Deviant Eyes, Deviant Bodies

Straayer (cinema studies, NYU) approaches feminist film theory from a queer (primarily lesbian) perspective, examining complex relationships between viewer and film while arguing for a rethinking of rigid sexual dichotomies. After studying mainstream, independent, and pornographic films, particularly those of Annie Sprinkle, Straayer posits multiple nonheterosexual, nonpatriarchal subjectivities for the way we view film, working toward a sexuality/gender continuum. Although the prose relies on deconstructionist terminology, determined readers will find Straayer’s thesis compelling. A useful companion to Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble (LJ 2/1/89) and Bad Object-Choices’ How Do I Look? (LJ 2/1/92), this belongs in all film, gender, and queer studies collections.(Anthony J. Adam, Prairie View A&M Univ. Lib., Tex.)