SEXTANT: masculinities, sexualities & decolonialities

ABSTRACT

Dominant narratives of love, as perceived in society, and bound by rigid categories, are Eurocentric and heteronormative ones. This contemporary conception considers love and sexual intimacy as mutually inclusive, and is usually understood as involving a ‘romantic relationship’ whereas acts of kindness and care are separately categorised as ‘platonic emotions.’ Our society obsesses over definitions and categories, which police and limit the understanding of ‘love.’ By engaging with the works of queer, Black, Indigenous People of Colour (BIPOC) authors who have challenged these white-supremacist sensibilities surrounding ‘love,’ this paper analyses the novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (2019) by Ocean Vuong. This analysis focuses on the representation and construction of love through a queered lens. Using the works of authors such as bell hooks and Audre Lorde, this textual and contextual analysis works to shatter heteronormative (and, in extension, homonormative) ideas of love to bring forth a more fluid, nuanced framework.

KEY WOrDS

homonormativity, heteronormativity, love, queer, fluidity, non-Eurocentric

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.