Queer theory is an interdisciplinary academic field and critical approach that examines categories of sex, gender, and sexuality. It investigates how these categories and associated norms, particularly heteronormativity and cisnormativity, are socially constructed and maintained through discourse, institutions, and power relations. Key characteristics include challenging fixed identities, binary oppositions (such as male/female, straight/gay), and dominant assumptions about what is 'normal', aiming to deconstruct and critique conventional understandings and their social implications. Its significance lies in providing theoretical tools to analyze the complex interplay of identity, power, and social structures, highlighting marginalized experiences, and critiquing the social and political functions of normative systems.