“Homosexuality was tolerated as long as it remained in (or was weaponized by) the patriarchal hierarchy.” – Alan Bray, Homosexuality in Renaissance England WHEN Homosexuality in Renaissance England was first published in 1988, it came at a significant historical moment when sexuality studies were beginning to gain recognition as a serious academic field. Though some […]
“How do we define the question ‘What makes a man?’ and why are we compelled to define the term at all?” – Angus McLaren, The Trials of Masculinity: Policing Sexual Boundaries 1870-1930 Angus McLaren’s The Trials of Masculinity: Policing Sexual Boundaries, 1870–1930 (University of Chicago Press, 1997) provides a compelling historical analysis of how masculinity […]
THIS article was sparked by a discussion I had with my husband about my occasional use of Queer Theory in conversations about contemporary queer issues, as well as in literary and other contexts. He pointed out that some of the terminology felt “dated.” So, I wondered: has Queer Theory evolved, or is it outdated? Am […]
As I’ve previously mentioned, my three favourite characters in literary fiction are Dracula, Louis de Pointe du Lac, and Julien Mayfair. I’ve already delved into the intriguing worlds of Dracula and Louis, with a queer theory focus; now it’s time to turn my attention to Julien, especially in light of the upcoming, stunningly illustrated hardcover […]
FOR ME, one of Anne Rice’s appeals is that she often wrote from a queer perspective. Her vampire fiction is intellectual, brooding, and deeply thought-provoking while remaining accessible to a broad audience. Her Vampire Chronicles are riddled with homoerotic content and androgynous characters that appear human yet are always otherworldly. Her vampires transcend polarized sexuality, going […]
BRAM STOKER’S Dracula is a late nineteenth-century gothic novel—or horror if it pleases you—that’s intrigued me for decades, or “oceans of time,” as Count Dracula would say. Dracula, the work itself, is akin to the vampire’s esoteric, complex, and polymorphic state. There are numerous ways to deconstruct this book to uncover and interpret multiple meanings and […]
