Lesbian, Feminist, and Other Queer Roles

Lesbian,Feminist,andOtherQueerRoles: FiftyYearsofInclusionandExclusion inSociology1

ArleneStein

RutgersUniversity

Afewdecadesago,well-meaningscholarscounseledthosewhoconsidered researchingsexuality,particularlyhomosexualities,thatitwascareersuicide.Outgayandlesbianacademicswereregularlymarginalized,heldback forpromotion,andwithfewexceptionstheirnames,ortheirwork,never becamewidelyknown.Today,incontrast,outLGBTQIscholarsarevisiblemembersofthediscipline,andqueerlivesandheteronormativesocial structuresaregenerallyseenaslegitimateandsometimesevencutting-edge areasofinvestigation.Wehaveseena floweringofinterestinqueerlife,and thebeginningofthe “queering” ofthediscipline thoughwearenotthere yet.Andwhateverhappenedtolesbianfeminism?

WhenIenteredgraduateschoolatBerkeleyinthe1980shungryforideas thatwouldhelpmemakesenseoftheworldandmyplaceinit,the “Lword” wasneveruttered evenasformidablefeministsociologistswereatwork busilycarvingoutaspaceforthecriticalstudyofgender.Tosystematically explorethesociologyoffemalehomosexuality,IturnedtoanundergraduatecourseentitledSexualDiversityandSocialChangethatwastaughtbya brilliantoccasionallecturerinthedepartment.2 ThereIencounteredMary McIntosh’s “TheHomosexualRole,” anarticlepublishedin1968inthe journal SocialProblems,perhapsthe firstsociologicalanalysisofsamesexsexuality(McIntosh1968).

AtthetimeMcIntoshwaswriting,homosexualitywasgenerallyseenasa medical “condition” forwhicha “cure” wasrequired.Notuntil1973didthe AmericanPsychiatricAssociationremoveitfromitslistofillnesses.Even sympatheticliberalsoperatedunderthegeneralbeliefthathomosexuality

1 ThankstoCynthiaChris,JaniceIrvine,andKarinLutzenfortheirhelpfulcomments onanearlierdraftofthisessay.DirectcorrespondencetoArleneStein,Departmentof Sociology,RutgersUniversity,NewBrunswick,NJ.Email:arlenes@sociology.rutgers.edu

2 ThecoursewastaughtbyJeffreyEscoffier,anadjunctlecturer,activist,andeconomic historianbytraining.LikeotherpioneersofLGBThistoryandtheory,hepiecedtogether aliving,andtaughtoccasionalcoursestothosewhowouldeventuallygoontoobtainthe academicjobsthatwereofflimitstohim.

©2023TheUniversityofChicago.Allrightsreserved.PublishedbyTheUniversityof ChicagoPress.https://doi.org/10.1086/728969

wasanindividual “orientation” thathadlittletodowithsocietyandwas thereforenotasuitablesubjectforsociologicalinvestigation.Buttakinga functionalistapproach,McIntoshshowedthatsame-sexrelationsshiftin meaningandpracticeaccordingtohistoricalandculturalcircumstances. Itisonlyinmodernsocietiesthatadistinct “homosexualrole” emerges,offeringthepossibilityofself-definition.Yetbyseparatingtheheterosexual andhomosexualworlds,weexaggeratethedifferencesbetweenthemand understatethediversitywithineachgrouping.

McIntosh’sanalysiswasfoundationalforasocialconstructionistviewof homosexuality,anticipatingargumentsmadebyMichelFoucaultandinspiringsociologicalworkbyKenPlummer,JeffreyWeeks,andotherpioneers.Italsoforeshadowedwhatwouldlatercometobeknownas “queer theory.” ItisindeedapitythatMcIntosh,oneoftheveryfewoutlesbians workinginthedisciplineatthetime,whowasafeministtoboot,wasnot invitedtocontributetothe AmericanJournalofSociology’sspecialissue onwomenin1973.PerhapsitisbecauseshewasbasedintheUnitedKingdom,whereQueenVictoriafamouslyproclaimedthatlesbiansdonotexist. YetonewonderswhetherherAmericancounterpartsknewoftheexistence oflesbianseither orbelievedtheywereworthyofattention.

McIntoshherselfshowedthatadistinct “homosexualrole” is “muchless well-developedforwomenthanitisformen” (1968,p.191)becausetheforces ofsocialcontrol religious,medical,legal,andfamilial hadbeenlesslikely topayattentiontoit.Becausefemalesame-sexactivityoftentookplaceunder theradarandwasnotsubjectedtothesamekindofpolicingasitsmalecounterpart,ittooklongerforittocongealintoaclearlydefinedgrouping.Because oftheirsubordinatestatusinthelabormarket,womenalsohadlesscapacity tostandoutsideoftheheterosexualfamilyunit.Thesefactors,amongothers, contributedtotheinvisibilityoflesbianexistence.3

Earlysecond-wavefeministswouldchallengetheerasureoflesbianexperienceandpositionthosewholovedotherwomenasthevanguardofthe movement.AnneKoedt(1968)tookFreudtotask,arguingthatpenetration wasnotessentialtofemalepleasureandthat,ifgivenachoice,womenhad considerablepotentialtobebisexual.Otherswentevenfurther.Adrienne Rich(1980)acknowledgedthatthe “compulsoryheterosexuality” imposed bypatriarchalsocietymadeitfartoodifficultforwomentoacknowledge theirloveforotherwomen.AudreLorde(1984)proclaimedthattheerotic realmwasasourceof “powerandinformation” thatwomenneededtoreclaim andthattheyshouldproclaimtheirsame-sexdesires.Theseyoungradicals

3 AyearbeforeMcIntosh’s “HomosexualRole” waspublished,sociologistsWilliamSimonandJohnGagnon(1967),whohadworkedwithpioneeringsexresearcherAlfred Kinsey,arguedthatlesbiansadheredtoconventionalfemalesexroleexpectations i.e.,theywerewomen first,andhomosexualsecond.

recastlesbianismasanaffirmativeaspectoffemaleidentityratherthanan exampleofdeviance.4 Paradoxically,whiledemonstratingthattheboundariesseparatingheterosexualandhomosexualwomenwere flexible “fluid,” intoday’sterms theywerecarvingoutadistinctandlegiblelesbian “role.” Thatrolewasimaginedinpoliticalterms,asachallengetothepatriarchy.

Sociologistscertainlyencounteredtheseideasatteach-ins,inpamphlets andmovementjournals,andsometimesontheshelvesofbookstores.But academiacanbeabitslowtotakenoticeofthenewandinnovative,especiallywhenthetaintofstigmasurroundstheiremergence.Sowhileacademicsmayhavebeenindividuallysympathetictoemergentfeministtakeson lesbianism,theeditorsofthe1973issueofthe AmericanJournalofSociology clearlydidnottendtoseethemaskeyconcerns.Homophobiawasrife inacademiaatthetime,andmanypeoplelivedinfearthatitwouldupend theircareersorghettoizetheirwork.5 Becausestudyingsexualityis,asIrvine (2014)astutelypointedout, “dirtywork,” manyfeministsociologistsbelieved thatthequestforrespectabilityrequiredthemtodistancethemselvesfrom “theothers” intheirmidst.Butchangewasafoot.

AsagraduatestudentintheBayAreainthe1980s,Iquicklyfoundalively worldofgayandlesbianwritersandthinkers historians,anthropologists, andsociologistsbytrainingorbyinterest whopursuedintellectualwork, oftenaftertheirdayjobs.Itwasapoliticalprojectandacalling,informed bygayliberationandfeminism.TogetherweporedovertheworkofMcIntosh,Weeks,Foucault,andKinseytounderstandthemyriadwayssexualityissociallyconstructed.Separatelyandtogetherwefashionedprojectsthat exploredvariedexpressionsofhomosexuality.

ThehistorianAllanBerubewasworkingonabookdocumentinghow Americans’ serviceinWorldWarIIledtodemographicshiftsthatdepositedmanyyoungmenandwomenintoportcities,creatingthefoundation forgayandlesbiansubcultures.TheanthropologistGayleRubinwasstudyingcontemporarygaymaleleathercommunities.EconomichistorianJeffrey Escoffierwasexamininghowcapitalism’s “affluenceandconsumptionethic” encouragedsexualfreedomandposedachallengetoheteronormativity.Iwas influencedbythisextraordinarymomentofradicalintellectualenergyand alsobytheclarifyinginfluenceoftheso-calledfeminist “sexdebates” ofthe early1980s.6

4 AmongtheseimportantearlylesbianfeministstatementswasRadicalesbians’“The Woman-IdentifiedWoman,” apamphletcirculatedin1970.Seehttps://repository .duke.edu/dc/wlmpc/wlmms01011.

5 Oneoftheveryfewearlystudiesoflesbianidentity,whichbecameamodelformyown dissertationresearchandmysubsequentbook SexandSensibility,wasbyBarbara Ponse(1978).AsfarasIcantell,Ponseneverfoundanacademicposition.

6 Onthefeministsexdebates,seeCaroleVance(1984). AmericanJournalofSociology

SymposiumEssay

Somefeministscametoembraceaprohibitioniststancethattargetedsex workandpornographyaslinchpinsoffemaleoppression.Theyviewedgay malesexualculture,andtheliberationistethosthatunderpinnedit,as anathematothefeministproject.Butthegrowingvilificationofgaymen asvectorsofdisease,andthefederalgovernment’sunwillingnesstoprioritizethe fightagainstAIDS,madedefendingsexualfreedomapressingtask. Itledtoanewscholarlyattentiontothesexualrealm. “Theculturalfusion ofgenderwithsexuality,” GayleRubin(1984)wrote, “hasgivenrisetothe ideathatatheoryofsexualitymaybederiveddirectlyoutofatheoryofgender” (p.309).Sheurgedfeministsandotherstounderstandsexualityonits ownterms.

Myworkwasthuscutoutforme:Iwoulddeviseaprojectonlesbian identitiesthatwouldbeginwiththesocialconstructionistinsightthatfemalesame-sexrelationstakedifferentformsindifferenthistoricalandculturalcontexts.7 IwouldusethatapproachtounderstandthesocialorganizationofthelesbianworldinSanFranciscoatthetime.AllaroundmeIsaw anextraordinarysenseofpossibility,autopianbreakingofoldboundaries, togetherwithaproliferationofnewboundariesandprohibitions.Howhad feminismchangednarrativesoflesbianidentity?Howdiditalterthecompositionofthegroupofself-identifiedlesbians?

Collectinglifehistories,Iheardstoriesaboutfearandself-loathing,and thewaysfeminismhadopenedupnewpossibilitiesforindividualfreedom. Ialsoheardstoriesabouthowthefeministrefashioningofthelesbiancategoryattimesimposedratherstrictboundariesonmovementbetweenthe heterosexualandhomosexualworlds.Womenwhohadcomeout “through feminism,” forwhomhomosexualitywassometimesmoreofapolitical choicethanadeeplyfeltdesire,whoattimesgravitatedbacktorelationshipswithmen,wereparticularlysuspect.A “lesbianrole” hadindeedtaken root withbothpositiveandnegativeconsequences.8

LittledidIanticipatethatmyowncareerwouldmirrorthis:forbetter orforworse,Ibecamea “lesbiansociologist,” seeminglyamemberofthe firstoutlesbiancohort(looselydefined)ofsociologists.Sincetherewereso fewoutlesbians(oranyoneelse)doingworkinthisarea,itbecame,inEverett Hughes’ssense,my “masterstatus.” Thatwasamixedblessing.Ontheone hand,itmotivatedmeandgavemeasenseofpurpose.Butitalsopigeonholedmywork,whichencompassedsocialmovements,identities,collectivememory,andmore.Tomakemattersworse,mainstreamsocialscientists

7 NancyChodorow,mydissertationadvisor,helpedmelistenattentivelytomy interviewees.

8 SusanKrieger,NancyWhittier,PaulaRust,VeraWhisman,andKristenEsterbergalso conductedstudiesoflesbianidentitiesandcommunitiesduringthisperiodintheUnited States;inEurope,KarinLutzen,SabineHark,andothersdidso.

AmericanJournalofSociology

disparagedthosewhowroteaboutthegroupstowhichtheybelongedas “me search,” failingtoseehowbeingpartiallysituatedasaninsidercandeepen interpretiveanalyses.Andofcoursethesechargeswereneverleviedagainst whitemenwhostudyotherwhitemen.

MyworkattractedinterestintheUnitedKingdom,andIacceptedapositionattheUniversityofEssexin1992,whereIwasthrilledtoworkalongsideMcIntoshandPlummerinadepartmentthatconsideredsexualitystudies akeyaspectofsociety.KenPlummerhadestablishedthejournal Sexualities asaninterdisciplinaryhomeforsocialscientificwork;MaryMcIntoshreviewedmy firstbook, SexandSensibility,inthepagesofits firstissue.Meanwhile,intheUnitedStates,thesmallgayandlesbiancaucusoftheAmerican SociologicalAssociationgavewaytotheSexualitiessection,whichopenedup spaceforanalyzingvariedformsofsexualexpression,culture,networks, andsocialstructures.

Humanitiesdepartmentsweretakingasomewhatdifferentturn,energizedbytheworkofMichelFoucaultandbyliteraryscholarswhopushed thesocialconstructionistapproachinnew,radicaldirections.Queertheory wasboldandexploratory,deeplythoughtful,andoftenunintelligibletoall buttheinitiated.Itbeganwithliterarytexts,focusingonthewaysdiscourse shapesexperience,andwasnotterriblyinterestedinunderstandingtheeverydaylifeofgay-andlesbian-identifiedindividuals.Itsubjectedheteronormativitytocloseexaminationandpropelledqueerstudiesintothemost eliteechelonsoftheacademy,offeringlearnedexplorationsofsexual fluidityviadiscourseanalysis.Iwasbothexcitedbyitscontributionsandmindfulofitsuneasyrelationshipwithempiricalworkinthesocialsciences, whichittendedtoignore,ifnotdownrightdisparage(seeSteinandPlummer 1994).

Today,scholarsinsociology,anthropology,andother fieldsregularly drawuponqueertheoreticalideasintheirwork,thoughthesamecannot besaidabouthumanitiesscholars’ interestinsocialscientificresearchon sexuality.9 IfIcouldoncemasterthe fieldofgay/lesbianstudies,somany newpublicationsappeareachmonthnow,makingthattaskpracticallyimpossible.Intersectionalandpostcolonialapproachesaremakingtheirmark onsexualitystudies,andthegrowingpresenceoftransgenderpeopleinside andoutsideacademehasspurredagrowingexplorationofvariedembodimentsofgender. Queer isthecontemporarytermofchoice,encapsulating

9 TheKesslerAwardsgivenbytheCenterforLesbianandGayStudiesattheCityUniversityofNewYorkareperhapsthemosthighprofilehonorgiventothoseworkingin theareaofLGBTQstudies.Since1992,31scholarshavereceivedtheaward.Ofthese, onlyfoursocialscientistshavebeenhonored,andnosociologists.Seehttps://clags.org /kessler-award/.

theblurredboundariesbetweenmenandwomen,straightandgay,cisand trans,andallthevariedpermutationsofthesecategories.

Thosewhowouldguarda “lesbianrole” insociety(andinscholarlywork) thatcentersfemalesame-sexrelationshipwill findthispluralismandindeterminacysomewhatdisappointing.Forevenassexualityandqueerstudies hasblossomed,thesociologicalstudyoflesbianismremainsmarginal.10 Coulditbe,astheanthropologistEstherNewtononceremarked,thatin amale-dominantworld “lesbianismisneverinstyle”?(seeStein2018,p.193). Perhaps.Myownsenseisthatafteramomentary floweringofsolidarityin the1970s,thecollectiveforceofaging,neoliberalism,andpoliticalfragmentationledtothe “decentering” oflesbianfeminismasacollectiveproject (Stein[1992]2009).Butwhileasomewhatcohesivelesbiansubcultureor rolemaybeathingofthepast,femalesame-sexdesireisnolongerthe “love thatdarenotspeakitsname.” Ihavecertainlywitnessedthesweepingnature ofthesechangesinmylifetime.Somanypeople,strugglingtogether,have createdunprecedentedopeningsforsexualandgenderself-expression,includingnonbinaryandgender-fluididentities.Whileinstitutionalizedheterosexualityofcoursepersistshereandacrosstheglobe,asdoesmaledominance,itisimportanttorecognize,asJeffreyWeeksputit, “theworldwe havewon” (Weeks2007).

Todaythatworldconsistsofamultiplicityofdifferentgenderandsexual identitycategoriesandprojects.YoungerpeoplegrowingupintheWesttodayaremuchmorelikelythantheirpredecessorsweretobelievethatqueernessisasomewhatbenignaspectofhumanexperience,ifnotamarkofdistinction.Nowondercontemporaryauthoritariansacrosstheglobehave madeantifeministandanti-LGBTcampaignsafocusoftheirpoliticalposturing(Stein2023).ThefactthattheRighttendstosingleoutschoolsand universitiesforattackisnotincidental:knowledgeispower,andintellectual workhascentrallyinformedstrugglesforsexualself-determination.

Thankstothepioneeringcohortoflesbian,gay,andfeministactivistscholarswhopavedthewayandwhoare,verysadly,rapidlyleavingus, sociologistshavemadeenormousstridestowardincorporatingtheexperiencesofLGBTQIpeopleintosociologicalresearchandteaching.Still,one wondershowmanyintroductorysociologycoursestodayilluminatethe connectionsbetweenheteronormativityandlabormarketsorintroducestudentstolesbianfeministcritiquesofthefamily.Ourworkcontinues.

10 Searchingfortheterm “lesbian” inresearcharticlespublishedinthe AmericanJournal ofSociology reveals64citations.Thevastmajorityarebriefmentionsinthecontextof largerstudies.Onlytwoofthese,JaponicaBrown-Saracino’s(2021)studyoflesbianbars andCarlaPfeffer’s(2014)pieceonlesbians “passing” asstraightwomen,arefull-length articlesthatfocusspecificallyonlesbianidentitiesorsubculturesasdistinctfromthose ofgaymen.

AmericanJournalofSociology

REFERENCES

Brown-Saracino,Japonica.2021. “TheAfterlifeofIdentityPolitics:Gentrification,CriticalNostalgia,andtheCommemorationofLostDykeBars.” AmericanJournalofSociology 126(5):1018–66.

Irvine,JaniceM.2014. “IsSexualityResearch ‘DirtyWork’?InstitutionalizedStigmain theProductionofSexualKnowledge.” Sexualities 17(5–6):632–56.

Koedt,Anne.1968. “TheMythoftheVaginalOrgasm.” In NotesfromtheFirstYear. NewYork:NewYorkRadicalWomen.

Lorde,Audre.1984. SisterOutsider:EssaysandSpeeches.Trumansberg,NY:Crossing Press.

McIntosh,Mary.1968. “TheHomosexualRole.” SocialProblems 16(2):182–92. Pfeffer,CarlaA.2014. “Idon’tlikepassingasastraightwoman”:QueerNegotiations ofIdentityandSocialGroupMembership. AmericanJournalofSociology 120(1): 1–44

Ponse,Barbara.1978. IdentitiesintheLesbianWorld:TheSocialConstructionofthe Self.Westport,CT:GreenwoodPress.

Rich,Adrienne.1980. “CompulsoryHeterosexualityandLesbianExistence.” Signs 5(4): 631–60.

Rubin,Gayle.1984. “ThinkingSex:NotesforaRadicalTheoryofthePoliticsofSexuality.” Pp.267–319in PleasureandDanger:ExploringFemaleSexuality, editedby CaroleVance.Boston:Routledge.

Simon,William,andJohnH.Gagnon.1967. “FemininityintheLesbianCommunity,” SocialProblems 15(2):212–21.https://doi.org/10.2307/799514. Stein,Arlene.(1992)2009. “SistersandQueers:TheDecenteringofLesbianFeminism.” In GenderInequality,editedbyJ.Lorber.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2009. Stein,Arlene.2018. Unbound:TransgenderMenandtheRemakingofIdentity.New York:Pantheon.

Stein,Arlene.2023. “Gender,AuthoritarianPopulisms,andtheAttackonDemocracy.” SociologicalForum.https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.12947.

Stein,Arlene,andKenPlummer.1994. “ICan’tEvenThinkStraight:QueerTheoryand theMissingSexualRevolutioninSociology.” SociologicalTheory 12(2):178–87. Vance,Carole,ed.1984. PleasureandDanger:ExploringFemaleSexuality.Boston: Routledge. Weeks,Jeffrey.2007. TheWorldWeHaveWon:TheRemakingofEroticandIntimate Life.London:Routledge.