Hegemony and Heteronormativity

'This is an extraordinary collection that explores the relationship between queer theory and hegemony, charting a new direction for political thought. Here two important critical theories are brought into vital contact with one another. Hegemony establishes our consenting activities as effects of the very norms we seek to contest. Heteronormativity describes the constitutive paradox of being enabled by the very norms that constrain and produce us as intelligible subjects.  This also affects the concept of heteronormativity. By thinking about heteronormativity in light of the theory of hegemony, we see an opportunity to recast queer theory at a critical distance from the neo-liberal celebration and normalization of difference. How do unmarked norms constrain the field of differences?  What we find in these pages is the notion that the counter-hegemonic must give political form to tensions that resolve neither into the normalization of difference nor the assertion of simple identity. By introducing incommensurability into our equations, what cannot be resolved becomes the condition of any future alliance. Considering critically the tension between consent and coercion, between queer theory and neo-liberalism, this volume shows how norms are incorporated and contested at the level of bodily practices and how power thrives in non-codifiable cultural conventions. In helping us to rethink power, new modes of embodied existence and future alliance, this book proves smart and urgent for our times.' Judith Butler, University of California, Berkeley, USA ’Overall, this is a diverse collection in ethos, tone and content which draws on international perspectives and material.’ Somatechnics