Abstract
Authenticity is a commonly heralded ideal in Western modernist discourses, with a large amount of literature describing individuals’ personal journeys towards self-fulfillment (Bialystok, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2017; Taylor, 1991; Varga, 2014). This paper examines Lauren Bialystok’s (2013) conception of authenticity in sex/gender identity and proposes that effeminate or ‘femme’ gay men make a strong case for fitting within such a conception of authenticity. Effeminate gay men experience significant in-group discrimination within gay men’s communities, with many gay men “defeminizing” (Taywaditep, 2002) themselves upon entering adulthood and mainstream gay communities. Through this exploration of Bialystok’s (2013) model for authenticity in sex/gender identity and the identity-based challenges effeminate or femme gay men experience, this paper describes why effeminate gay men fit Bialystok’s model, and the ethical dilemmas of theorizing authenticity in personal identity (Bialystok, 2009, 2011). Providing supportive and positive early environments in school while specifically addressing gender-based discrimination in childhood provides more opportunities for positive identity development and the potential of fulfilling self-authenticity within gender identity for femme gay men.
Highlights
Within modernist discourses and philosophical debates, there is a fascination with authenticity and quests for self-actualization (Bauer, 2017; Bialystok, 2011, 2015, 2017; Taylor, 1991)
Dilemmas of authenticity and personal identity are relevant for goals of self-fulfillment as debates continue around the metaphysical qualities of authenticity and its importance within philosophies of personal identity (Bialystok, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015)
Lauren Bialystok (2013), delineates five components that must be met for any conception of authenticity, while describing how these components apply to sex/gender identity
Summary
Within modernist discourses and philosophical debates, there is a fascination with authenticity and quests for self-actualization (Bauer, 2017; Bialystok, 2011, 2015, 2017; Taylor, 1991). Dilemmas of authenticity and personal identity are relevant for goals of self-fulfillment as debates continue around the metaphysical qualities of authenticity and its importance within philosophies of personal identity (Bialystok, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015). What does it mean to possess a ‘part’ of you? This paper will serve to both exemplify Bialystok’s (2009, 2013) theorization of authenticity within the context of femme gay men, discuss the gender-based forms of discrimination experienced by gay men who do not “defeminize” by adulthood, and conclude by raising some questions regarding theorizing authenticity and personal identity and tensions between metaphysical essentialism and poststructural critiques
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