Sexualities and Queer Identities

Gender Dysphoria (GD)

A diagnosis contained in the most recent (5th) edition of the DSM for individual who display "a marked incongruence between one's experienced/expressed gender and assigned gender." Replaces Gender Identity Disorder listed in previous editions of the DSM. See below. There are strong arguments both for and against continuing to include transgender identity in the DSM, as noted by Beredjick.

Gender Identity Disorder

A diagnosis for transgenderism supplied by the 4th edition of the DSM. "A persistent and strong cross-gender identification and a persistent unease with one's sex." Strong opposition to this terminology was raised by trans activists who held that such language oversimplified and essentialized gender while refusing to acknowledge trans identity as valid. Replaced in the most recent (5th) edition by Gender Dysphoria (see above).

Stud

A dominant lesbian, usually butch and of African-American and/or Latinx descent. Also known as "AG" (aggressive).

Aggressive (AG)

A dominant lesbian, usually butch and of African-American and/or Latinx descent. Also known as a stud.

Femme

A feminine-identified person of any gender or sex.

Stonewall Inn

A gay bar and recreational tavern in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City, and the site of the Stonewall Riots of 1969, widely considered to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the United States.

"Stanning"

A Stan, according to Urban Dictionary, is "an overzealous or maniacal fan of any celebrity or athlete" The term may reference an obsessive character from a 2000 Eminem song of the same name; it may also be a compound of "stalker-fan." "Stan Culture" is a name given to identify behavior "notorious for extreme actions generally committed by a minority within a fanbase," Such generally includes threatening others, online bullying, cyber attacks, doxing, etc. **NOTE: the "culture" moniker is applied ironically; this is a not actually an example of a cultural or subcultural group.

The Equality Act

A bill in the United States Congress, that, if passed, would amend the Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, public education, federal funding, credit, and the jury system. While the Supreme Court's June 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia said that Title IX of the Civil Rights Act protects sexual orientation and gender identity in matters of employment, the other areas remain undefined. The Equality Act passed the United States House of Representatives on May 17, 2019. The United States Senate received the bill for consideration on May 20, 2019, where the bill remains.

Kinsey Scale

A measurement used in the research of Alfred Kinsey and his colleagues to describe a person's sexual orientation based on one's experience or response at a given time. The scale typically ranges from 0, meaning "exclusively heterosexual," to 6, meaning "exclusively homosexual." Ratings 1-5 indicate various levels in between. The first report, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, was published in 1948. The second, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, in 1953. In contrast to the attitudes of peers of his time, Kinsey's scale was revolutionary because it implied homosexuality was just another form of sexual activity, rather than a pathological condition or a stunted form of psychosexual development.

Coming Out

A metaphor for LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or of their gender identity. Shortened from the earlier expression "coming out of the closet." The term can also be used in various non-LGBTQ applications, but always carries with it the connotation of admitting membership in a non-dominant identity group.

Greenwhich Villlage

A neighborhood on the west side of Manhattan, New York City, within Lower Manhattan. Also known as "the Village" to locals. Pronounced GREN-itch In the 20th century, Greenwich Village was known as an artists' haven, the Bohemian capital, the cradle of the modern LGBTQ+ movement, and the East Coast birthplace of both the Beat and '60s counterculture movements. Among other things, Greenwich Village contains Washington Square Park, the Stonewall Inn, and Christopher Street Piers, all important landmarks in LGBTQ+ history.

Transvestite

A now-outdated term coined in 1910 by Magnus Hirschfeld to refer to the sexual interest in cross-dressing. - (from Latin trans-, meaning "across / over"; and vestitus, meaning "dressed") Hirschfeld used it to describe persons who habitually and voluntarily wore clothes of the opposite sex. Hirschfeld's group of transvestites consisted of both men and women, with heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, and asexual orientations. Use of this term today is generally discouraged outside of a historical context to favor more specific terminology (such as transsexual, drag king/queen, in drag, etc.) that differentiates gender performance from gender identity.

Butch

A person who identifies themselves as masculine, whether it be physically, mentally or emotionally. In the New York City lesbian community, a butch may identify herself as AG (aggressive) or as a stud. Originally a pejorative to describe "aggressive" or "macho" women, the term was reappropriated by butch lesbians as an identity category. Believed to be an abbreviation of "butcher," American slang for "tough kid" in the early 20th century and likely inspired by the outlaw Butch Cassidy.

Paragraph 175

A provision of the German Criminal Code from 15 May 1871 to 10 March 1994 that made homosexual acts between men a crime. Early revisions of the provision also criminalized bestiality, forms of prostitution, and underage sexual abuse. All in all, around 140,000 men were convicted under the law. - The provision was challenged unsuccessfully by many public figures during its installment, including Magnus Hirschfeld in 1897. During the Third Reich, Nazis broadened the law in 1935 to include homosexual thoughts or intentions as criminal actions; in the prosecutions that followed, thousands died in concentration camps as a widespread social persecution of homosexuals took place. Among other criticisms of the law, opponents argued that it created a climate of such fear that individuals could be extorted or blackmailed under threat of being outed to authorities and thereafter arrested (whether or not the accusations were true).

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)

A publication for the classification of mental disorders using a common language and standard criteria. It has been published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) since its first edition in 1952 and is used by clinicians, researchers, psychiatric drug regulation agencies, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, the legal system, and policy makers. Classification of gay, lesbian, and bisexual sexual orientations underwent major changes in different editions of DSM. 1. The first edition classified these orientations under "paraphilia" (a sociopathic personality disturbance). 2. The second edition classified these orientations under "sexual orientation disturbance." 3. The third edition further modified this to "ego-dystonic homosexuality" (i.e., thoughts, impulses, and behaviors that are felt to be repugnant, distressing, unacceptable or inconsistent with one's self-concept). 4. The fourth and all subsequent editions drops the subject entirely.

Gender Beliefs

A set of beliefs and opinions about men and women and the purported qualities attributed to masculinity and femininity. This belief system includes stereotypical views about men and women as well as attitudes toward appropriate gender roles, based on an assumption that what is not feminine is necessarily masculine, and vice versa, and that a person who is either masculine or feminine in one aspect of behavior is similarly masculine or feminine in other aspects of behavior. Gender beliefs, usually based on gender binaries, informed much of the psychiatric and public opinion about gay, lesbian, and bisexual sexual orientation well into the second half of the 20th century.

Eugenics

A set of beliefs and practices aimed to improve the genetic quality of a human population, typically by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior, and promoting those judged to be superior. In the early 20th century, a popular eugenics movement emerged in the United Kingdom and then spread to many countries, including the United States, Canada, and most European countries. In this period, people from across the political spectrum espoused eugenic ideas. Consequently, many countries adopted eugenic policies, intended to improve the quality of their populations' genetic stock. Such programs included a wide range of measures, such as encouraging individuals deemed particularly "fit" to reproduce, as well as marriage prohibitions and forced sterilization of people deemed unfit for reproduction. Those deemed "unfit to reproduce" often included people with mental or physical disabilities, people who scored in the low ranges on different IQ tests, criminals and "deviants," and members of disfavored minority groups, including homosexuals and persons of color.

Lesbian Continuum

A term coined by Adrienne Rich (1986) in "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence." By constructing sexual identity along a gradient, it offers an alternative to traditional binary classifications of sexual identity. This concept was formulated with the intent of including women who do not ordinarily think of themselves as lesbians, specifically women who identify as heterosexuals. One rationale for this concept was to find similarities among heterosexually identified feminists and lesbian-identified feminists in building women-centered community.

Homophile

A term, now dated, first used to refer to a member of the vibrant homosexual subcultures of the 1920s and 30s that arose (primarily in Europe, especially Germany) after the gains made by the homosexual rights movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Noted homophiles of this era included German psychiatrist Magnus Hirschfeld, physician Ernst Burchard, lawyer and journalist Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, and bookseller Max Spohr. These groups disappeared with the rise of the Third Reich. Such groups rose again following WWII, although use of the term "homophile" slowly diminished, virtually disappearing after 1960. - The Mattachine Society was one such group in America.

Pathology (Theory)

A theory for the cause of homosexuality cataloged by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Disorders from 1951-1973. Focusing primarily on homosexual men, the DSM identified the following possible pathological influences that could result in homosexuality for an individual: 1. Hormonal exposure before birth (i.e., in utero) 2. "Excessive" mothering 3. Inadequate or hostile fathering 4. Sexual abuse Importantly, since 1973 the APA has withdrawn their support of this theory and removed mentions of it from the DSM.

Immaturity (Theory)

A theory for the cause of homosexuality cataloged by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Disorders from 1951-1973. This theory regarded expressions of homosexual feelings or behavior at a young age as a normal step toward the development of adult heterosexuality—a passing "phase" that one outgrows. Adult homosexuality, however, is equated with stunted growth or as a "developmental arrest" Importantly, since 1973 the APA has withdrawn their support of this theory and removed mentions of it from the DSM.

LGBTQ

Acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning; reflects a range of sexual and gender identities and orientations distinct from traditional heterosexuality. Often now LGBTQIA to include Intersex and Asexual folks; Also LGBTQ+ to include these and others but to keep the acronym short. Earlier iterations were simply LGBT.

The Social Hygiene Movement

An attempt by Progressive-era reformers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries to control venereal disease, regulate prostitution and vice, and disseminate sexual education through the use of scientific research methods and modern media techniques. The "hygiene" approach to sex was one that emphasized sexual continence (i.e., purity) and strict self-discipline as a solution to societal ills, tracing prostitution, drug use, and illegitimacy to rapid urbanization. The movement remained alive throughout much of the 20th century and found its way into American schools, where it was transmitted in the form of classroom films about menstruation, sexually transmitted disease, drug abuse and acceptable sexual behavior in addition to an array of pamphlets, posters, textbooks and films. Many reformers were also proponents of eugenics. After 1945, the movement was largely discredited.

Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist (TERF)

Coined in 2008, the term was originally applied to a minority of feminists espousing sentiments that other feminists consider transphobic, such as the rejection of the assertion that trans women are women, the exclusion of trans women from women's spaces, and opposition to transgender rights legislation. The meaning has since expanded to refer more broadly to people with trans-exclusionary views who may have no involvement with radical feminism. Those referred to with the word TERF typically reject the term or consider it a slur; some identify themselves as gender critical. Critics of the word TERF say that it has been used in insults and alongside violent rhetoric. In academic discourse, there is no consensus on whether TERF constitutes a slur.

Compulsory Heterosexuality

Social messaging, policies, and practices that privilege heterosexual behavior and identity regardless of individual sexual orientation.

Straight

Informally used to refer to individuals whose enduring physical, romantic, and/ or emotional attraction is to people of the opposite sex. Often synonymous with heterosexual, but not exclusively so. Also used as an umbrella term for any non-LGBTQ+ identity. The opposite, then, of Queer. This use can become fairly complex. For example, while a relationship between a trans man and a cis woman would be a heterosexual one according to the first definition, it would still be a queer (i.e., not "straight") since it involves a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

Sodomy Laws

Laws that define certain sexual acts as crimes. The precise sexual acts meant by the term sodomy are rarely spelled out in the law, but are typically understood by courts to include any sexual act deemed to be "unnatural" or "immoral." As a term, "sodomy" typically includes anal sex, oral sex, and (less commonly) bestiality. In practice, sodomy laws have rarely been enforced against heterosexual couples, and have mostly been used to target homosexual individuals.

Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)

Legislation proposed in the United States Congress that would prohibit discrimination in hiring and employment on the basis of sexual orientation or, depending on the version of the bill, gender identity by employers with at least 15 employees. ENDA had been introduced in every Congress since 1994 except the 109th (i.e., 2005-2007). President Barack Obama supported the bill's passage, but the House Rules Committee voted against it each time. On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees from discrimination based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. The ruling was only on employment, like ENDA. LGBTQ+ rights advocates welcomed the ruling and called on Congress to pass the Equality Act (see below), noting that as of 2020, 29 states do not have the full protections the Equality Act would provide for the LGBTQ+ community.

Christopher Street Piers

Once a working part of the New York waterfront in Greenwich Village, the piers had physically decayed by the 1980s and fell into disuse, afterward developing a vibrant gay social scene and refuge for homeless gay youth. Since renovations and the opening of the Hudson River Park's new Greenwich Village segment in 2003, it has retained its role as a gathering place for gay youth from New York City and New Jersey who have been congregating at the pier since the 1970s. Scenes from Jennie Livingston's 1990 documentary Paris is Burning depict Venus Xtravaganza hanging out with friends at the pier ca. 1987-88. In 1992, the body of gay liberation activist Marsha P. Johnson was pulled from the Hudson River, near the Christopher Street piers. Her death was ruled a suicide, but her peers questioned that determination and the authorities later reclassified the manner of death to drowning from undetermined causes.

Queer

Once considered an offensive slur of mockery and exclusion against gay and lesbian people, some have reappropriated it as an inclusive term to refer to any LGBTQ+ identity that is not strictly "straight" or heterosexual. Informally used to refer to individuals whose enduring physical, romantic, and/ or emotional attraction is to individuals of the same sex. Often synonymous with homosexual (i.e., gay or lesbian), but not exclusively so. Use of the term is not universally accepted by the LGBTQ+ community, however, as some still associate it with the derogatory meaning while others regard it as radical and/or trendy.

Mattachine Society

One of the earliest LGBTQ rights organizations in the United States, founded by Harvey Hay in 1950 and first located in Los Angeles. Many other chapters sprung up in cities all over the country, and in 1953 they begin publishing ONE Magazine, the first widely distributed journal for homosexual readers.

Pathologize

Pathology, broadly, is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. Pathologization (also called "medicalization") is the process by which human conditions and problems come to be defined and treated as medical conditions, and thus become the subject of medical study, diagnosis, prevention, or treatment. Throughout LGBTQ+ history, many doctors, scientists, and other activists have led the charge to "depathologize" homosexuality, which means to stop treating it as if it were a disease or something wrong with people that ought to be treated. Informal pathologizing of LGBTQ+ identity is still present in language, such as common questions like "how long have you known you were gay?", or "How did your parents react when you told them?", etc. While usually not intended cruelly, such heterosexist remarks carry on the tradition of regarding LGBTQ+ identity categories as embarrassing or shameful conditions that exclude folks from enjoying a neutral or fully "normal" life.

Outing

The act of disclosing an LGBTQ+ person's sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. Threatening to out someone is a specific form of blackmail or extortion. Use of this form of the "coming out" metaphor always has a coercive connotation, even when/if individuals may chose to "out" themselves to head off rumor, pre-empt someone else's intention to out them, etc.

Hostile Sisterhood

The cultural expectation or tendency for women to distrust, resent, sabotage, and/or neglect relationships with other women (including their close female friends) in favor of relationships with men and/or as a direct or indirect means to obtain male attention or approval. A form of Patriarchal Bargain (see the list of terms from the Femininities week of the course) developed from Adrienne Rich's important essay "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence."

Reappropriation

The cultural process by which a group reclaims—that is, re-appropriates—terminology or artifacts that were previously used as a means of oppressing or disparaging that group, whether directly or indirectly. For example, in Paris is Burning, both the Ball categories and some of the individual participants in the film emulate elite identity markers of mainstream, privileged white, middle- and upper-class lifestyles. By adopting and adapting these cultural forms of expression, ball-goers can resist (at least temporarily) the realities of racial and economic oppression (including powerlessness and marginalization) that they experience in their day-to-day lives. Other examples: - use among some rap subcultures of the "N-word" (and/or variations of it) - the SlutWalk and Take Back the Night movements, which call for an end to rape culture, including victim blaming and "slut shaming" of sexual assault victims, by challenging sexist language and gender double standards - current use of the word "queer" as a positive and inclusive term, which was once a derogatory slur - the "pink triangle" symbol now used as a symbol of gay pride, which was originally used by Nazis to identify gay and lesbian prisoners in concentration camps:

"Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT)

The official United States policy on military service (28 Feb 1994 - 20 Sep 2011) that prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while also barring openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons from military service. The policy prohibited people who "demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" from serving in the armed forces of the United States, because their presence "would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability."

Gender Transition

The period of time during which a transgender person begins to live according to their gender identity, rather than the gender they were assigned at birth. Although not all transgender people transition, a great many do at some point in their lives. While gender transition looks different for every person, some possible steps in transitioning may or may not include changes in clothing, appearance, name, and the pronouns used to refer to the transitioning person. Some people (but not all) are able to change their identification documents, such as their driver's license or passport, to reflect their gender identity. Some people will undergo hormone therapy and/or other medical procedures to make their bodies better reflect their gender identity. Some will not, by choice or due to other reasons.

Taxonomy

The practice and science of classification of things or concepts, including the principles that underlie such classification. Alfred Kinsey's approach to the study of sexuality was remarkable for its time because of his emphasis on taxonomizing (observing and cataloging) sexual behavior in a relatively dispassionate manner, rather than relying on subjective moral preconceptions. While groundbreaking, his approach was not without its critics.

Gay Pride

The promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and asexual (LGBTIA or LBGTQ+) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to shame and social stigma, is the predominant outlook that bolsters most LGBT rights movements.

Conversion Therapy

The pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation from homosexual or bisexual to heterosexual using medical, psychological, and/or spiritual interventions. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) opposes psychiatric treatment "based upon the assumption that homosexuality is a mental disorder or based upon the assumption that a patient should change his/her sexual homosexual orientation." The APA further describes attempts to change a person's sexual orientation by practitioners as unethical and also states that the advancement of conversion therapy may cause social harm by disseminating unscientific views about sexual orientation. In 2001, United States Surgeon General David Satcher issued a report stating that "there is no valid scientific evidence that sexual orientation can be changed." There are now laws against conversion therapy in twenty US states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Religious and spiritual leaders, however, can continue to perform this kind of therapy.

Normal Variation (Theory)

Theories that treat homosexuality as a phenomenon that occurs naturally. Such theories typically regard homosexual individuals as born different, but it is a natural difference affecting a minority of people, like left-handedness. The contemporary cultural belief that people are "born gay" is a normal variation theory. As these theories equate the normal with the natural, they define homosexuality as good (or neutral). Such theories see no place for homosexuality in a psychiatric diagnostic manual like the DSM.