Thesis: Queer liberation (as opposed to queer assimilation) is the most substantive framework for achieving equality for the LGBTQ+ community.

As the Equality Act is being spearheaded in Congress and an onslaught of anti-transgender legislation is sweeping the country, there is no better time to write about queer rights in the United States. Over the course of American history, queer people have sought different methods of reaching equality. Queer folks in the US gained rights largely from using the politics of assimilation as well as with the ideas of liberation. In my essay, I want to address the arguments as to why queer liberation would be beneficial to queer people in comparison to queer assimilation which could hurt many within the community. I want to write this essay because I think the LGBTQ+ community should be a protected social caste and the legislation that is passed by the government should represent that. In addition, the essay will explore the diverging ideas and methods that were birthed by the Queer Liberation Movement. I am not exactly sure what my areas of focus will be yet, but I am contemplating dividing the essay based on politics, personhood/private life, and public perception of queer people.

I think this is a good opportunity for me to learn about queer history and the methods of reaching acceptance and equality. I recently started engaging in queer theory and I thought it would be nice to write an essay on such a contentious topic. My intention with this essay is not to create a binary where liberation is good and assimilation is bad; it’s to examine each method with nuance and convince the audience that liberation aids everyone within the LGBTQ+ community. 

I don’t think many people know about queer liberation and assimilation. These are not terms within the American conscious. People are cognizant of the rights and acceptance that queer people are receiving as well as the backlash they have been experiencing in recent years. While queer representation is a great thing, I think that many people conflate media visibility with liberation. Oftentimes, this representation is shown through a heteronormative lens which applies constraints on the “queerness” of the queer characters. That’s not to say that queer representation is not appreciated or needed. It is, but it is important to recognize how they are depicted in media. As we progress, we must evaluate what methods would be the best for everyone in the community.

Research Questions:
What role do heteronormativity and assimilation play in the legitimization of the sexual hierarchies?
How can the politics of assimilation limit reaching equality?
What can liberatory policies look like in an age of assimilation and how can we progress towards them?