Queer Science, Queer Archaeology: Moving Beyond the Feminist Critique

Feminism still remains a ‘dirty’ word in some academic disciplines today, particularly in the hard sciences. It is argued however that a feminist critique of Western scientific thought has shed much light on the omissions of the androcentricdiscipline. Feminist theoryhas influenced how archaeologists have both theorized about and practiced archaeology over the last two decades. What this article argues however is that the feminist epistemologicalstandpoint, while important, situates itself in an extremist standpoint as the scientific objectivists do. In order to find an even more holistic and appropriate way to explore and think about our human past, a queerscience and archaeology should be undertaken. Not only does queer theoryprovide a more holistic way to critique lived experiences today and in the past, it moves beyond the feminist focus and provides a more compelling evaluation of historical and modern institutions of power and knowledge production.