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On Lesbian and Gay/Queer Medieval Studies

On Lesbian and Gay/Queer Medieval Studies

By David Lorenzo Boyd

Medieval Feminist Forum, Vol.15 No. 1 (1993)

Introduction: A graduate student sitting next to me at an MLA panel on “Lesbian and Gay/Feminist Approaches to Middle English Texts” turned to me happily and said: ”Thank God, at last it’s the year of the queer for medieval studies!” As I thought about his comment, I realized that he was right. Conference papers, scholarly articles, heated e-mail discussions, classroom syllabi, a newly formed scholarly society, books in progress, have been heavily informed by Lesbian and Gay/Queer approaches to texts and culture. MFN’s participation in this exciting new cultural project not only marks the relationship and profound indebtedness of such approaches to a vibrant feminist scholarship but also indicates some of the directions in which Lesbian and Gay/Queer Medieval Studies is heading. While I agree wholeheartedly with the content of most of the MFN essays, I also think there are other issues, not raised sufficiently or explicitly enough in the comments, which must be considered carefully as we begin to shape this field. The remarks that follow should not be considered a critique but rather an addendum to and expansion of those points first enumerated in MFN’s Spring 1992 issue.

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