There have been a slew of articles as of late regarding the shifting winds of change in relation to everything queer.

Just take a look at these three:

The End of Gender?

In Praise of Promiscuity

Dawn of a New Gay

Each of these pieces raise interesting points and at the same time, pose new questions to us, the communities and minorities that are affected by this shift the most. As members of the queer community (community used loosely as a collective term) we are on the forefront of this socio-civil-politically-economic battle. We create the terms, we redefine the terms, we reclaim the terms, we flip them on their heads, we find ways to survive, we shift to the top of the chain, we negotiate identities, hide from others, come under attack when we try to be proud, educate the ignorant, challenge the defiant, attack the haters and love the lovers. The majority of us are constantly struggling to get through this dense thicket of experience, while at the same time trying to cultivate a comprehensible sense of self, just so we can get by a little easier.

But as the “movement” and some of these articles have suggested, Western society is shifting into a new area of social thought and conditioning. There are gay, lesbian and trans teenagers who are growing up, relatively trouble free. There’s Storm, the gender neutral baby living in Toronto. We don’t need 5 Queer bars/clubs, because we can now frolic at queer-friendly straight bars now. This isn’t happening everywhere but there are enough of them out there to be noticed.

So between Storm and the Post-Mo’s, what will happen then to “Queer”?

Does the victory of a specific struggle (for some, not all) mean that they too get to enjoy the benefits of being “normal”? A part of me feels like this is what is happening; when we become normal,Queer disappears. Where does it go? How does something that grew out of oppression continue to live on when the oppression isn’t around anymore? 

Equality, in some cases, has been misconstrued for “normal” and ergo those of us who can live our sexuality oppression free are granted the liberty to buy into fads, sign up for a registry and live in a refurbished downtown loft, just like everyone else. The politics of the individual vanish, leaving room for a whole new world of things to think and do. Adult things. Yuppy things.

But we can’t forget about the other intersections such as race and class. The thing that separates racial oppression and homophobic oppression is that one is visible and the other is invisible. One can pass, the other can’t. Just look at something as tacky as “The A-List: New York”. They’re all white. If that isn’t stating the obvious problems with the assimilation of queer culture, I don’t know what else to say.  

And is it pessimistic of me to assume that a society void of oppression is pretty much unimaginable in the world we live in today? Or am I just being realistic? The Western world… no, humanity, thrives on oppression. It’s how we’ve gotten to this point. Class systems make our living possible. But to imagine this oppression-free utopia into a reality would require an entire upheaval of the current system.

Anyone care for a revolution?