What is Queer Theory?

By Natasha DuRose

It's been hard to avoid articles and social media posts talking about "queer" people, "queerness" or "Queer Theory" in recent years, but it's even more difficult to find concise but neutral definitions for these terms. This article addresses that gap.

Queer Theory is a set of ideas that developed in the 1990s to challenge established thinking about sex, gender and sexuality. It argues that the categories of male and female, man and woman, and heterosexual and homosexual, are not biological facts but ideas that society has created and made to seem natural over time. It sees these categories as fluid and changeable rather than fixed, which is what people mean when they say sex or gender is ‘socially constructed.’ Queer Theory argues that treating the male/female division and heterosexuality as the normal, default state of human life reflects the interests of some groups in society rather than a biological reality.

It is worth knowing that Queer Theory deliberately avoids a single precise definition. Its leading thinkers argued that defining it would contradict its purpose, which is to break down fixed categories, meaning it can mean different things in different contexts.

Queer Theory developed in American universities in the early 1990s, growing out of gay and lesbian studies and feminist theory. Its ideas were shaped primarily by two thinkers: the philosopher Judith Butler, who argued that gender is something people act out rather than something they are born as, and the French philosopher Michel Foucault, who argued that what societies call “normal” behaviour is a form of social control rather than a reflection of biology. These ideas can now be found across university subjects, schools and public policy.

One key practical consequence of Queer Theory is the idea that biological sex and gender identity are equivalent. If gender is not biological but a matter of how a person feels, their inner sense of gender becomes as significant as their biological sex. This may be recognised as the basis for the claim that a person can be born in the wrong body.

Queer Theory is not the same as support for gay and lesbian rights. An earlier tradition argued that gay people deserve equal treatment because their sexuality is something they are born with. Queer Theory rejected this, arguing that all identity categories, including man, woman, gay and lesbian, are social inventions rather than natural facts. Many gay and lesbian people disagree with Queer Theory for this reason, arguing that it does not reflect their experience.

Queer Theory started in universities, but its ideas can be found in schools, teacher training, healthcare guidance and public policy. When parents encounter materials presenting the idea that children may question their gender identity, that sex is a spectrum, or that the categories of man and woman are simply social conventions, these ideas often have their roots in Queer Theory.

These are contested ideas. Many parents and professionals who take a sex realist view argue that treating biological sex as a social invention has real consequences for the safeguarding of children, the protection of single-sex spaces, and women’s rights. Understanding the origins and contested nature of these ideas helps parents feel better informed about what their children are being taught and the policies their schools are following.

This document draws on the following peer-reviewed and authoritative reference sources:

Chandler, D. and Munday, R. (2011) A Dictionary of Media and Communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Britannica (2024) ‘Queer’, Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Pickett, B. (2024) ‘Homosexuality’, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

For readers wishing to explore the academic debate in more depth: Sullivan, A. and Todd, S. (eds.) (2023) Sex and Gender: A Contemporary Reader. London: Routledge. Note: this volume is written from a sex realist perspective.

For further information

Cass, H. (2024) Independent Review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People. NHS England. The most comprehensive independent review of the evidence for treatments for gender-questioning young people. Free to access.

Department for Education (2025) Revised Statutory Guidance on Relationships, Sex and Health Education. London: DfE. The updated government guidance on what schools in England must teach. Free to access.

Department for Education (2026) Gender Questioning Guidance within Keeping Children Safe in Education. London: DfE. Government guidance on how schools should handle gender-questioning children, including the protection of single-sex spaces. Free to access.

Support for parents

Ayad, S., Marchiano, L. and O’Malley, S. (2024) When Kids Say They’re Trans. Written by three experienced therapists, this book offers a careful, exploratory approach for parents navigating a child’s gender distress.

Genspect: Support for Parents and Relatives. An international organisation offering support and information for parents of gender-questioning children.

Wider Lens Podcast. Psychologically informed conversations on gender and young people. Useful for parents who prefer to listen rather than read.

The following terms are used in everyday life and in schools and come directly out of Queer Theory. Understanding where they come from can help parents recognise when Queer Theory is influencing what their children are being taught.

Term	What it means
Social construction	The idea that something we think of as natural or fixed, such as the categories of man and woman, is actually created and maintained by society, culture and language rather than by biology.
Heteronormativity	The idea, embedded in laws, institutions and everyday life, that heterosexuality and the male/female division are the natural default for all human beings.
Performativity	Judith Butler's idea that gender is not something a person is born with but something they act out repeatedly through behaviour, dress and presentation, and that this repeated acting is what makes gender seem real and natural. Queer Theory uses this idea to argue that biological sex and gender identity are equivalent.
Binary	The division of people into two opposite categories, such as male/female or man/woman. Queer Theory argues that these divisions are not natural facts but invented social categories that can be questioned and changed.
Normativity	The way in which certain behaviours and identities come to be treated as normal and therefore preferable, while others are treated as outside the norm.
Queering	The act of applying Queer Theory's ideas to any area of life, education or culture to challenge what is considered normal. Parents may come across this in the context of “queering the curriculum” in schools.
Sex realist	The view that biological sex is real, binary and matters for law, policy and everyday life. Sex realists argue that the categories of male and female are biological facts, not social inventions. This is the position that Queer Theory directly challenges.

This document is intended as an accessible introduction only.