Refract: An Open Access Visual Studies Journal

In attempting to understand the divisive power of gender and sexuality, one can begin by pointing out that certain genders have more social and political visibility than others. Feminist post-structuralist philosopher Judith Butler reminds us that only in the naming or recognition as boy or girl can we become viable. Butler says, “Desire is always a desire for recognition and [...] it is only through the experience of recognition that any of us become constituted as socially viable beings.” To be viable, one must be recognized, and this battle for recognition within the power structures of gender and sexual identity catalyze queer exhaustion.