Speculative Fictions, Bisexual Lives
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SPECULATIVE FICTIONS, BISEXUAL LIVES: CHANGING FRAMEWORKS OF SEXUAL DESIRE by JENÉE WILDE A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of English and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2015 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Jenée Wilde Title: Speculative Fictions, Bisexual Lives: Changing Frameworks of Sexual Desire This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of English by: Michael Hames-García Chairperson Lisa Gilman Core Member Mary E. Wood Core Member Carol Stabile Institutional Representative and Scott L. Pratt Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded June 2015 ii © 2015 Jenée Wilde iii DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Jenée Wilde Doctor of Philosophy Department of English June 2015 Title: Speculative Fictions, Bisexual Lives: Changing Frameworks of Sexual Desire While studies of lesbian, gay, and transgender communities and cultural production have dramatically increased, research on bisexuality remains highly undervalued in humanities and social science disciplines. To challenge this lack of scholarship, this doctoral dissertation applies both textual and ethnographic methods to examine bisexual representation in non-realistic or “speculative” narratives and to explore the insider perspectives of bisexual people who are also science fiction fans. The overall trajectory of chapters follows a progression from grounded research and analysis to theory and application. First, I explore bisexual worldviews through ethnographic research in overlapping sexual and fan communities and through textual analysis of a 1980s bisexual fanzine. Next, I establish theoretical and methodological foundations for a new sexual paradigm, called dimensional sexuality, and work to intervene in interpretive methods that may restrict readings of sexuality in cinematic narratives. And finally, I test dimensional sexuality as an interpretive mode by offering dimensional readings of science fiction television and novels. From one direction, the project seeks to understand bisexuality as a position from which to theorize sexual knowledge. A major claim is that bisexual epistemology offers an alternative to dominant monosexual frameworks. Specifically, the multivalent logic of iv bisexuality refutes the “either-or” structure of heterosexuality and homosexuality. By embracing the logic of “both-and,” bisexuality as a category of knowledge enables the reorganization of sexuality within a non-binary, non-gender based multidimensional framework. From another direction, the project demonstrates the productive textual and social spaces offered by speculative narratives for questioning what we “know” about gender, sex, sexuality, and other intersections of social identities. Science fiction bears a deep structural affinity with the dialectical thinking found in critical theory. By asking “what if” questions that challenge our assumptions about “what is,” non-realistic narratives estrange us from the “known” world, interrogate our assumptions about the world, and make visible ideas and experiences outside of the norms we use to interpret what is “real” in a particular social and historical moment. As such, speculative narratives enable us to imagine sexual and gender possibilities beyond the episteme of the moment. v CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Jenée Wilde GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene Goddard College, Plainfield, VT Boise State University, Boise, ID DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor of Philosophy, English, 2015, University of Oregon Graduate Certificate, Women’s & Gender Studies, 2015, University of Oregon Master of Fine Arts, Creative Nonfiction Writing, 2003, Goddard College Bachelor of Arts, English & Journalism, 1994, Boise State University AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Queer & Bisexuality Studies Folklore Studies Popular Culture Studies 20th Century Literature Speculative Fiction PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Development GTF, Center for the Study of Women in Society, 2012-2014 Graduate Teaching Fellow, University of Oregon, 2008-2012 Instructor, Gainesville State College, 2006-2008 Adjunct Instructor, North Georgia Technical College, 2005 Adjunct Instructor, Piedmont College, 2004-2005 Adjunct Instructor, Brenau University, 2004-2005 Reporter, The Northeast Georgian, 2000-2006 vi GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: Jane C. Grant Dissertation Fellowship (accepted), Center for the Study of Women in Society, University of Oregon, 2014-15 Dissertation Fellowship (declined), Oregon Humanities Center, University of Oregon, 2014-15 Sherwood Graduate Research Award, Department of English, University of Oregon, 2014 John R. Moore Scholarship, LGBT Education & Support Services, University of Oregon, 2013 Miller Family Scholarship, Women’s & Gender Studies, University of Oregon, 2013 Future of Minority Studies Research Award, Center for Race, Ethnicity, & Sexuality Studies, University of Oregon, 2013 Norman Brown Graduate Fellowship, College of Arts & Sciences, University of Oregon, 2012 Summer Research Award, Folklore Program, University of Oregon, 2012 Bruce M. Abrams LGBT Essay Award, Women’s & Gender Studies, University of Oregon, 2010 PUBLICATIONS: Wilde, Jenée. “Gay, Queer or Dimensional? Modes of Reading Bisexuality on Torchwood.” Journal of Bisexuality special issue (forthcoming). Wilde, Jenée. “Dimensional Sexuality: Exploring New Frameworks for Bisexual Desires.” Sexual and Relationship Therapy 29.3 (August 2014): 320-38. Wilde, Jenée. “Queer Matters in The Dark Night Returns, Or Why We Insist on a Sexual Identity for Batman.” Riddle Me This Batman! Essays from the Universe of the Dark Knight. Ed. Kevin K. Durand and Mary K. Leigh. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2011. 104-123. vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my sincere appreciation for the support of professors Michael Hames-García, Lisa Gilman, Mary E. Wood, and Carol Stabile. They have been involved in my proJect from its earliest inception and have believed strongly in the value of my research approaches. Their encouragement gave me confidence to break new ground. My deepest gratitude goes to the many individuals who contributed to this project as ethnographic research participants, informants, and supporters. The development of this proJect would not have been possible without all of you. In particular, I wish to thank Elise for opening her home and her life to me, and Elise and Victor both for sharing their friendship networks, their fanzine archives, and the stories behind Politically Incorrect. Thanks also to Ken and Ann for being my “angels” in the polyamory community. In addition, I wish to thank the Bisexual Organizing ProJect (organizers of the BECAUSE Conference in Minneapolis) and the organizers of the PolyLiving Conference in Philadelphia for welcoming me into their community spaces and for supporting research on bisexuality. Thanks also to BiReCon USA and Console-ing Passions organizers for conference sessions that allowed me to preview dimensional sexuality and to receive positive feedback and support from my academic peers. Special thanks are due to the Center for the Study of Women in Society for awarding me the Jane C. Grant Dissertation Fellowship—a year of funding that made possible the completion of this dissertation. My thanks also to other University of Oregon sources that provided support for my research: the Norman Brown Graduate Fellowship, College of Arts & Sciences; the John R. Moore Scholarship, LGBT Education & Support Services; the Future of Minority Studies Research Award, Center for Race, Ethnicity, & viii Sexuality Studies; the Miller Family Scholarship, Department of Women’s & Gender Studies; and the Sherwood Research Award, Department of English. Research and travel funding was also provided by the Folklore Program and Department of English. Two chapters of my dissertation are versions of previously published materials. Chapter V is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Routledge/Taylor & Francis in Sexual and Relationship Therapy in August 2014, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14681994.2014.919377. Also, Chapter VI is an Accepted Manuscript of an article to be published by Taylor & Francis in the Journal of Bisexuality in a forthcoming special issue. Finally, my profoundest thanks to Dr. Peter Wollheim, long-time mentor and friend, and to all my friends and family who have provided their unconditional love and support throughout my long journey. Thank you, thank you, thank you all. ix For my sister, Pam. x TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1 II. POSITIONING BISEXUAL LIVES ............................................................... 29 III. SPECULATIVE NARRATIVES AS CULTURAL RESOURCES . 9 8 IV. “THE ZINE THAT YOUR LOVER WARNED YOU ABOUT!”: POSITIONING, NARRATIVES, AND BISEXUAL SCIENCE FICTION FANS............................................................................................... 140 V. DIMENSIONAL SEXUALITY: EXPLORING NEW FRAMEWORKS FOR BISEXUAL DESIRES ........................................................................... 197 VI. GAY, QUEER OR DIMENSIONAL? MODES OF READING BISEXUALITY ON TORCHWOOD .............................................................. 230 VII. READING DIMENSIONAL UNIVERSES: SAMUEL R. DELANY