Judith Halberstam’s The Queer Art of Failure

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Judith Halberstam’s The Queer Art of Failure

Judith Halberstam’s ‘The Queer Art of Failure’ examines how people perceive the aspect of failure in society. However, such perception is not centered on correcting one’s behavior but on determining how these failures lead to a preferred status quo or conformist lifestyle. She reveals how diminutive culture, media, and popular films can produce keen critiques that support complacency and conformity all the while marginalizing those that fall beyond its ideals. According to Judith, culture is one factor that is tied to failure. She explains that the culture of an individual is bound to determine how he or she behaves in society and how they are likely to react in case they are befallen by failure. Additiobally, Halberstam (18) connects failure to conformity in society. She argues that failure is society’s opinion of how an individual is supposed to behave.

Reading this book put me in a similar school of thought to that of Halberstam. After she understood the connection between failure and conformity, Halberstam came to a valid conclusion that interests me. She states that such an understanding gives her refuge from punishing norms brought about by the society; norms that have a psychological impact of delivering people from unruly childhoods and transforming them into predictable adults. I was able to learn something new from Halberstam’s book. A child’s failures and anarchic nature represents the imperfection of our society. For example, childish media such as cartoons rely on the attentiveness of the child to identify hidden absurdities in adult society and consider it comedy (Halberstam, 37). What stands out to me is Halberstam’s explanation on the subject of failure that encompasses different resistance forms to normalize culture. She backs up her argument with pop-culture examples such as “Dory”.

Works Cited

Halberstam, Judith. The Queer Art of Failure. Durham: Duke University Press, 2011. Print.