Underdogs: Social Deviance and Queer Theory by Heather Love (review).

Heather Love's book "Underdogs" explores the intersection of queer theory and postwar sociology, focusing on the study of sexuality prior to the Stonewall Riots. Love examines the work of sociologists such as Erving Goffman, Laud Humphreys, John Kitsuse, and Samuel Delany, and compares it to more recent authors like Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Joan Scott, Judith Butler, Gayle Rubin, and Sara Ahmed. Love argues that both queer theory and postwar sociology share a concern for sexual outsiders, stigma, and coalitional politics, as well as a skepticism towards fixed identities. While the book offers valuable insights, it overlooks some important contributions from the Chicago school and presents the sociology of deviance as static and ossified. Overall, "Underdogs" provides a nuanced exploration of the relationship between queer theory and sociology, but falls short as a comprehensive intellectual history. [Extracted from the article]