Queer Theory

The term “queer” has predominantly occupied everyday vocabulary at the turn of the 21st century. Given this, queer lands uniquely with people across diverse experiences and positionalities, arriving at a tautology that continues to fit queer narratives and histories—“queer is queer.” Variety translates to the roots of queer theory and, presently, to its influences and attentions. Little has been said about queer theory in relation to social work; instead, queer theory is understood as “work with queer people or work with LGBTQIA+ populations.” Queer theory, then, has merely been used to make sense of individual cases, which can expand sense-making within the social work practice. Discussion on the critical histories and definitions of queer theory has emphasized the latent and emergent possibilities in queering social work itself—its language, viewpoints, practice, and contexts.