Queering the Body Politic: Intersectional Reflexivity in the Body Narratives of Queer Men

This essay presents personal narratives co-constructed with queer men regarding their experiences of queerness and

maleness. As the narrators chart their journeys toward identifying as queer, they recount incongruity between and

within identities, which the author argues creates queer consciousness. Intersectional and reflexive queer consciousness is demonstrated in narratives that recount how critically evaluating identities led the narrators to contest elements of misogyny, effemimania, hypermasculinity, and other discourses and practices that have implications for our bodies. Espousing a queer identification opens up new discursive and material spaces for queer men to critically explore our bodies, while remaining cognizant of and reflexive about the messy and contradictory aspects of queerness.