queer theory: a comparison of Warner's normalization theory to My Lesbian Husband

Barrie reinterprets the state of marriage, what it means to her, and the benefits associated with having a husband. She bucks Warner's idea that the institution of same-sex marriage is always an ideology of normalization. Barrie does not seek a commitment ceremony with Linnea because she wants to uphold a heterosexual image of purity or to become "civilized". Rather, Barrie acknowledges her current politics and the queer politics of her past. Barrie proves that mainstream gay and lesbian concerns do not ignore the queer politics. Warner's assumption that the two cannot work together provides a dichotomy of the gay and lesbian movement that creates the same hierarchies he intends to indict.
The benefits of marriage for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people are very ambiguous. Barrie embraces marriages ambiguity just as she embraces gender ambiguity. She wants to find ways to appropriate and integrate the best of what already exists. This is done through a more formal re...