Guy Hocquenghem’s – Homosexual Desire

Book presentation with Lukas Betzler & Hauke Branding, moderated by Stasya Korotkova
Jun 13, 2023

The dazzling first work of philosopher and LGBTI activist Guy Hocquenghem is a pivotal and initial work of queer theory. Based on Freud’s discovery of polymorphous desire, Hocquenghem outlines a materialist, psychoanalytically informed theory of desire, with which he sets out to critique the repression of (homo)sexuality. He perceives (homosexual) desire as a subversive force capable of overcoming traditional notions of gender and love, the categories homo- and heterosexuality, and thus phallocratic-capitalist society. Thus, for Hocquenghem the task of a homosexual movement is not to contain desire in a fixed homosexual identity, instead, he wants to liberate everyone’s desire through the liberation of his own.

Organized by the DFG-Graduiertenkolleg “Kulturen der Kritik” as part of the conference „Radical Desires and Decolonial Critique”.

The conference is organized by Hauke Branding and Julian Volz, the full program can be found here: https://www.leuphana.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Forschungseinrichtungen/kdk/Flyer/230613_Booklet_Kdk-Tagung_Radical_Desire__3.pdf