Mediated Construction 3
and lesbian literary criticism, and Foucault’s revolutionary ideas about sexuality and identity.
The term queer itself attempts to negate the notion of sexual identity, resulting as it did from
post-structuralist debates that defy rigid definitions and categorizations (Jagose, 1996). Queer
theory discusses how power operates with sexuality in contemporary society. According to
Brookey “A primary purpose of the critical application of queer theory has been to demonstrate
how sexuality is culturally essentialized to inscribe heterosexuality as normal, and all other
sexualities as deviant” (1996, p.41). The main proposition of queer studies is that sexuality is not
restricted to heterosexuality or homosexuality, a binary system reinforced by hegemonic
patriarchal societies, but is a more complex array of gender possibilities.
Gramsci’s (1973) notion of hegemony shifts the focus of scholarly attention from explicit
ideologies or agendas to the common sense norms that influence everyday interactions and are
taken for granted and perceived as normal. Although Gramsci understood hegemony as part of
the dynamic process of class struggle and domination (1973), his ideas can inform other
discussions of power such as gender, race, and sexuality. Berlant and Warner (1993) define
heteronormativity as the institutions and practices that make heterosexuality privileged and
therefore desirable (p. 355).
Connell (1992) defines external hegemonic masculinity as the strategy that maintains the
patriarchal system where men dominate over women, and internal hegemonic masculinity as the
domination of white heterosexual men over other men. In Connell’s view, homosexual men are
neither participants nor beneficiaries of hegemonic masculinity. Demetriou (2001) challenges
these definitions and argues that hegemony is not the privilege of white heterosexual men but
rather manifests itself through different kinds of masculinities in order to assure the survival of
the patriarchal system. He claims that the integration of gay males in diverse cultural practices
Convention