2. Chapter One Oct 1992: right-wing Christian org called “The Report” releases 20 minute video called The Gay Agenda Real agenda of the gay and lesbian movement is to force a perverse and public sexuality on US society Randy Shilts concluded that proving homosexuality is innate “would reduce being gay to something like being left-handed, which is in fact all that it is” Homophobic attitudes are “strategies for meeting psychological needs” and do not solely arise from misinformation
3. Chapter two Justine DiAngelo “Being butch and being out is not the most popular perspective for a gay woman in this society, a society that is homophobic, and it’s geared to hate women. Especially women who love other women. And I don’t care—you’re born gay” Do you change your “story” depending on who you are talking to? Are there some people who you will emphasize the point that you have no control over your sexual orientation to in order to protect yourself?
4. John Chambers “By the end of high school, I knew I was gay. I was thinking, ‘I haven’t had sex with a man so I’m not gay. It may be a feeling. Most people have feelings, but I’ve never done it.’ Until you do it, you can’t be guilty of being it […] I guess I’ve chosen to be gay because I put myself in situations where I’ll meet men and I’ll have relationships with men. I set myself up for it.” Sense that he had not sinned until he actually acted on his desires for men is consistent with Catholicism’s institutional policy on homosexuality “Homosexual inclination is not sinful […] whereas homogenital actions are an ‘intrinsic moral evil’”
5. Jessica Padilla “Many times, when I was really upset because of my experiences with being a lesbian, I’d say, ‘Why? Why was I born like this?’ And then, my mother debates this. She says ‘You were not born like this. This is what you chose. So hey, this is the consequences, you know. You could’ve been with a guy.’ And ‘blah, blah, blah,’ the whole bit.” The last statement she’s her recognizing that her mother’s rhetoric is prepackaged and clichéd Do you feel this way when talking with homophobic people?
6. Political Strategies Al Davis, very involved in the realm of politics VW: Some people have told me that part of what they want is to say that [homosexuality is] a perfectly reasonable choice to make. AD: Politically, my instincts say, you don’t win that way. Because they say it’s reasonable and others say it’s not. Invoking science as a neutral authority that can be employed to mediate political disputes with empirical evidence Do you agree or disagree with Al?
7. Bisexuality “The reason so few of us are bisexual is because society made such a big stink about homosexuality that we got forced into seeing ourselves as either straight or non-straight…we’ll be gay until everyone has forgotten it’s an issue. Then we’ll begin to be complete. Where do you guys think the reputation of bisexuality being bad or less legitimate than being fully gay has come from? Do you think bisexuality exists?
8. Chapter Three:Determination Stories use themes that are repeated often: early awareness of homoerotic feelings, gender nonconformity, and a relatively unconflicted transition into an active gay life. Sandie Martin “I don’t think I has a choice in this. It’s just something I was steered toward since day one. Ive sat down and talked to my brothers, and my brothers have said that they knew something was wrong when I was a child. Something was different about me. It’s just the way I’ve always been; I never thought about being any other way. How many of you believe that you’re sexual orientation was determined and not something you chose?
9. mixed Robert Henderson “I think it’s a conscious choice to be open, and to be positive about it, and to try to live my life the best way I can. But as far as the choice between heterosexuality and homo, I don’t think there ever was a choice for me. At least is there was, it was before I was two or three years old…the lifestyle may be a choice, but not the actual desire How many of you agree that sexual orientation is both chosen and determined?
10. Choice Art Turner VW: to what extent do you think that being conscious choice that you’ve made? AT: There’s a poem by Robert Frost that’s called “The Road Not Taken,” and it ends something like, “I took the road less traveled by and that has made all the difference,” or something like that, and really, my whole life has been that way. I have always considered that, just because everybody else was doing something, that didn’t mean I would do it. And when I think about it, being gay is that way, too. Do you believe your sexual orientation was a choice?
11. Typology of accounts *They also had a tendency to believe that all gay men and lesbian shared their beliefs and experiences. The majority of those who offered a “mixed” account assume that other lesbians and gay men share their beliefs and experience.
12. Why do you think lesbians (12) are more likely than men (6) to chose their sexuality? When women were interviewed, they stated how heavily the heterosexist assumption weighs on women in particular: VW: So right now you’re not looking to get involved with anyone? AB: That’s scary to say, because I like being involved with women, you know. It’s hard to be a lesbian and not be in a relationship, you know? (Anna Blumberg, chosen) Now I can say I’m a lesbian, you know, because I have a lover now. Before I couldn’t (Barbara Linders)
13. Some Conclusions Many respondents mentioned to her in passing that some non-sexual features of their lives were preordained. “I was always a feminist,” “I always knew I wanted to be an architect,” etc. The few gay men to claim to have chosen to be gay are relatively isolated
15. Attracted to males and females Not prevented from being sexually attracted to anyone because that person is male or female Sexually attracted to individuals they are attracted to, whether those individuals are male or female Sexually attracted to their own sex but have a sexual history that includes sex with persons of the other sex Sexually attracted to the other sex but have a sexual history that includes sex with persons of their own sex In a stable, long-term, sexual and erotic relationship with someone of their own sex but are also sexually attracted to persons of the other sex In a stable, long-term, sexual and erotic relationship with someone of the other sex but are also sexually attracted to persons of their own sex Have sex only with persons of their own sex who are gay and persons of the other sex who are heterosexual Have sex only with other bisexuals (men and women) Have sex only with persons of their own sex but identify as bisexual Have sex only with persons of the other sex but identify as bisexual Have sex with males and females but identify as gay or lesbian Have sex with males and females but identify as heterosexual
16. Toward a newer theory of sexuality Terms, Titles, and the Bitter Taste of Bisexuality
17. After her divorce, Jessica began “questioning” her sexuality. I placed quotation marks around questioning above because, at that time, I only internally wondered about sexuality in silence. My family, many of my friends, as well as staff and faculty of schools that my brother and I attended subscribed to a strict fundamentalist religious ideology that not only disapproved of anything outside the rigidity of heterosexuality but also openly rebuked any and all non-dominant sexual lifestyles.1 I made a promise to myself that for the sake of my family, I would never date women. Above all else, it would ruin my mother.
18. She read an article on bisexuality, written by a bisexual woman, for her women studies course: In reading, I felt like my desires made sense. More importantly, I felt validated. This validation would not last long, though, as I soon discovered the choppy waters of rejection from straight and gay circles. Jessica began identifying as a bisexual and came out to her mother in the middle of an argument after her mother yelled at her saying “You could walk through that door and tell me anything else, and I’d take it better than this! You could tell me you’re a lesbian! You could even tell me you’re bisexual—I’d be more disappointed, but you could!”
19. The Bisexual problem “I have encountered many individuals (gay, straight, lesbian, and otherwise queer) who similarly feel that bisexuals constitute a more problematic sexuality demographic. Is this because of a disease factor? Is it the stereotypes? The myths . . . the uncertainty . . . the distrust . . . the fabled inability or failure to commit . . . the malleability . . . the supposed political softness . . . The presumed perpetual state of confusion . . . the ambiguity . . . the biological challenge. . .?” What do you think it is that makes people judge bisexuality so harshly?
20. How lesbians view bisexual women Lesbians view bisexual women as “sirens” because they lure the apparently helpless lesbian into an abode of lust and illusions of love until—poof!—they vanish into the arms of the next available Joe, who they bring home to their families and with whom they procure boundless heterosexual social privileges. Tina humorously confirmed this particular stereotype. “Yes! That’s you! You’re a siren!” To the lesbians: Would you date a bisexual woman? Do you agree with this siren analogy?
21. How men view bisexual women When I used to tell men I was bisexual, most smirked with a gleaming look of hope for a threesome. To the straight men (and women): Would you date a bisexual?
22. Although men took me for a toy, women would not take me at all simply because I labeled myself as bisexual, not lesbian. When I dated men, my lesbian friends called me ‘fraud’ and ‘wannabe.’ When I dated women, my mother would exclaim in frustration, “What are you? First you’re bisexual. Then you’re a lesbian! Will the real Jessica please stand up?” How unfair that the “real Jessica” rests upon who she dates or with whom she sleeps, as if those individuals make up who I am. What a sad and reducing notion. How much does the definition of the “real” you rely on your sexual orientation?
