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Gays and Queers: From the Centering to the Decentering of Homosexuality in American Films

Sonoma State University, USA, james.dean{at}sonoma.edu

This article examines independent cinema's depictions of homosexuality from 1990 to 2000. Using mainstream Hollywood films of the 1990s as the context for their development, I show significant differences in how homosexuality is represented outside mainstream films. Specifically, I divide independent films into two types: gay and lesbian standpoint films, and queer cinema. Gay standpoint films are distinguished by their narrative focus on a gay and lesbian subculture, whereas queer cinema generally depicts representations of a character's sexuality as decentered. I suggest that if we understand gay and lesbian standpoint films as a response to mainstream Hollywood ones that exclude subcultural depictions, then queer cinema can be seen as a challenge to both gay and lesbian standpoint films, and mainstream Hollywood films that center and normalize homosexual identity.

Key Words: decentred • gay and lesbian standpoint films • mainstream Hollywood films • normalization • queer cinema

Sexualities, Vol. 10, No. 3, 363-386 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1363460707078337


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