To Queer or Not to Queer a Lesbian and Gay Group? Sexual and Gendered Politics at the Turn of the Century

Abstract

This article explores some emerging tensions between ‘lesbian and gay’ people and politics on the one hand, and ‘queer’ people and politics on the other. These are described by reference to a case-study of the lesbian and gay group in the public-sector trade union UNISON, which is the largest nationwide organization of lesbians and gay men in the UK. The article analyses the struggles over personal identities and political agendas which have been occasioned by challenges from queer subjects, notably bisexuals and transgendered people. It is argued that these struggles need to be situated in broader historical and international contexts, and that this could deconstruct the antinomy between the ‘lesbian and gay’ movement and novel forms of ‘queerdom’.