Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick's foundational queer theory text — arguing that the homo/heterosexual distinction is a structuring principle of modern Western culture and that the closet (knowledge-ignorance about sexuality) shapes cultural epistemology broadly.
The closet as epistemological figure: Sedgwick's five axioms establish the theoretical framework. The most significant: (1) People are different from each other (rejecting assimilationist politics). (2) The study of sexuality cannot be separated from the study of power. (3) The binary of homo/heterosexual is a modern, historically specific invention. (4) This binary has constitutive effects on the entire field of knowledge. (5) An understanding of virtually any aspect of modern Western culture requires a critical analysis of homo/heterosexual definition. With Gender Trouble, the book established queer theory as a field.
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