Why Queer Theory Appeals to Young People (and What We Can Do About It)

Queer theory takes marginalized young people, who already feel that their lives are built on a foundation of sand, and tells them that even the sand is an illusion.

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About the Authors

Julian Adorney is a columnist at Reality's Last Stand and the founder of Heal the West, a substack movement dedicated to preserving liberalism. He’s also a writer for the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism (FAIR). Find him on X: @Julian_Liberty.

Mark Johnson is a trusted advisor and executive coach at Pioneering Leadership and a facilitator and spiritual men's coach at The Undaunted Man. He has over 25 years of experience optimizing people and companies—he writes at The Undaunted Man’s Substack and Universal Principles.

Geoff is a Relationship Architect/Coach, multiple-International Best-Selling Author, Speaker, and Workshop Leader. He has spent the last twenty-six years coaching people world-wide, with a particular passion for supporting those in relationship, and helping men from all walks of life step up to their true potential. Along with Mark, he is a co-founder of The Undaunted Man.

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First, a disclaimer: Many people believe that queer theory is focused on LGBT rights. This is not true. Queer theory is not about granting LGBT people rights; it typically engages with this group primarily because homosexuality has long been considered abnormal. Instead, queer theory grounds itself in opposition to whatever society perceives as “normal.”

This is a crucial distinction, particularly as we discuss the impact of queer theory on children. It would be a grave mistake to infer that our discussion implies opposition to LGB youth. Indeed, if all that queer theorists did was tell non-heterosexual people, “It’s okay that you’re lesbian/gay/bisexual; never be ashamed of who you love or of which consenting adults you choose to date,” then we wouldn’t be writing this article.

Queer theory is on the rise, especially among young people. Increasingly, young Americans are identifying as “genderqueer” or “genderfluid.” In their book Queer Theory, Gender Theory: An Instant Primer, queer theorist Riki Wilchins proudly argues that young people “have pushed the dialog on gender in new and unanticipated directions.” “As the barriers to gender-expansive behavior continue to fall,” Wilchins proclaims, “at least in more progressive areas, increasing numbers of them [young people] are coming out as nonbinary, genderequeer [sic], genderfluid, and a host of other new ‘micro-identities’ for which language is still being created.” A 2023 survey found that only 57 percent of Generation Z respondents agreed with the statement that there are only two genders.

But why is queer theory increasingly being adopted by young people? Is this adoption a good thing? Does it help them to live their highest and best lives? And, if the widespread adoption of queer theory is generally not helpful for young people, what can we do about it? These are the questions that we will set out to answer in this piece.