The Queer Turn in Composition Studies

Main point: "As a discipline, rhetoric and composition needs a better understanding of how heteronormativity operates in society at large, in our classrooms, and in the pages of our books and journals—for numerous reasons: because 5 to 10 percent of the population is lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered or transsexual; because gay marriage is a hot-button civil rights issue debated in election campaigns as well as in the pages of composition readers; and because unpacking the problematic ways that American society deals with sexual identity has the potential to help all of us to understand not only how we are positioned in society but also how we contribute to the positioning of others for good or ill."

An education system that recognizes a multicultural world can give students a better education --> embrace multiculturalism not marginalize it

"Our analysis of this literature reveals three distinct theoretical and pedagogical moves in 

this scholarship: the need to confront homophobia, the desire to be inclusive of LGBT people, and the possibility of using queer theory to break down the homo/hetero binary as a constraining mode of thinking about identity and agency."

Terms:

• Heteronormativity: umbrella concept that refers to the set of cultural values and practices that presumes that LGBT sexual identities are abnormal. 
• Homophobia: refers to overt, intended acts that directly challenge or threaten the existence of LBGT people and practices.
• Heterosexism: refers to more subtle and often unintentional acts that reflect heternormativity.