Queer Theory: Subverting norms of Sexuality and Gender in Suicide Research

Queer theory is often difficult to define, it comes from multiple critical, social and cultural contexts, with the word ‘queer’ being a deliberately ambiguous term that is a way of naming, describing, doing and being. The word ‘queer’ was reclaimed by the LGBTQA+ community in the 1980’s, precisely because of its historical association with pathologisation, accusation and insult. This is what empowers the word ‘queer’ with its discursive power when re-used as a self-identifier. Queer theory can address the problem of heteronormativity in its exploration and illumination of non-normative queer identities that would otherwise be erased, or made invisible. And so, queer theory challenges the common place understandings of categorisations of sexuality and gender which have been constrained within fixed binaries. This problem has been exempified in the reductive classification of risk and protective factors for suicidality among queer youth, which does not account for the complexity, diverstiy, and meaning of identity formation during adolescence. These binary distinctions or categories will be discussed, with regards to both sexual orientation and gender identity, with important applications to suicide research. It will be argued that being LGBTQA+ is not a risk factor for suicide, but rather there are socio-cultural factors and often difficult lived experiences associated with being LGBTQA+ that increases this suicide risk. Moreover, there is a need to move away from this focus on ‘at risk and vulnerable’ narratives, which are actually harmful to queer youth. Instead, we must recognise that suicide emantes from a complex interaction of individual differences, cognitive factors, socio-cultural factors, and often traumatic life events.