Queer theory and sexuality in global cinema and culture

Gopinath, Gayatri. "Queering Bollywood."

What does Gopinath mean by "queer diasporic viewing practices?"

What types of problems does a queer diasporic viewing practice present, in terms of biased readings into Indian-produced cinema? In other words, is Gopinath superimposing Western values onto Indian normative sexuality?

What evidence does Gopinath present of gender bending in Indian cinema?

How are gender bending, gender performativity, and homoeroticism portrayed in Indian cinema in general?

What evidence is there that Indian cinema contains deliberately subversive messages about sexuality?

Warner, Michael. "Normal and Normaller."

Does the institution of marriage contradict queer identity as being inherently oppositional to the dominant heteronormative culture?

Warner notes that gay marriage has until recently been less important than issues such as AIDS prevention, anti-gay violence, and "the saturation of everyday life with heterosexual privilege." Do you believe that the fight for marriage equality detracts from these causes?

3. How does marriage equality reconstruct marriage as a social institution, removing its patriarchal associations?

4. Do you agree with Warner that "as long as people marry, the state will regulate the sexual lives of those who do not," such as by de-legimizing consensual sex that does not fall within the established normative framework of marriage?

5. Marriage equality confers status as well as a veneer of "respectability and public acceptance,," according to Warner (133). Yet many heterosexual couples choose to cohabit without marriage. Discuss your views on whether marriage confers status.

Rawson, K.J. "Accessing Transgender."

1. Rawson discusses how simple accessibility adjustments such as gender-neutral or single-user bathrooms can dramatically transform the social landscape. What are some other ways to improve global accessibility?

2. In light of Rawson's argument, do you believe that the English language is capable of changing to embrace a gender-neutral pronoun?

3. Why does Rawson claim that the term transgender is one that connotes and presumes a "white identity"? (p. 131).

4. What institutions besides archives can we apply Rawson's theory of geosemiotics?

5. Why does Rawson report feeling "satisfied" at the simple act of touching the artifacts? (p. 138).

Camara, M. Dakan.

1. How are the themes addressed in Dakan universal?