Construction Of Sexual Identities Research Articles

Extending sexual scripting theory through critical discursive psychology: An analytical approach to explore the performance of sexual identities

Sexual scripting theory, a widely used tool in sexuality research, was originally developed by Gagnon and Simon to illuminate the social nature of sexual practices and identity construction. Later, they sought to develop the theory further to align with a social constructionist perspective. However, vestiges of individualism and cognitivism haunt sexual scripting theory largely due to the use of the symbolic interactionist concept of performance. To address this, we draw on the performance–performativity approach in critical discursive psychology that develops the notion of performance from a discursive perspective and offers a way of extending sexual scripting theory that offers a truly social explication of sexual identity construction. We provide a practical illustration of this extended theorising, drawing on data from a project about young people’s online engagement with pornography. We demonstrate how developing the notion of sexual scripts as discursive resources that enable the performance of sexual identities allows us to illuminate the social and situated nature of identity construction. This framework enhances understanding of the process of sexual identity construction and provides a valuable tool for studying how broader sexual scripts that are sociohistorically specific provide a scaffolding for the ways an individual can construct sexual identities. Overall, this paper offers a valuable contribution to discursive scholarship in psychology by presenting a nuanced analytical framework that coheres with a constructionist, performative view of identity.

Dis‐playing gender: From ludic reconfiguration to utopic outcomes in gender‐swap apps

AbstractAn increasing number of AI‐based gender‐swap applications have become a popular trend in our social media platforms and communities, rising controversial issues beyond their apparently playful intent. The primary ludic function informing the use/consumption of such apps opens to further signification and valorization of the produced images. In many cases, the portrait pictures, modified through a system of filters, assume an existential and utopic value for (transgender and nonbinary) users who have the possibility to reimagining and reperforming their gender identity. At the same time, the social availability and disposability of such images risk to trivialize the subjective and highly complex process of sexual and gender transition undergone by many people on their own material body in real life. The aim of this paper is to point out the ambivalences and the possibilities opened by gender‐swap apps for what concerns the issue of gender identity. Through the analysis of a corpus of promotional messages and users' responses to the gender‐swap apps, it is argued that these trans‐faces, far from operating a flawless passing from a gender to the other, constantly dis‐play the social construction and deconstruction of sexual and gender binary identities.

Construction of Sexual and Gender Minority Identity among Malay-Muslim Natal Females: A Meta-Synthesis

Malay-Muslim identity is the regular norm among Malays in Malaysia; however, this identity has been challenged with the emergence of sexual-and-gender minority (SGM). Even though Malay cultural values and Islamic teachings prohibit same-sex orientation and cross-gender, a SGM group has evolved among Malay-Muslim natal females. This meta-synthesis was conducted to explore the psychosocial factors involved in the construction of SGM and its consequences among Malay natal females in Malaysia using the Sandelowski-Barroso approach. A systematic search of articles was done in the selected databases by using identified keywords between October to December 2020. Twelve full articles were included after proper screening and in-depth reviews. The quality of these articles was assessed independently by two researchers. The articles were then analysed using ATLAS.ti 8 software to group the data into subthemes and themes. Lastly, the effect sizes of each subtheme were calculated. Three main themes were identified: affection seeking, hurtful experience and nurturing influences. Malay natal females also shared consequences following construction of SGM identity which include acceptance from community, continuous conflicts in life and mental health consequences. This meta-synthesis revealed the influences that shape the construction of Malay SGM women. Thus, interventions shall be planned to aid them according to cultural and psychosocial factors.

Queering consumption: The discursive construction of sexual identity among gay fashion consumers in Hong Kong

The purpose of this study is to investigate how sexual identity is constructed among gay fashion consumers in Hong Kong through myriad consumption practices. We employed ethnographic research methods and conducted thirteen in-depth interviews with gay male consumers in Hong Kong to examine the relationship between identity and lifestyle consumption, as well as symbolic consumption and tribal behaviour, within a ‘gay’ community. The findings captured four stages of gay consumers’ identity construction, which began with (1) negotiating one’s sexual identity and changing their perception of gay identity, (2) tremendous identity change, (3) consumption behaviour change and eventually (4) full acceptance of one’s sexual identity. The construction and the expression of sexual identity among gay men in Hong Kong were found to be associated with Confucian-oriented social structures and various marketplace ideologies. This study contributes to the existing discussion of gay consumption literatures by offering a non-western context where the discursive construction of sexual identity – and the negotiations involved in its representation – reflects the multitude of tensions between Chinese culture, on the one hand, and ideas of modernity and cosmopolitanism, on the other.

Parenting Desires and Sexual Identities

The paper asks how parenting desires are associated with the construction of sexual identity and what factors most influence whether gays/lesbians, bisexuals, and heterosexuals declaring same-sex attraction want to have (more) children. The subject has been explored mainly in the Western liberal and gay-family-friendly legislation and social environment so far. Our study was conducted in the Czech Republic, a CEE country where sexual minorities face strong legal and social barriers to non-heterosexual parenthood. In an online survey (N = 882) conducted in 2019 among self-identified gay, lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual people with same-sex attraction, we found a considerable gap in parenting desires by sexual identity. Parenting desires are weaker among homosexuals, especially men, while bisexuals are closer to heterosexuals in their parenting desires. Our research suggests that in the context of discussions of parenthood Czech women are unwilling to identify as lesbians and opt instead to claim a different sexual identity. Our findings indicate that the structural barriers to parenthood thus play a much more important role than the overall liberal-minded atmosphere in the Czech Republic.

Female Sexually Fluid (Non)identity Management Strategies at Work

ABSTRACTPrevious research on sexual identity management at work focuses on default fixed sexual categories and related strategies such as pass or reveal. What if employees experience changes in their sexual attractions and identity? The present study pioneers in incorporating the concept of sexual fluidity into organization research in order to both complement and challenge the scholarship of sexual identity management at work. It provides empirical evidence from Vietnam that is in line with queer perspective in challenging the notion of a fixed, constructed sexual identity. Through in-depth interviews with 30 female employees experiencing sexual fluidity during their work, this study aims to investigate how they manage a sexually fluid identity in the workplace. The results show that female employees first consider or choose (non)identity1 that matches their new sexual attractions. These (non)identity choices include identity change, fluid identity, non-identity, and resisting identity. Next, strategies are utilized for managing that (non)identity at work—pass, cover, implicitly out, explicitly out, inform/educate. These strategies can be used independently or multiply (mixed/change), in which mixed strategy takes account of communication objects and situations, while change strategy relies on time. Associated individual, organizational and social factors are preliminarily mentioned, in which coworker reactions to the identity changes is a notable point (e.g., surprise, curiosity, inquiry, advice). This study also provides discussion on the construction of sexual identity as stigmatized social identity and the gap of scholarship of sexual identity management at work.

"You Could Tell I Said the Wrong Things": Constructions of Sexual Identity Among Older Gay Men in Healthcare Settings.

Older gay men commonly conceal their sexual identity in healthcare settings due to past experiences and expectations of encountering stigma and discrimination in these contexts. Although insights on how older gay men construct their sexual identity in healthcare may help contextualize this phenomenon, this question remains under-explored. Accordingly, we present the findings of a secondary grounded theory analysis of individual interview data, which we originally collected to examine the healthcare experiences of 27 gay men ages 50 and over, to explore constructions of sexual identity among the group. Our findings broadly reveal that older gay men’s varying exposure to intersecting systems of oppression, together with their perceptions of different healthcare settings, may be critical in shaping their constructions of sexual identity in these contexts. Our research supports the need for healthcare policies and practices that address stigma and discrimination as salient barriers to sexual identity disclosure among older gay men.

Historical Continuities in South Asian Film Narratives:Contemporary Representations of Religious,Ethno-linguistic and Sexual Minorities

The article attempts to examine the construction and representation of minority identities in the visual cultures of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, thereby endeavouring to establish a cinematic historiography of South Asia. Since the cinematic medium can accomplish what written history cannot, this article makes an effort to understand the underlying causes of linearity and simultaneity which are fortes of the moving image, with regard to visual construction and representation of religious, ethno-linguistic and sexual identities. The major objectives of this article are to establish a comparative framework for the study of South Asian cinema with focus on films from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, outline a possible theoretical structure for the future study of South Asian cinema, contextualize the intervening spaces between cinema and politics—particularly the realms of cinematic representation of religious or communal identities in South Asian cinema, categorise existing trends and observe transformations in the methodology of cinematic representation of identities.

“I Will Have Lacked”: Rethinking Sexual Difference and Sexed Subjectivity Through Psychoanalytic Temporal Relationality

ABSTRACTSexual difference, as understood by contemporary Lacanian scholars, is the Real that marks a constitutive gap or discord beneath the construction of sexual identity, but in what way does the Real relate to the Symbolic in a process of becoming a sexed subject? This article explores the possibility of sexual differentiation through a psychoanalytic conceptualization of temporal organization and rearrangement. Taking the moment of the “primal view” in Freud’s text as its point of departure, this article demonstrates that the origin of sexual difference in psychoanalysis is actually a temporal difference between two processes of becoming, explained by Freud’s Nachträglichkeit and Lacan’s future anterior, respectively. In comparison with women’s time, it is argued that the Lacanian temporal relationality promotes a new epistemology of sexed subjectivity that permits an expanded understanding of the lived experience of being sexed.

Investigating Chinese Learners’ Interactions in Relation to Gender and Sexuality in the ESL Classroom in the UK

ABSTRACT This article examines a group of Chinese students’ diverse participation in teacher–student interactions involving gender and sexuality topics in ESL classrooms in the UK. The findings indicate that the Chinese students have experienced transformations of the performance of gender. Some students strategically incorporate new gender performances in ESL classrooms that they find useful for social and academic gains. However, when facing new gender performances which are undesirable or stereotyped, some students display a strong sense of agency and resistance, even at a price of sacrificing opportunities of engaging in classroom discussions. The intersection of gender and sexuality in the ESL classroom interaction offers Chinese students the opportunities to explore a variety of progressive and non-progressive gender and sexual roles that men and women occupy in Britain. But some ill-prepared ESL teachers deal with issues of gender and sexuality with prejudicial heterosexist or homophobic attitudes, which may mislead students and have a negative impact on their learning and gender and sexual identity construction.

Same‐sex marriage and the public policy process

AbstractHow did same‐sex marriage come to be adopted as public policy in the United States? In this expository essay, I draw on multiple streams, social construction, and punctuated equilibrium theories to analyze the changes in policy definition, policy venue, the focusing events, indicators, and feedback which led to the placement of same‐sex marriage on the institutional agenda of the Supreme Court. I conclude that same‐sex marriage represents the policy solution to the problem of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) inequality which corresponded best with the political environment in the United States at the time of its endorsement by the Supreme Court. By synthesizing the social construction literature and critiques of same‐sex marriage derived from queer theory, however, I highlight the consequences of forgoing policy alternatives in favor of same‐sex marriage for LGBT people who do not fit dominant constructions of sexual minority identity.

Sexuality and Sexual Identity Across the First Year of Parenthood Among Male-Partnered Plurisexual Women.

Women who (a) hold plurisexual identities (e.g., bisexual, pansexual) and (b) are male-partnered are understudied. Of interest is how these women construct their sexual identities across the transition to parenthood-a period associated with intensified heteronormative expectations, and changes in women's roles and identities. This longitudinal study of 28 plurisexual, male-partnered women examined women's sexual identity construction across the first year of parenthood, using four waves of data. Most women were White, bisexual-identified, and first-time parents. The majority of women described decreases in the salience or centrality of their sexuality more generally. Almost all women continued to hold plurisexual identities across the first year of parenthood, although many described these as private identities amidst public assumptions of heterosexuality. Some, though, sought to maintain a connection to their plurisexual identities through sexual identity disclosure, same-gender fantasies, and involvement in consensual nonmonogamy. Although only one woman articulated a shift in sexual identity label (from bicurious to heterosexual), others increasingly distanced themselves from their same-gender behaviors and desires. Our findings illustrate how women engage in an active process of sexual identity construction amidst heteronormative pressures, and how they navigate tensions amongst their partnership and parenthood statuses and their private identities and past behaviors.

Constructing identities: Religious argumentation, sexuality and social identity in Attic forensic oratory

This paper explores how religious argumentation is used in the construction of sexual and social identities, and the impact this may have had on the audiences in Athenian courts. There are only a few references to religion in Attic oratory that point to and undermine an individual’s sexuality and/or social standing. These references fall largely into two related categories: aggressive references that denote morally, socially, legally and sexually condemnable identities; and occupational references that describe the social occupation of people in relation to religious duties and obligations. It has been argued that orators’ use of religious discourse for identity construction is designed to sustain a close bond between the speaker and the audience, while also estranging their opponents from the group.

Language, sexuality and inclusive pedagogy

This paper examines linguistic practices of inclusion and exclusion relating to sexual orientation and sexual identity as they surface in the context of language education and multilingual contexts. I argue that queer linguistics can provide a helpful theoretical framework for examining how normative and non‐normative constructions of sexual identity are enacted inscribed in language practices in classrooms, and how these language practices may effect particular discourses of sexuality. I examine extracts of interview data with young people analysed using appraisal analysis. The analysis focuses on how language works as a form of social practice which can include and exclude sexual identities in classroom settings.

Homosexuality and Comradeship: Destabilizing the Hegemonic Masculine Ideal in Nazi Germany

AbstractThis article looks at the experiences and perspectives of homosexual men in Nazi Germany—in particular, at homosexual veterans of World War I. How did homosexual men perceive “hegemonic masculinity” and ideals of comradeship during the Third Reich? The central argument is that the Nazi regime's emphasis on heterosexuality as an essential masculine trait was contested by homosexual veterans, who attempted to exert agency by actively defining notions of “masculinity,” the nature of their homosexuality, as well as their status in theVolksgemeinschaft(people's community). The ways in which homosexual men perceived homosexuality in relation to hegemonic masculine norms were diverse: whereas some tried to argue for the compatibility of homosexuality and martial masculinity, those who were arrested often distanced themselves from their homosexual identity. The testimonies of veterans, available in Gestapo police interrogation records, suggest how subjective constructions of sexual identity both undermined and reinforced hegemonic masculine ideals.

Nettersexuality: The Impact of Internet Pornography on Gay Male Sexual Expression and Identity

The Internet, as an integral part of global culture, has become a location offering a smorgasbord of pornographic images and films depicting multiple and fluid ways of being sexual. For males who identify as gay and/or queer, the Internet offers opportunities to explore same-sex sexualities in ways that have heretofore been challenging; thus, constructions of sexual identity can be interrogated, (re)examined, and (re)imagined. New explorations of sexualities may be the result of interface with Internet pornography, which opens spaces for not yet experienced ways of being sexual. Using qualitative methodology, this project engages the voices of three males who identify as gay and/or queer and focuses on how the Internet, particularly pornography on the Internet, impacts their sexual experiences and their sexual identities. Indeed, we argue here that the Internet does impact sexuality, and these men help to raise questions about what is possible with regard to sexuality and sexual identity.

Media Usage and Consumption Practice in Shopping Malls Among Female Youth in Modern Thai Society

This paper presents the data derived from the longitudinal ethnographic study on media useage and consumption practice in shopping malls as everyday life practices among female youth in a modern society of Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand, which contributed to their distinctive sexual identity construction and expression. Applying Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital and Friske’s idea on tactical practice, this paper revealed that the various tactics female youth employed in shopping malls were to express their distinctions from other youth groups belonged to lower classes, as well as to negotiate mechanisms of dominant school and state controls that aimed to regulate their sexual and cultural practices. Female youth in modern society were not only proper “consumers” but also “users” of shopping malls in modern Thai society. Their media usage and consumption practice sought to send the messages that they were the creators of their own selves.

Unraveling the Mystery of \u201cThe Specificity of Women\u2019s Sexual Response and Its Relationship with Sexual Orientations\u201d: The Social Construction of Sex and Sexual Identities

Unraveling the Mystery of \u201cThe Specificity of Women\u2019s Sexual Response and Its Relationship with Sexual Orientations\u201d: The Social Construction of Sex and Sexual Identities

Narrating sexual identities in Kenya: “Choice,” value, and visibility

ABSTRACTThis article examines the discursive construction of female same-sex sexual identities in Nairobi. We identify the discursive forces of “choice,” devaluation, and invisibility as influential within Kenyan media representations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex citizens. Using creative focus groups and participant observation, we demonstrate how same-sex attracted women in Nairobi resist and rearticulate these discursive forces to assert their identity and agency as individuals and as a queer community.

Para lá da heteronorma: subjetivação e construção da identidade sexual

Resumo Este artigo explora a construção da identidade sexual que não se enquadra na heteronorma a partir de um quadro teórico que articula três dimensões da experiência sexual: integração, estratégia e subjetivação. Argumenta-se que a formação destas identidades pode ser mais bem compreendida segundo o eixo da subjetivação e, mais particularmente, na tensão que se estabelece entre este e o da integração. Isto acontece porque, entre os indivíduos que vivem para além dos limites convencionais da heteronorma, a experiência sexual constrói-se, inevitavelmente, em confronto com a mesma, gerando uma reflexividade que contribui para operar um distanciamento do indivíduo face a papéis e valores convencionais, problematizando-os ou, mesmo, adotando modelos alternativos.