"Another way to encapsulate this is that queer theory sees sexuality as a process rather than a foreclosing identity. This meant that one constantly has to be attending to the action and development of one’s patterns of attachment. What is this object of desire standing for? A straight woman, for example, doesn’t want all men, just some: so why not rethink sexuality as the history of a patterning or style that develops over time, in relation to law, norms, and the accidents and incidents of ordinary life?"

Lauren Berlant on Cruel Optimism

(Source: derica, via dukeupress)