The Trouble with Normal

Posted on 12 April 2017 by Michael Warner

Michael Warner, one of our most brilliant social critics, argues that gay marriage and other moves toward normalcy are bad not just for the gays but for everyone In place of sexual status quo, Warner offers a vision of true sexual autonomy that will forever change the way we think about sex, shame, and identity. New Read [ The Trouble with Normal ] by [ Michael Warner ] – kino-fada.fr A comprehensive and incisive excoriation of same sex marriage as a movement for gay liberation Warner s investigations of the interactions between gay shame and a push for same sex marriage see also Mattilda Bernstein Syca and Benjamin Shepard is a useful lens to explore the millions of dollars and volunteer hours going almost exclusively to same sex marriage advocacy at the expense of issues that arguably have a larger impact on the day to day lives of most queer and trans folks, fr A comprehensive and incisive excoriation of same sex marriage as a movement for gay liberation Warner s investigations of the interactions between gay shame and a push for same sex marriage see also Mattilda Bernstein Syca and Benjamin Shepard is a useful lens to explore the millions of dollars and volunteer hours going almost exclusively to same sex marriage advocacy at the expense of issues that arg...Even though its almost 15 years old, and even though some of the specific issues he raises are mute DOMA, don t ask don t tell, anti sodomy laws, all thankfully consigned to the rubbish heap of history now , the underlying assumption he works with is still incredibly valid mainstream culture is uncomfortable with queer people because mainstream culture as a whole is simply uncomfortable with sex being discussed or addressed or engaged with in anything approximating general openness I think th Even though its almost 15 years old, and even though some of the specific issues he raises are mute DOMA, don t ask don t tell, anti sodomy laws, all thankfully consigned to the rubbish heap of history now , the underlying assumption he works with is still incredibly valid mainstream culture is uncomfortable with queer people because mainstream culture as a whole is simply uncomfortable with sex being discussed or addressed or engaged with in anything approximating general openness I think that s essentially correct even if its a very hard generalizatio...In some ways a late polemic in the Q vs R wars of the 1980s inside the gay community an attack on assimilationism Warner s The Trouble With Normal is also a fine meditation on the costs of the idea of normal itself, on how defining some lives as normal always excludes and demonizes others Warner makes the key point that in mass democracies like the US and especially in the mass media saturated US , statistically prevalent is made to equal normal and assigned moral value to In some ways a late polemic in the Q vs R wars of the 1980s inside the gay community an attack on assimilationism Warner s The Trouble With Normal is also a fine meditation on the costs of the idea of normal itself, on how defining some lives as normal always excludes and demonizes others Warner makes the key point that in mass democracies like the US and especially in the mass media saturated US , statistically prevalent is made to equal normal and assigned moral value to be normal moral is to be just like everyone else He argues that it s not just a political mistake for the gay community to pin its hopes on same sex marriage look we re married, we re just like you but a betrayal of all those folk, queer or not, who aren t happily in a married couple Normal , Warner argues, keeps us from asking deeper questions about wha...A comprehensive and incisive excoriation of same sex marriage as a movement for gay liberation Warner s investigations of the interactions between gay shame and a push for same sex marriage see also Mattilda Bernstein Syca and Benjamin Shepard is a useful lens to explore the millions of dollars and volunteer hours going almost exclusively to ...Much like when I first read Edward Said or Simone de Beauvoir, when I read The Trouble With Normal, I began to see some of the underlying assumptions I d made as a straight white male, which made it a rather exhilarating read And some of his policy arguments about the death of queer space in post Giuliani New York are quite interesting His argument against marriage as a cultural norm, gay or straight, isn t quite as powerful, but it still makes for an interesting read.There is a question of ho Much like when I first read Edward Said or Simone de Beauvoir, when I read The Trouble With Normal, I began to see some ...1.5 stars The main arguments of this book in my own words because I do not enjoy Warner s Humanization should be achievable without assimilation In an effort to gain the approval of people with power, some people in the LGBTQ population distance themselves from those who are less normal, such as the overly flamboyant gay man or the transgender person who has no desire to pass as cisgender Warner would never use this example because I m not sure he knows what a trans person is or a 1.5 stars The main arguments of this book in my own words because I do not enjoy Warner s Humanization should be achievable without assimilation In an effort to gain the approval of people with power, some people in the LGBTQ population distance themselves from those who are less normal, such as the overly flamboyant gay man or the transgender person who has no desire to pass as cisgender Warner would never use this example because I m not sure he knows what a trans person is or anyone who might confirm stereotypes Normal is a strategy used to shame and marginalize I guess Is it the same as saying, We re all normal because this huge spread of diversity of sexual orientation and gender identity and gender expressio...Really though, this one I constantly found myself going back and forth between being convinced and disagreeing The first major problem with this book is that it seems only to address a leftist intellectual open minded audience, without finding it necessary to justify the assumptions it makes with a conservative reader in mind I simply can not believe that the subject of religion is not at all discussed within this framework it s as if we ve all moved past the issue of religion The main coun Really though, this one I constantly found myself going back and forth between being convinced and disagreeing The first major problem with this book is that it seems only to address a leftist intellectual open minded audience, without finding it necessary to justify the assumptions it makes with a conservative reader in mind I simply can not believe that the subject of religion is not at all discussed within this framework it s as if we ve all moved past the issue of religion The m...In The Trouble with Normal 1999 , Michael Warner explains how shaming and the stigma around certain sexual acts and desires serves to harm the dignity of queers this shaming is done both by moralists and the good homosexuals By dignity, Warner means that inherent part of ourselves that is the human 36 Warner proposes a politics around shame, understanding that many identities are formed around shame From Goffman he offers to responses to shame the stigmaphile, those who learn to value In The Trouble with Normal 1999 , Michael Warner explains how shaming and the stigma around certain sexual acts and desires serves to harm the dignity of queers this shaming is done both by moralists and the good homosexuals By dignity, Warner means that inherent part of ourselves that is the human 36 Warner proposes a politics around shame, understanding that many identities are formed around shame From Goffman he offers to responses...As posted in The Trouble with Normal is Warner s stance against gay marriage Actually, it sthan that Warner addresses normalcy and this is where he actually had interesting yet heady things to say In order to challenge normalcy, Warner takes us through history to show us how shame has been attached to anything queer However, after two chapters, I realized that Warner is redundant and basically rants against aspects of the gay life In addition, he bashes gay c As posted in The Trouble with Normal is Warner s stance against gay marriage Actually, it sthan that Warner addresses normalcy and this is where he actually had interesting yet heady things to say In order to challenge normalcy, Warner takes us through history to show us how shame has been attached to anything queer However, after two chapters, I realized that Warner is redundant and basically rants against aspects of the gay life In addition, he bashes gay contemporaries on the very same issues he addresses .com summarizes that Warner believes that gays in monogamous relationships are actually doing a ...Eventually I figured out that this book is a follow up to Andrew Sullivan s Virtually Normal, which I haven t yet read Warner s specific rebuttals were therefore lost on me, but the points were very interesting, if not convincing.His arguments are smart, unharried, borderline condescending, and occasionally witty.The book centers around an idea he calls the politics of shame They used shame to break down Clinton, gay men who cruise in public restrooms, the list goes on .He argues that Eventually I figured out that this book is a follow up to Andrew Sullivan s Virtually Normal, which I haven t yet read Warner s specific rebuttals were therefore lost on me, but the points were very interesting, if not convincing.His arguments are smart, unharried, borderline condescending, and occasionally witty.The book centers around an idea he calls the politics of shame They used shame to break down Clinton, gay men who cruise in public restrooms, the list goes on .He ...

English
12 April 2017

Michael Warner