Loaded Questions: The Performance and Creation of Queer Identities

Abstract

Due to the contributions of feminist studies to anthropology, performance and performativity have become significant in the understanding of identity. Using these concepts, I examine the social construction of queer identities in a queer space through the utilization of gendered symbolic actions. The data that form the basis of this article were generated during my participation in a queer games night. The topics that the game posed elicited a variety of identity performances that originated from activities such as identity policing, camp talk, and ‘gayspeak.’ I demonstrate that these activities, in this particular context, work to continually construct, modify, and reinforce the gender identities and sexualities of participants.