Bloviating about Queer Theory? FML.

In my time in San Francisco, I’ve noticed the academic parts of my life creeping into the personal. Or vice versa.

Several days ago, I found myself explaining Queer Theory to a friend over brunch. Without trotting out Butler and Foucault, I offered my friend the idea that “people like other people” – a simplification for sure, but an immediately useful one. Lisa Diamond’s presentation on Dialectical Systems Theory was helpful for explaining how the labels one uses to identify sexual identity change over time, and can depend on one’s surroundings. “We expect everyone else to stay the same, while we’re constantly changing,” I said between bites. Using theory to add context, to help make sense of individual experiences, makes sense to me. A position paper is less likely to change someone’s lived experience.

With all of the terms flying around academia like overstuffed turkeys – literacy, reification, performance, dialogue, discourse -   pining even one of them down for public consumption seems a small success. It’s not that these terms aren’t useful; rather, their meaning becomes useful to few when understanding is so closely guarded.

Some of the most interesting terms I’ve learned came from asking friends. A whole evening was spent discussing the differences between bears and otters. I wish I had known the terms before the Pride Parade!

My understanding of the term “Castro clone” coincided with the first part of our Sexual History Tour of San Francisco, where we walked through the Castro. I’m curious as to when terms cross over from being used by a select group of people and enter the public discourse. Two terms unrelated to sexual health include: bloviate, and FML. Bloviate, to speak pompously and excessively, dropped from usage for almost seventy years before reappearing. FML, f my life, was a phrase uttered by many before becoming a blog in 2008. Both terms are in common use after a tipping point occurred, when a majority understood the gist of the word, and used it to describe their experience.

I'm looking forward to using the terms I've learned here in San Francisco. I hope the words and ideas help my students make sense of their experiences.