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Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Part I. Murder in Memphis -- 1. Girl Slays Girl -- 2. A Feast of Sensation -- 3. Habeas Corpus -- 4. Inquisition of Lunacy -- Part II. MakingMea nings -- 5. Violent Passions -- 6. Doctors of Des -- 7. A Thousand Stor -- More Than Love: An Epilogue -- Appendix A: Hypothetical Case -- Appendix B: Letters -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index

Gayle Rubin's reputation as a star academic and public intellectual has been based on her cool brilliance. But her public and professional reception has also been marked, positively and negatively, by the ambivalence generated by strong feeling. This article describes Rubin's affective surround in an effort to outline the impact of passionate engagement in feminist and queer politics and scholarship.

The terms "queer nation" & "queer theory," now widely used by academics & activists, represent new ways of thinking & acting politically, particularly in their challenge to liberal assimilationist & militant nationalist strands of gay politics. Both of these perspectives are criticized for: basing their politics on the primacy of sexual identity, defined as unitary & residing in the individual; & representing the view of twentieth-century Western, white, gay males, to the exclusion of other voices. From a constructionist perspective, it is maintained that the notion of "queer community" can be fruitfully used to construct a new kind of collectivity that is unifed only by its shared dissent from the dominant organization of sex & gender. A brief history of queer theory is offered, & its current status in academia discussed. W. Howard