Chapter three focuses on explaining the negativity of the representation of queer people in society. Central idea is resentment because of the social and political opposition of queer persons, who are often associated with an oppressive state. It provokes a negative response in a society that is not ready to move away from traditional capitalist models of winners and losers. Halberstam pays attention to the problems that arise from this behavior and the impossibility of escaping failure as an unconditional end.
There are many reasons for the mixing of the political and the social: especially in Trainspotting. It is a book about of violence and aggression that arise as a rejection of the social condition. The Queer Moment consists of a lack of responsibility for liberal criticism and an inability to accept the fallacy of choice. Halberstam speaks of the problematic interpretation of the main queer protagonist and his unwillingness to be guided by morality rather than senseless protest. Nevertheless, Trainspotting provides an insight into failure as a frequent companion of queer persons whose destiny is to protest.
Halberstam raises the theme of fourth place in capitalist space: the difficulty of accepting expectations. Fourth place is a subject of censure because the effort was insufficient, but it was still a volume. Halberstam encourages thinking that queer people often face precisely the problem of fourth place. It is an intermediate stage in which they are unwanted by the winners and the losers. Halberstam proposes failure as an incentive for solidarity among the “not-quite-winners” queer people.
Halberstam is concerned with the problem of the representation of lesbians, citing the heteronormativity and the term butch. The author notes the difference in the perception of lesbians since it is lesbians who must be comfortable. For men, lesbians will not be the target of attainment because they are similar in behavior to men, and for women, butch is not dangerous. Lesbians continue to be exposed as “commodities” as society continues to press to preserve fictional moral principles.
Thus, the gender problem of patriarchy and the capitalist model have directly influenced perceptions of queer personas. Associations with failure occur precisely because of an unwillingness to accept a different model of behavior. Halberstam opens the reader’s eyes to these problems by making clear the need for change. Failure should not be associated with queer persons because they are not undesirables; society has pushed them into isolation.