Paula Kuosmanen

Gender Studies

University of Helsinki

Paula.kuosmanen@helsinki.fi

+358-50-415 4893

Abstract to the conference on Subjectivity and Learning in Everyday Life, in 26th of May – 28th of May 2010 at the University of Roskilde. 

Social repetition, duration and change in the everyday life of lesbian mothers – connecting everyday life and queer theories

Transformation and change have always interested the researchers of everyday life. While Henri Lefebvre looked for a change from the alienated everyday by stressing the fully lived moments, the situationists wanted to challenge the routines of the everyday via the methods of drifting along (derivée) the city spaces and via the art of living and experimental situations. Also in queer theory the break in the linear timeline has been taken as transformational moment. In queer theory a simple kiss by a lesbian couple or a gay couple has been taken as an questioning act of the heteronormativity of the everyday, as a transformative queer-moment, which is based more on the ontology of social antagonism than continuity and immanence, which are the characters of the everyday life.

Although queer-politics and theory has paid attention to the self evidence of the heteronormativity in everyday life, the actual character of the everyday, namely the repetition and duration have been left nearly unresearched, although the repetition has been in the heart of the butlerian theory on performativity.   

Instead of butlerian or lacanian queer theory, which are based on the ontology of the social antagonism (in Ernesto Laclaus’ sense) and transformation, this paper draws more on the deleuzian ontology on duration, immanence and becoming as forms of social repetition and change in the everyday.