The Fixity of Sexual Identities in the Public Sphere: Biomedical Knowledge, Liberalism and the Heterosexual/Homosexual Binary in Late Modernity

Abstract

This article analyses the persistence of the heterosexual/homosexual binary in contemporary society, by examining the circulation of knowledge-claims concerning the age at which the ‘fixity’ of ‘sexual orientation’ is established. It examines how the ‘scientific’ claims of medical authorities have been utilized in recent debates in the UK over equalization of the age of consent, and argues that such claims have persisted in influence through debates over repeal of Section 28 and legalization of adoption by same-sex couples. The analysis integrates social constructionist and queer perspectives on sexual identities from sociological and cultural theory, perspectives from political theory on contemporary liberalism, and an analysis of biomedical knowledge in late modernity. It is argued that the increasing assertion of claims for equality, citizenship and recognition of cultural diversity in mainstream politics is occurring largely within a persistent ‘rationale of containment’ which seeks to minimize the prevalence of homosexuality. This draws attention to particular tensions and dynamics operating in the lives of bisexuals and queers, and especially in the lives of young people.