233 --> 00:15:15,399 lacking medial representation. 376 00:15:16,666 --> 00:15:18,399 Again, Alice Oseman's series 377 00:15:18,399 --> 00:15:19,200 "Heartstopper" 378 00:15:19,500 --> 00:15:21,266 includes an asexual character. 379 00:15:24,966 --> 00:15:26,700 Now, this discussion of genders and 380 00:15:26,700 --> 00:15:29,133 sexuality is of course not a complete one, 381 00:15:29,399 --> 00:15:31,733 but this demonstrates just some of the 382 00:15:31,733 --> 00:15:33,333 diversity in gender identity and 383 00:15:33,333 --> 00:15:34,799 expression and sexual 384 00:15:34,799 --> 00:15:36,200 orientation in the world. 385 00:15:37,466 --> 00:15:38,899 But why are we talking about 386 00:15:38,899 --> 00:15:40,133 gender and diversity at all? 387 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:44,500 Gender, diversity and queerness have been 388 00:15:44,500 --> 00:15:46,566 in contemporary political discourse quite 389 00:15:46,566 --> 00:15:49,100 a lot recently. Many people think this 390 00:15:49,100 --> 00:15:50,633 diversity is a recent phenomenon. 391 00:15:51,733 --> 00:15:53,733 Historically speaking, concerns about 392 00:15:53,733 --> 00:15:55,299 gender and sexuality have often been 393 00:15:55,299 --> 00:15:56,299 painted as a danger 394 00:15:56,299 --> 00:15:57,533 to mainstream society. 395 00:15:58,500 --> 00:16:01,166 One theory as to why communities create 396 00:16:01,166 --> 00:16:03,033 outsiders is the 397 00:16:03,033 --> 00:16:04,633 Scapegoat Theory by René Girard. 398 00:16:05,666 --> 00:16:08,200 He posits that communities need a 399 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:10,933 scapegoat they can richly sacrifice when 400 00:16:10,933 --> 00:16:12,000 violence erupts in a 401 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:13,899 society to re-establish peace. 402 00:16:15,100 --> 00:16:18,266 As per Bernard Keenan, the idea is that 403 00:16:18,266 --> 00:16:19,933 the "object of mimetic imitation 404 00:16:20,233 --> 00:16:21,833 switches from the cycle of violence 405 00:16:21,833 --> 00:16:24,566 towards mimetically heaping blame upon 406 00:16:24,566 --> 00:16:25,700 a single target, 407 00:16:25,700 --> 00:16:27,633 arbitrarily chosen by the community. 408 00:16:28,666 --> 00:16:31,000 The individual may be selected because in 409 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:32,399 some way they stand 410 00:16:32,399 --> 00:16:33,933 out as being different: 411 00:16:35,033 --> 00:16:37,000 perhaps they are outsiders, or are 412 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:38,133 sick, or have a physical 413 00:16:38,133 --> 00:16:39,733 disability that marks them out. 414 00:16:40,366 --> 00:16:42,566 In any case, they are a person whose 415 00:16:42,566 --> 00:16:44,433 death shall not be avenged." 416 00:16:45,533 --> 00:16:47,299 "The victim is soon universally blamed for 417 00:16:47,299 --> 00:16:49,233 the crisis and hates it for it." 418 00:16:49,700 --> 00:16:51,533 "The group unanimously declares them 419 00:16:51,533 --> 00:16:52,700 guilty and 420 00:16:52,700 --> 00:16:54,233 collectively murders the victim." 421 00:16:58,866 --> 00:17:00,633 This can be transposed to refer to the 422 00:17:00,633 --> 00:17:02,200 group of queer people whose ritual 423 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:04,433 "sacrifice" in the form of heaping all the 424 00:17:04,433 --> 00:17:06,700 blame for whatever goes wrong on them can 425 00:17:06,700 --> 00:17:08,633 be read as a modern interpretation of the 426 00:17:08,633 --> 00:17:09,666 scapegoat mechanism. 427 00:17:11,066 --> 00:17:12,900 Marginalised people, including people 428 00:17:12,900 --> 00:17:14,900 with a different religion, skin colour, 429 00:17:15,099 --> 00:17:16,900 gender or sexual orientation than the 430 00:17:16,900 --> 00:17:19,799 majority, are portrayed as harmful 431 00:17:19,799 --> 00:17:22,500 elements that need to be controlled to, 432 00:17:22,500 --> 00:17:24,333 in inverted commas, "protect society". 433 00:17:24,700 --> 00:17:27,599 But really, as per Girard, this is more 434 00:17:27,599 --> 00:17:29,200 about having someone to blame if things 435 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:31,400 go pear-shaped so those in power can 436 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:32,799 remain at the top of the heap. 437 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:36,900 Another theory comes from the Marxist and 438 00:17:36,900 --> 00:17:38,599 cultural materialist Raymond Williams. 439 00:17:39,599 --> 00:17:41,966 In his theory, society is described as an 440 00:17:41,966 --> 00:17:43,566 ever-changing interplay of forces 441 00:17:43,566 --> 00:17:44,033 affecting 442 00:17:44,033 --> 00:17:45,400 contemporary mainstream culture. 443 00:17:46,666 --> 00:17:49,533 "Williams introduces an incredibly useful 444 00:17:49,533 --> 00:17:51,700 set of concepts that convey the complex 445 00:17:51,700 --> 00:17:53,900 dynamism of cultural production: 446 00:17:54,966 --> 00:17:57,299 dominant, residual and emergent. 447 00:17:58,166 --> 00:18:00,333 Culture is crisscrossed by varied forces, 448 00:18:00,700 --> 00:18:02,099 whether those forces are residual 449 00:18:02,099 --> 00:18:04,099 elements from the past still active in 450 00:18:04,099 --> 00:18:07,599 the present", emergent, "new meanings and 451 00:18:07,599 --> 00:18:09,566 values, new practices, new relationships", 452 00:18:10,299 --> 00:18:12,400 or "dominant mechanisms of incorporation 453 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:14,666 and acceptance integral to class rule". 454 00:18:17,266 --> 00:18:19,033 These forces can be left over from 455 00:18:19,033 --> 00:18:20,433 earlier mainstream cultures, called 456 00:18:20,433 --> 00:18:23,200 residual forces, or, as you just heard, 457 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:24,133 they can be emergent 458 00:18:24,133 --> 00:18:25,833 or even opposing forces. 459 00:18:26,633 --> 00:18:28,799 In any case, society is not a stable 460 00:18:28,799 --> 00:18:31,066 construct and dominant culture is always 461 00:18:31,066 --> 00:18:33,133 only temporal, which is of course a 462 00:18:33,133 --> 00:18:34,766 problem for people in power who wish to 463 00:18:34,766 --> 00:18:35,633 maintain the status quo. 464 00:18:35,666 --> 00:18:41,599 Including more diversity on medial 465 00:18:41,599 --> 00:18:43,533 representation and moving away from the 466 00:18:43,533 --> 00:18:45,766 rhetoric of scapegoating is crucial for 467 00:18:45,766 --> 00:18:48,533 any society and the queer people or 468 00:18:48,533 --> 00:18:49,633 otherwise Othered people in it. 469 00:18:50,433 --> 00:18:52,933 By not showing the diversity that exists 470 00:18:52,933 --> 00:18:55,666 in the human race, like focusing on only 471 00:18:55,666 --> 00:18:57,700 white, middle class, straight people in 472 00:18:57,700 --> 00:19:00,633 films and novels, not only fails to be a 473 00:19:00,633 --> 00:19:03,066 realistic portrayal of the world, harms 474 00:19:03,066 --> 00:19:05,433 people outside of this so-called norm. 475 00:19:06,700 --> 00:19:07,966 People who are different from this 476 00:19:07,966 --> 00:19:09,166 socially determined norm 477 00:19:09,166 --> 00:19:10,066 often struggle with being Other. 478 00:19:11,099 --> 00:19:13,933 Representing diversity offers 479 00:19:13,933 --> 00:19:15,966 opportunities for people to see their 480 00:19:15,966 --> 00:19:18,133 experiences in media, but it also 481 00:19:18,133 --> 00:19:19,766 enriches society and makes it more 482 00:19:19,766 --> 00:19:22,066 colourful, as the Rainbow flag used by the 483 00:19:22,066 --> 00:19:23,266 queer community and 484 00:19:23,266 --> 00:19:24,933 depicted here attests to. 485 00:19:26,133 --> 00:19:27,966 Literature and film have begun to change 486 00:19:27,966 --> 00:19:29,966 to include a variety of queer characters 487 00:19:29,966 --> 00:19:32,966 on TV, in books and films, and these 488 00:19:32,966 --> 00:19:34,666 characters do not simply play comic 489 00:19:34,666 --> 00:19:37,533 sidekicks or villains. So here, let's 490 00:19:37,533 --> 00:19:38,900 take a look at some of them. 491 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:43,066 On this incomplete list of titles, you 492 00:19:43,066 --> 00:19:44,900 might recognise some of the titles I've 493 00:19:44,900 --> 00:19:47,233 referenced in the video already. Alice 494 00:19:47,233 --> 00:19:49,133 Oseman's "Heartstopper" is currently one of 495 00:19:49,133 --> 00:19:51,133 the graphic novels and TV series that has 496 00:19:51,133 --> 00:19:53,033 garnered critical acclaim and is 497 00:19:53,033 --> 00:19:54,133 well-liked by lots of 498 00:19:54,133 --> 00:19:54,799 readers and viewers. 499 00:19:56,033 --> 00:19:58,133 Some of these titles here are novels that 500 00:19:58,133 --> 00:20:00,333 have been turned into films, like "Red, 501 00:20:00,333 --> 00:20:02,633 White & Royal Blue", some are TV series 502 00:20:02,633 --> 00:20:05,366 like "Derry Girls" or "Sex Education", and 503 00:20:05,366 --> 00:20:07,066 there are lots of films from the last 20 504 00:20:07,066 --> 00:20:09,166 years including "The Danish Girl" and 505 00:20:09,166 --> 00:20:10,066 "Portrait of a Lady on Fire". 506 00:20:10,133 --> 00:20:13,633 Among those, you also find plays like 507 00:20:13,633 --> 00:20:15,933 "Angels in America" and of course novels 508 00:20:15,933 --> 00:20:18,333 that have not only yet been filmed like 509 00:20:18,333 --> 00:20:20,766 "The House in the Cerulean Sea" or one of 510 00:20:20,766 --> 00:20:23,200 the first radical queer books, Radclyffe 511 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:25,099 Hall's "The Well of Loneliness" from 1928. 512 00:20:26,466 --> 00:20:28,166 We see that queer representation and 513 00:20:28,166 --> 00:20:30,400 recognition is increasing despite the 514 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:32,400 ongoing vilification of queer people, 515 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:33,166 especially from the 516 00:20:33,166 --> 00:20:34,500 right-wing political spectrum. 517 00:20:35,500 --> 00:20:38,133 The queer community is "out, proud and 518 00:20:38,133 --> 00:20:40,466 here to stay", and global events like the 519 00:20:40,466 --> 00:20:42,233 Christopher Street Day parades you see 520 00:20:42,233 --> 00:20:43,366 in many cities in summer, 521 00:20:43,833 --> 00:20:45,666 or the celebration of June as Pride Month 522 00:20:45,666 --> 00:20:47,700 to raise awareness not just of the 523 00:20:47,700 --> 00:20:50,033 existence of queer people, but also of 524 00:20:50,033 --> 00:20:52,066 the discrimination, harassment or social 525 00:20:52,066 --> 00:20:53,966 exclusion queer people often still have 526 00:20:53,966 --> 00:20:55,533 to deal with on a daily basis. 527 00:20:56,466 --> 00:20:58,866 The inclusion of marginalized voices and 528 00:20:58,866 --> 00:21:01,566 other people does not harm a society. It 529 00:21:01,566 --> 00:21:03,500 may harm those people whose claim to 530 00:21:03,500 --> 00:21:05,266 power is based on fear and exclusion 531 00:21:05,266 --> 00:21:07,366 rather than love and inclusion, but 532 00:21:07,366 --> 00:21:08,233 that's a different problem 533 00:21:08,233 --> 00:21:09,566 and cannot be discussed here. 534 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:13,166 Rather, let's look at the inclusive Pride 535 00:21:13,166 --> 00:21:17,966 flag one last time and see which colours 536 00:21:17,966 --> 00:21:20,733 you recognise. If you have a mind to, go 537 00:21:20,733 --> 00:21:22,200 ahead and browse the list of references 538 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:24,033 and the additional reading materials.