Counselling Ideologies

Queer Challenges to Heteronormativity

Lyndsey Moon

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9780754676836
• eBook ISBN: 9781317158943
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Anthropology
• Index: Social Sciences

Counselling Ideologies draws our attention to the dilemmas inherent within the therapeutic ideologies commonly subscribed to by psychotherapists and counsellors working with those who challenge heteronormative models and approaches. Identifying the modernist, heteronormative understandings of the world implicit in the more popular models, this book employs queer theory to challenge these ideologies, drawing on disciplines both within and outside of counselling and psychology, as well as sociology, cultural studies and various ethnographic accounts. It highlights the dilemmas faced by those who may wish to practise as 'queer therapists', addressing not only therapeutic dilemmas, but also issues such as: identity, race, coming-out experiences, 'internalised homophobia', 'empathy', 'ethical issues', bisexuality and pathologisation. Comprising contributions from both academic experts and practitioners from the UK, USA and Australia, this book represents a new approach to counselling and psychotherapy that will appeal not only to sociologists and those working in the field of mental health, but also to scholars of race and ethnicity, gender, queer studies and queer theory.

PART I De/Heterosexualising Therapy

Introduction

Lyndsey Moon

Queer Causes trouble

I am looking at a photo emblazoned: ‘The Front banner of the Yellow Queer Feminist Block’. It is a banner several feet long and high, so high that all we can see are a row of heads from those people behind and their fists tightly holding the banner in a long row across the top. It is being held up by queers of all ages, colours and abilities who are on a march with many others through the streets of a major European City. To the right side of the banner it shows a sign of a large fist smashing through what looks like an image of glass and there are symbols of shards of glass occupying the space around the fist, while to the left of the fist, are the words ‘Normalize This’ with star signs around it – almost parodying the words. The photo is striking because of its simplicity, its audacity, its resistance and its power. The fist is aimed at ‘you’, and it is being carried en force by many hundreds of followers who are marching forward over the time worn tarmac laid down by a past generation. ‘You’ represent a force that may only be responded to through a queer stance that demands attention and respect. Queer elucidates a social subjectivity that is determined to challenge assimilation and embrace fear. The ‘normal’ people are gradually being pushed to the fringes and stand to each side – people looking with apprehension and bewilderment at this vivid spectacle, this movement of future in their present. It feels uneasy. There is a tension, a slight sigh of breath as I gaze upon what this image means while at the same time the vision is contesting my own thoughts and ideas. It is a vision that refuses to compromise, refuses to assimilate and generates a critical interrogation of the taken for granted notion of what constitutes ‘normality’. It is for this latter reason that I have introduced this picture, this rather contentious image. It marks a turning point, a critical edge, a new perspective that therapeutic ideology needs to grab hold of and take into account. It is no longer acceptable to look at the therapies through heterosexual signification – through those processes of meaning-making which fail to disturb heterosexual representations. It is time for change.

Queer theory means unsettling conventional therapeutic theories and practices while it transforms understandings of, and approaches towards, sex, genders and sexualities. It seems an odd and somewhat problematic statement to suggest that therapy needs a social and ‘queer’ theory to act as a transformative potential in re-shaping practices and ideological stance. But this is implicitly or explicitly recommended throughout the chapters. Sexual agency in relation to therapeutic structures is brought under scrutiny in order that it severely disrupts the taken for granted heteronormative consciousness that pervades all therapeutic structures. Instead, a queer consciousness is considered and commented upon. The first four chapters take up this slogan by declaring the de/heterosexualisation of therapy. The following seven chapters show how this may be operationalised through resistance and contestation. They highlight ways in which queer theory can decentralise therapeutic ideology and normative thinking in relation to issues such as queer spaces, bisexuality, non-monogamy, BDSM, cisgenderism, working with Muslim gay men, race and gender.

The first part presents the case for de/heterosexualising therapy and opens with chapters that focus on the way therapy is embedded within heteronormative and regulatory discourses that ‘discipline’ personhood. They question the very structural composition of therapy. The chapters open with Tina Livingstone’s contribution to thinking about regulatory discourses, how sex is linked to ‘talk’ that is ‘dirty’ and how it is time to unpack the dictionary of words therapy is built upon such as ‘disorder’ and ‘defect’, how these become naturalised and internalised. Alternatively, Tina points out that some clients want to conform to ‘normality’, want to feel accepted by a normative society and, as they are already deeply sanctioned against because of their gender and/or sexuality, they no longer want to transgress, they simply want to find their place in life. She introduces the idea of cisgenderism, a theme later written about by Gavriel Ansara, where personhood is based on gender being aligned to designated biological sex and yet this is now so limiting that it must change or continue to fracture the whole meaning of personhood. The question is how therapists can work with such a limiting concept? How can therapists work with meanings of ‘authenticity’ and ‘congruency’ when their own understanding is incongruent with social meanings? For example, how do therapists respond to the idea that as a child, their client may have dressed in clothing designed for the opposite gender – what does this mean? If the social narratives were such that ‘dressing-up’ in all shapes of ‘identity’ clothing was normative then how would the meanings of gendered childhood development change? It is this type of thinking that needs to shift – particularly for therapists. As Tina states, ‘queer isn’t about the people it’s about the process’ which is the basis on which this and the following chapters are written.

In Chapter 2, Ian Hodges argues for a queer re-reading of classical psychoanalysis through Butler, Kristeva and Derrida and remarks upon the constant ambivalence and contradiction towards queer sexualities within the psychoanalytic landscape. Ian brings into focus the meaning of the Oedipus complex and questions what would happen to this representational model if Western social power relations and values were dismantled in relation to gender and sexuality. In Chapter 3, Alex Iantaffi extends the idea of therapy as a social process and the way reflexivity is central to training. She scrutinises epistemological shallowness and wants to create new narratives that usurp heterosexual dogma. We read about the tensions inherent within training regimes and the way ‘curiosity’ is vanquished within heteronormative training. This notion of curiosity is a theme that needs to be played with in therapy and Alex shows how research and training need to be inquisitive, questioning and enquiring if they are to integrate new meanings for experiences. In Chapter 4, I write in relation to feeling and emotion and suggest that desire and feeling need to be freed from the materiality of the body seen as ‘identity’. Although useful in the past, my argument suggests that identity as a structure is now limiting and rather than freeing desire, it now constrains sexual feelings towards the ‘other’. Looking towards queer as a form of praxis as well as theory, I argue that queer is gradually dismantling present representations of desire and forming new meanings for bodies that are no longer limited by identities.

In Part II, the focus moves to relations of resistance and contestation. Starting with Chapter 5, Julie Tilsen and David Nylund, question the generational discourses, the shifts in meaning for queer youth and the concept of heteronormativity as a result of ‘neo-liberal and assimilationist identity politics’. Throughout the chapter they promote the use of discursive therapy practices informed by poststructuralist thinking and bring about a disruption of conventional therapeutic narratives. They insert the idea of ‘reverse discourse’ and how this may be used to change, rather than overturn, the meaning of power. Drawing from shared narratives with queer youth, they see these as transgressive stories of revolution in everyday life.

Following on from this, in Chapter 6, Catherine Butler, Roshan das Nair and Sonya Thomas present a discursive account of queer theory in relation to ‘people of colour’, arguing that queer remains ‘black and white’. Presenting a ‘white queer theory’ where they argue that queer theory is shaped by a ‘white perspective’ they follow this with a ‘black queer theory’ which provides a way of collating the history and practice of writing about black, colour and queer that therapists need to engage with in terms of a critical thinking style. In sum, they provoke ideas and suggest the reader further analyses race and its interaction with queer theory.

In Chapter 7, Christian Klesse introduces bisexuality, challenging the manner in which non-heterosexual forms of intimacy become legitimated through monogamy. He shows how counselling and therapy struggle with meanings about bisexuality both theoretically and for client work and he introduces ideas for therapists to consider when faced with bisexual issues such as non-monogamy, bi-phobia, bi-negativity, kinship structures and polyamoury.

Chapter 8 finds Mark Casey presenting his work in relation to lesbians, gay men and queers in the north east of England. Alongside debates that surface in relation to ‘issues’ such as queer geographical locations and scene space, Mark tackles how therapists conducting research need to be reminded about the reasons for collecting demographic details and how these impact on the meaning of client narratives when age, race, ability, ethnicity, sexuality, gender and sex are all constantly interacting. He shows how, if research is not thorough in its collection of material, then the application of results are limited and limiting. But Mark also interrogates the meaning for therapy of queer spaces and how these position the individual within a complex set of representations. For example, home life is central to our experience of socialisation while age is a factor in constant need of evaluation and scene spaces are always in need of interrogation. Using sociological analyses, both Christian and Mark offer new insights into the meaning of social issues and show their relevance to everyday social and personal life meanings.

The final three chapters again offer insights into therapeutic areas we rarely acknowledge: cisgenderism, Muslims who are negotiating their sexual identity and the role of power in therapy as shown by the practice of BDSM and understanding this through psychodynamic theory.

In Chapter 9, cisgenderism is Gavi Ansari’s main focus where he shows the basic inadequacy of therapeutic meanings for trans experiences. He acknowledges political issues of funding and how this leads to an ‘alphabet soup’ approach to ways of understanding trans people whereby there is an implicit assumption that all trans people are the ‘same’. It introduces the idea of lack of recognition and calls upon ways that change may be brought about through a ‘social justice activism’ whereby therapy no longer disguises or shies away from its political sensibilities, but actively engages with a democratising and liberatory agenda to the benefit of all clients.

In Chapter 10, Sekneh Beckett writes about her work with Muslim clients negotiating their sexual identity and the ‘games of truth’ that emerge when discourses are made transparent. She focuses on the myths that are made material and put to rest on both the individual and social body.

Finally, Chapter 11 by Dossie Easton, provides the backdrop to sado-masochistic practices, bondage and domination and how these may be used positively within therapeutic discourse with clients who present as wanting to explore sexual meanings and drama in order to develop their personal sexual story.

In conclusion, I do believe that each chapter acts as a queer narrative revealing ways that can benefit therapeutic discourse and practice. More importantly, it shifts meanings, representations and discourses in relation to dissident sex, sexualities and genders to the forefront of social change. Therefore, I take this opportunity to thank all those who have contributed towards the disruption of heteronormativity and hope that those reading the text take up the challenge to criticise therapeutic narratives that are embedded within a normative framework.

Chapter 1 Anti-Sectarian, Queer, Client-Centredness A Re-Iteration of Respect in Therapy

Tina Livingstone

DOI: 10.4324/9781315574462-1

Context

The extent of regulatory discourse applied to relationships and ‘rude bits’ shows that, for a sexually reproductive social species, we seem to have inordinate difficulty with these fundamental aspects of our existence. Despite the bold titling of theatrical productions such as ‘The Vagina Monologues’ (Ensler 2007) and ‘Puppetry of the Penis’ (Morley and Friend 2000) characteristic use of euphemism for sexual body parts and sexual acts persists in modern culture; the ‘covering’ of words mirroring the covering of sexual shame. A mix of statutory legislation and cultural norms strongly impact on how our sex and sexuality is understood and ‘done’. Zerubavel (2006, 27–28) notes ‘the under-lying assumption behind the social taboo on the use of various sex-related (“dirty”) words is that it is quite possible to actually eliminate certain ideas by sanitizing our discourse’. Constraints on gender identity and expression prove even more strenuous; as Jay notes ‘tabooed thoughts remain taboo because there is no acceptable way to depreciate them through public discussion’ (1999, 128). The lack of a common vocabulary beyond binarian gender terms is then a strong indicator of how unacceptable it is to be beyond those norms.

Society polices sex, sexuality and gender with such rigidity that people who appear to flout heteronormative constructs confound to the extent that they are viewed at best sceptically and often with fear. Those who appear to transgress these norms in any way are persistently deemed defective, disordered and dangerous by our most powerful regulatory triad – religious, secular and medical discourse. Heterosexist discourse problematizes gender diversity similarly to homosexuality ‘as a sin (in religious discourse); as unnatural (in both religious and secular discourse); as an illness (in medicine and psychiatry …); as a congenital disorder or inversion (in sex psychology and sexology); as deviance (in some sociological theory); … as child molesters, seducers, and corruptors (in certain sexological studies, the law and the media)’ (Kinsman 2006, 103). Society is not simply hierarchically segregated with regard to gender diversity, it has become sectarian. One of the most profound methods of social control is to label something deviant – thus providing ‘a clear-cut, publicized, and recognizable threshold between permissible and impermissible behaviour’ serving ‘to segregate the deviants from others’ (McIntosh 2001, 426).

Socio-medical discourse has always had fundamental connections with the principle of social control, indoctrinated by the premise that if an aspect of humanity deviates from the norm, it needs to be cured or ‘cut off’, i.e. removed surgically or psycholo...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Dedication
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• List of Contributors
• Part I De/Heterosexualising Therapy
• Part II Relations of Resistance and Contestation
• Index