Annamarie Jagose knows that queer theory did not spring full- blown from the head of any contemporary theorist. It is the outcome of many different influences and sources, including the homophile movement, gay liberation, and lesbian feminism. In pointing to the history of queer theory--a history that all too often is ignored or elided--Jagose performs a valuable service.--Henry Abelove, co-editor of The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader The political and academic appropriation of the term queer over the last several years has marked a shift in the study of sexuality from a focus on supposedly essential categories as gay and lesbian to more fluid or queer notions of sexual identity. Yet queer is a category still in the process of formation. In Queer Theory, Annamarie Jagose provides a clear and concise explanation of queer theory, tracing it as part of an intriguing history of same-sex love over the last century. Blending insights from prominent theorists such as Judith Butler and David Halperin, Jagose argues that queer theory's challenge is to create new ways of thinking, not only about fixed sexual identities such as heterosexual and homosexual, but also about other supposedly essential notions such as sexuality and gender and even man and woman.

《酷儿理论》一书是我的一部译文集。其中所有的篇章都是我1999年在美国加州大学参加性别问题研讨班期间搜集到的。那个研讨班给我留下了美好的印象。而这本译文集就是我对那个研讨班的一个记忆方式。 从上世纪90年代起，西方那些在性和性别领域的越轨分子（同性恋者，双性恋者，易装者、虐恋者等）开始自称为“酷儿”、“酷儿理论”就是他们创造出来的、关于他们自己和他们的越轨行为的理论。在我看来，酷儿形形色色，酷儿理论千头万绪，归根结底就是一句话：自由地生活。我愿意这本书像一股自由的飓风，吹开中国人拘谨、压抑、麻木的心灵之窗，使我们从此能够自由地生活，自由地呼吸。