Once Upon a Lesbian Theory

ABSTRACT “Once Upon a Lesbian Theory” analyzes how stories told about the origins of queer theory can distort and exclude, extending Kent Brintnall's “Once Upon a Queer Theory” in a lesbian key. I first consider the fate of lesbian theory as it emerges within one dominant mode of queer storytelling: the progress narrative. I trace the racial and temporal politics of this story across queer theory, religious studies, and theology. Next, I turn to two literary critics, Barbara Christian and Barbara Johnson, to glean two approaches to lesbian theory. In the concluding section, I go looking for lesbian theory, considering sites, sources, and archives for lesbian theorizing within religious studies and theology. “Once Upon a Lesbian Theory” is ultimately a fabled story that invites us to think about the complicities, contradictions, and desires that shape the stories we tell about lesbian, trans, and queer theory.