Reformulating Sexuality and the renunciation of Gender

Abstract

My main focus in this essay is to pinpoint current discourses within a section of the queer community regarding the use of language and terminology when describing gender, identity, sexuality and desire. In particular I have chosen to focus on inclusion and exclusion when the labeling of sexuality is based on a binary notion of gender. The most commonly used words for sexuality today are hetero-, homo- and bisexual which all derive from a binary understanding of gender and a rather inflexible view on sexual orientation. Within the queer community where gender is often transgressed, deconstructed, politicized and frequently renounced through trans, non-binary and gender non conforming persons it becomes futile and in many cases irrelevant or restrictive to use cis- and heteronormative words in order to describe one’s sexual identity in these terms. I have chosen to use discourse analysis to study a specific discussion in an online dating forum. The group moderator urged the other members to refrain from using gender specific language in their personal ads as this has an essentialist tone that may explicitly or implicitly exclude trans and gender non-conforming persons.