There are many reasons why people may feel uncomfortable talking about queer joy, from personal experiences of stigma to systemic barriers that make it difficult for some LGBTQ+ folks to openly express their feelings of pleasure in public spaces.
There is also growing evidence that queer joy can be an important way to resist systemic oppression. In this context, we must consider how different forms of resistance can have lasting effects on both individuals and society more broadly. This paper will explore the potential for embodied resistance through the lens of queer joy and argue that queer joyfulness should be celebrated as a legitimate form of resistance against heteronormative and cisheteropatriarchal power structures.
One form of embodied resistance is queering your body and using it to challenge social norms.
Drag kings can wear women's clothing while embodying masculine gender identities, or transgender women can choose to live as butch lesbians. Queer joy can help to break down rigid binaries around sex/gender and allow for fluidity in expression.
Queer joy can take the form of physical contact between two or more people—from hugging to kissing to intimacy—which can subvert societal expectations about who should touch whom (and when).
Queer joy can also involve challenging dominant narratives about what kinds of relationships are valid. Cis-heterosexual couples often center themselves in popular culture, which can marginalize other types of intimacy. By exploring nontraditional pairings such as polyamory or nonmonogamy, we can redefine our understanding of love beyond just romantic partnerships between two cis men or cis women.
Sexual pleasure outside of traditional binary categories can be empowering for all genders involved.
Queer joy can provide us with tools for self-care by allowing us to celebrate ourselves without shame. It reminds us that our bodies are worthy of attention and care regardless of how they look or perform in bed. We deserve pleasure without having to justify it or explain it away. When we embrace our own unique expressions of desire and sensuality without apology, this embodied resistance becomes a powerful tool against heteronormative power structures that seek to control our lives from cradle to grave.
I believe that queer joy is an important form of embodied resistance because it allows us to reclaim our bodies from oppressive systems and create new possibilities within them. Through its physical manifestation, we challenge norms around gender identity/expression, sex/gender dynamics, relationship models, and self-acceptance. This article has explored these issues through three examples: drag kings/butch lesbians; fluid intimate touch; alternative relationship configurations. While not every person will identify with these forms of resistance (or even see them as resistant), I hope that my argument encourages further discussion on the role that queer joy plays in dismantling systemic oppression.
Is queer joy a form of embodied resistance against systemic oppression?
No, it is not because queer joy does not necessarily involve an active and conscious act of resisting oppression. Queer people may experience joy even when they are not consciously aware of the systemic oppression they face. The term "queer" refers to non-heteronormative sexuality and gender identities that fall outside of traditional norms.