Lorenze 4

The Future of Lesbian Genders

By Lisa L. Moore »»» Does “lesbian” have a future? Queer and transgender theories are sometimes understood to have supplanted the analytic and cultural usefulness of the term lesbian. This essay identifies a tradition of intertwined lesbian, trans, and woman of color feminist work on gender that has deeply shaped current theories of gender. As an example of the interpretive possibilities of lesbian genders, the essay then sketches out a lesbian history of the sonnet to show how what starts out as a limit or exclusion can be creatively and campily refigured as an aesthetic.