| The term queer theory entered theoretical discourse in the early 1990s: Teresa de Lauretis coined it in her introduction to the lesbian and gay issues of differences. She aligns queer theory with poststructuralism and a commitment to anti-essentialism and the strategies of deconstruction. The term asserts the relative autonomy of sexuality and seeks to separate questions of sexuality from those of gender. It therefore represents a rejection of forms of lesbian feminism in which sexuality follows from gender identity. |