This seminar seeks to read the concept of “kayfabe” alongside extant concepts in queer theory and criticism. The word “kayfabe” is quite young by linguists’ standards, and bears unclear etymology: coined by professional wrestling executives as an industry code word for manufactured narrative, the first printed reference to “kayfabe” occurs in 1988 wrestling newsletter, and its true linguistic origins remain obscure. Within professional wrestling, “kayfabe” refers to both “the tacit agreement between professional wrestlers and their fans to pretend that overtly staged wrestling events, stories, characters, etc. are genuine,” and “the playacting involved in maintaining kayfabe” (Merriam-Webster). In other words, the vocation-specific term “kayfabe” refers to the suspension of disbelief required of professional wrestling fans.

No longer just industry jargon, “kayfabe” has recently spread from its original linguistic niche into the broader sphere. The term now also refers to any  "tacit agreement to behave as if something is real, sincere, or genuine when it is not.” This is likely due not only to a renewed interest in professional wrestling among millennials and Gen Z (Leão), but also to the many literal overlaps between professional wrestling and the current US power regime. More interesting than the many explicit examples of Donald Trump's involvement with the WWE, perhaps, is the emergence of political kayfabe, what Jason Myles has recently called the “Wrestlemaniafication” of American politics (Myles). 

Given these developments, it is little wonder that kayfabe has proven a useful term to describe phenomena outside of the wrestling ring. Scholars have now understood kayfabe not only as an example of a savvy strategy on the part of WWE playmakers, but also as a method of writing (Wren), a philosophical concept (Edwards), a political strategy (Samadder; Moon 2022), and a social relation (Morrison). Despite this budding scholarship and interest, and despite the many possible applications of “kayfabe,” queer critics have yet to substantially engage with the term. This seminar places queer theory and kayfabe into conversation, banking on the hunch that they have something to say to each other.

Topics for discussion may include, but are not limited to:

• Kayfabe and performativity

• Kayfabe and identity politics

• The “heros” and “heels” binary

• Straight kayfabe

• Kayfabe and queer collectivity/utopia

• Kayfabe as New Right political strategy

• Kayfabe and camp reading, camp practice, and/or camp objects

• Kayfabe and capital; kayfabe as moneymaker

• “Maintaining kayfabe,” maintenance work, and queerness

(Please note that this panel is especially in criticism that transports the concept beyond its original application. If your work reads queer theory alongside professional wrestling, your submissions are welcome; if your work isn’t on the WWE, your submissions are also encouraged).