Abstract

At the origin of queer theory there were two known lesbian theorists: Judith Butler and Teresa de Lauretis. However, not only were they the creators of queer thought but they also produced two different versions, both of which can be ascribed, as Lorenzo Bernini claims, to creating two different theoretical paradigms: the radical constructivism (Butler) and the antisocial one (de Lauretis). This article provides a comparison between these authors: I will explore the different meanings they give to lesbian subculture and I will show their different understandings of political action linked to sexual abjection. In doing so, I will furthermore investigate the complex relationship between feminist thought and queer theories and the crucial link between the latter and the writings of some lesbians who were protagonists of a conflict within North American lesbian feminism in the 1980s.