Abstract
In Narrating the Closet, Tony E. Adams draws upon a lifetime of experience and research into non-heterosexual identities to craft a comprehensive autoethnographic analysis of the interactional and ideological foundations of the metaphorical ‘‘closet.’’ Specifically, Adams employs his own experiences with lovers, friends, religious officials, students, colleagues, and family members as data from which to enunciate the complex dynamics surrounding claiming a non-heterosexual identity in contemporary American society. Further, his analysis builds on countless informal discussions with people he came across during his daily activities, nine open-ended interactive interviews with lesbian women and gay men, four life history interviews with gay men, life writings composed by others that have dealt with these issues, and media representations of the closet and coming out from television, film, and audio productions. Although Adams is quick to point out that his work should not be used to generalize to the experiences of sexual minorities on a large scale, the collection of data presented alongside his own story presents a tapestry—albeit a partial—of possible issues that any non-heterosexual could face in the course of their daily lives. As Adams (2011, p. 36) explains, he assembled these resources in order to ‘‘document my journey through, and processes of, the closet and coming out with the purpose of making experiences of same-sex attraction more humane, tolerable, and meaningful for others.’’ Stated another way, Adams attempts to demonstrate that we—as social beings sharing a world—are ALL implicated in the issues faced by non-heterosexuals. As such, it is our job as social citizens to take ownership and responsibility for creating safe spaces wherein ALL people may express who, how, and what they love without fear of reprisal. Discussing conversational interactions regarding intimate behavior, for example, Adams argues that the culture of silence
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