Monique Wittig and the queer theory movement: Descendents and disputes

French feminist writer and theorist, Monique Wittig, theorizes from a nonessentialist, materialist lesbian position to posit categories of sex and gender as social constructions, thereby contesting what she terms the heterosexual regime. Because her social theory and literary praxis inform the thinking of leading figures associated with Queer theory, such as Judith Butler, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, and Teresa de Lauretis, Wittig is often considered a precursor to the Queer theory movement. As Queer studies gain purchase in academic curricula, it is timely to assess Wittig's historical contribution to the Queer theory movement and her future pertinence to it as a "Queer" theorist.