Black Sexualities: Probing Powers, Passions, Practices, and Policies

1 Nontraditional, Nonconforming,and Transgressive Gender Expression and Relationship Modalities in Black Communities

17 1 Nontraditional, Nonconforming, and Transgressive Gender Expression and Relationship Modalities in Black Communities LAY LI PHILLIPS AND MAR LA R. STEWART Diverse sexual and gender identities have received increasing attention in both mainstream and academic discourses over the last two and a half decades with the growth and visibility of both the lesbian and gay rights movement and queer theory. The lesbian and gay rights movement has fought for the legal and civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and intersex (LGBTQQI) people in everyday life, while queer theory discourse has established a theoretical framework for thinking about heteronormativity as an oppressive and dehumanizing social force. In the social sciences as well as the humanities, the notion of identity has bounded the discussion of both sexuality and gender, opening up certain avenues of discussion while closing others. By focusing on queer identities, such discussions have allowed individuals who identify as LGBTQQI to attain voice and visibility. Yet, these same discussions have reified notions of social address and reinforced processes of social ascription and categorization . LGBTQQI people have been tacitly encouraged to self-categorize, often in ways that separate them from other valued identities and affiliations and that defy the lived experience of full humanity, thus maintaining the very social hierarchies that predispose prejudice, discrimination, and violence. The purpose of this chapter is to illumine the discussion of gender and sexuality by highlighting modes of self-expression and behavior that fall outside traditional boxes. We choose the terms “gender expression” and “relationship modalities” purposefully to distance ourselves from already well-established discourses pertaining to identity, particularly gender identity and sexual (orientation ) identity. We focus on people of African descent in the United States who “do” gender or sexuality in unconventional ways. The analysis relies on biographical data, historiographies, and media material about the lived experience of Black public figures known for their nontraditional, nonconforming, or transgressive 18 LAYLI PHILLIPS AND MARLA R. STEWART gender expression or relationship modalities. We highlight ways that gender, sexuality , and relationships have found expression and issues that these expressions raise for psychologists and other social and behavioral scientists. By employing an interdisciplinary approach that focuses on narrative data, we preserve both complexity and meaning in the lives of the individuals examined. Key Concepts It is important to introduce and distinguish three interrelated terms to organize our domain of interest: nontraditional, nonconforming, and transgressive. “Nontraditional” refers to gender expressions and relationship modalities considered “outside the mainstream,” as defined by both insiders and outsiders. “Nonconforming” refers to gender expressions and relationship modalities in which people consciously go against the mainstream grain in the pursuit of personal authenticity. “Transgressive” refers to gender expressions or relationship modalities in which people purposefully confront and contest mainstream conventions as part of a larger political agenda for social change. These concepts may overlap; they are, by design and in keeping with the variability in everyday life, not mutually exclusive. What distinguishes them is the standpoint and intent of the person making the distinctions. While traditional discourses surrounding queer sexualities and putatively related gender identities have tended historically to rely on dichotomies such as normal/deviant and normative/transgressive, we wish to highlight greater variegation within the sphere customarily relegated to “outside the mainstream.” We reject a binary approach and seek a language such that researchers and laypersons alike may approach gender, sexuality, and other dimensions of human experience with greater sensitivity. Such alignment of the scientific with the subjective will facilitate both better public policy and more effective wellnessoriented interventions. The goal is to present diverse gender expressions and relationship modalities as pathways to positive well-being while also giving due consideration to the very real vulnerabilities that members of nontraditional, nonconforming, and transgressive populations face. Queer Theory and Lesbian and Gay Rights Discourses—A Critical Examination The queer experience has often been conflated with the experience of White queers due to the cultural visibility and academic productivity of White gay men and lesbians. A cursory review of notable queer anthologies published in the past twenty-five years reveals a paucity of scholarship reflecting raced perspectives on queer sexuality or queer theory generally. More recent writings originate among queer members of a variety of racial, ethnic, and cultural communities , often these writers are not engaged in cross-cultural communication. GENDER EXPRESSION AND RELATIONSHIP MODALITIES 19 The argument that queer theory must...