Knox: Theorizing Same Sex Desire

What struck me immediately about Jagose's theorizing of same-sex desire is the idea that the "gay" identity is more than just sex. Indeed, many homophobes will relegate "gay" to an act in the bedroom and say that as long as it stays there, they don't care. And for some individuals, this is clearly the case, as Jagose points to examples of men that do not identify as gay, but regularly have sex with men. Gay, then, is an identity; a subculture to which people can belong and to which they can be accepted, sharing certain traits and experiences in common. For most of us, queer, gay, straight-identified or anything else, sex is only something we do for a few hours a week. (Though when someone tells me they are straight, my reaction is not, "Oh, great, you have sex with the opposite gender!") The man who does not attach himself to a gay identity but has sex with men for a few hours a week says that he isn't gay because the majority of time is spent doing something else. I think that's key to the issue - I also spend the majority of my week doing something else, but identify as a lesbian. The key to identity is not in the sexual act, but in the belonging to and identification with a subculture or group.

That's not to say I believe we all need to come with labels attached - I'm sure we'll have a separate discussion about that later - and, of course, as we discussed in class, this kind of labeling and grouping can further marginalize the "queer" by creating a new homonormative group. But I think when Jagose is reflecting about the history of sexuality and points out that, until recent history, homosexuals were not understood to be a certain kind of person, we are seeing how the identity emerges and takes the focus off the sexual act and places it on an identifiable person (though many people assume the identity revolves around that same sexual act). As we read on, however, we see that the construction of the homosexual identity is contingent upon the binary: that for homosexuality to exist, heterosexuality must exist (and be, by default, "normal," and in our society, normal = better). Only when we consider sexuality in a context outside of the binary can we upend the power structure that is built upon (in our society) a white, male, heterosexual perspective as "normal" and anything else as "other."