Critical Essay # 1: Queer Theory

When I first heard of Queer Theory in our class, the first thing that comes to my mind is the reality TV series "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."Basically, the reality series is bout 5 gay men who plays with the stereotypes that they are superior in the fashion industry, grooming, interior design, culture and etc. Base on the series, I didn't find anything wrong with gay men dominating such industries. For me gay men are more complex since they can multitask and be creative in their own ways. On the other hand, queer theory does not limit itself to gay men but also to the lesbians. Below, I will be talking more on the theory itself and maybe give examples as for my own understanding on the said theory.

The term “queer,” according to Annamarie Jagose, “focuses on mismatches between sex, gender and desire.” Base on his definition, I'm not so sure with the word mismatches for the fact that according to what our professor had explained is that "Gay men, can “become” women in the sense that they identify with women’s subordinate subject positions and have experiences that are women-like in their degradation." For me queer theory is like what I saw in Oprah's one episode and it was discussed that gays / lesbians are just trapped inside a male / female body but deep inside they are what they think they are. 

Often times in pour society, we have a stereotype wherein gays are the weaker sex, the one that is being the outcast and the one that is not part of the society. As I remember in one of our discussions, gays are said to be humiliated in our society because they are shifting ti the weaker sex. By this i mean, they  are shifting to the phase of womanhood and we have a stereotype that women are the weaker sex. On the other hand, when women shifts to the other phase which is the male side, there is a contradicting belief with the gays and lesbians tend to be just ok and not treated like being disregarded as the gays.

Here's another perspective on gender issue which I think is helpful in understanding why these kind of people exist. Psychological theories include socialization or social learning as a way of assuming gender roles. I myself believe in the Cognitive Development Theory where children play active roles in developing gender identities. A child’s mind can be likened to a blank paper. As soon as the child sees and experiences or interacts with others, in their surroundings, the child becomes the active player in identifying gender. People, media, ideas, society all play a role in shaping the mind of a young child when it comes to gender and gender roles. Society plays a vital role in sociological theories. The gender identity of a person reflects the socio-historical context in culture. 

On the brighter side of things, I'll take Pa-Mihn as an example. Basically they don't dress like women or act feminine in anyway. They hide the fact that their gay for fear of being unaccepted by society. They usually lead a double life by marrying a woman and then going out with his Pa-girl boyfriend at night. They are sometimes labeled bi-sexual. Bi-sexual in the Philippines doesn't actually mean that you like both sexes; you might only like guys but since most pa-mihn are married, they fall under this category. On my point of view I would say that they are sort of "sayang" since they have to hide the truth behind those physical looks. I also encounter some sort of pa-mihn people and I must say that they are wittier, flexible and better than 'REAL' men. Going to they gym about three times a week and interacting with this kind of people make me realize how things has changed a lot. Culture has played a vital role in shaping this kind of people and as time goes by we learn how to accept them and also interact with them. Queer theory is not merely about gays and lesbians. These are also people who are in need of understanding and also learning from them.