Beyond the Closet / "Dude, You're a Fag" / Sexual Orientation and Sex in Women's Lives

     Steven Seidman discusses the role of identity as it pertains to sexuality. He begins by defining what he calls one's "core identity" versus an "identity thread." "A core identity will be a key part of one's public presentation; it will carry over to diverse situations and remain part of varied social roles...By contrast, approaching identity as a thread suggests that an identity is important or self-defining in only some situations" (Seidman, p. 269). " Your core identity is something that influences all your major decisions in life and basically represents who you are and how you think. An identity thread is more representative of one's personality and the shifting that can come with this. Loving a specific band for a period in your life is an example of a thread; whereas being religious is more of a core identity. The distinction of these two labels relates to sexual identity in that homosexuals were labeling their sexual identity as a thread rather than a core identity while being "in the closet." In a heterosexual dominated society, people were afraid to change their core identities regardless of how they felt. Instead, they would change their identity threads to suggest an identity rather than being able to live their lives completely immersed in that identity.
     C.J. Pascoe has a unique perspective on homophobia, particularly adolescent boys and homophobia. She and other scholars have found that homophobia in young boys tends to be more of a sign of defining masculinity rather than hatred. Apparently, by avoiding homosexuals and pointing them out and/or teasing them, boys are helping to define who they are and what gender/sexual orientation they identify with. This is not to say that this is the case across the board, simply that this tends to be the case with this age group. I can understand this as young children tend to not have such deep opinions formulated early in life and really can't make informed decisions yet. It would make sense for their teasing and other gestures to be a sign of internal changes rather than them truly making a statement.
     Esther Rothblum reviews the definitions surrounding various women's sexuality identities. Her main concern is that people tend to see identities as being mutually exclusive. For example, this would imply that once a woman makes the decision that she is a lesbian, she should also rule out loving men in any sexual way. This is clearly impossible for most people to do, as identities are not mutually exclusive. There tends to be overlap and grey areas in defining women's sexual identities. For example, Rothblum discusses how sexual behavior and sexual identity are often different (just because you are a lesbian doesn't mean you engage in sexual activity with women). Due to all this confusion, there is even more confusion for those trying to "figure themselves out." For people already having difficulties trying to figure themselves out, now there are even more confusing variables to consider.
     The trend and theme these articles all follow is around the idea of identity. For each of these topics, identifying oneself is at the heart of the debate. It's so interesting that our society has programmed us all to believe we need to fit into certain categories as opposed to simply living without questions. If you meet a stranger on the street and begin talking with them, it shouldn't change your perception of them if you later find out they're gay. For this exact reason, it would make sense that these classifications aren't necessary and really only cause strife. When things are scientific and quantatative, they are easier to classify. When things are abstract, like sexual identity, they are far more difficult to classify. The victims are the people feeling that they need to identify themselves neatly into one of these categories even if one doesn't describe exactly who they are. This seems extremely difficult!