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Ohiou1148520142.Pdf (1.17 WHO ‘WEARS THE PANTS’?: BISEXUALS’ PERFORMANCES OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts P. Suzanne Pennington June 2006 This thesis entitled WHO ‘WEARS THE PANTS’?: BISEXUALS’ PERFORMANCES OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS by P. SUZANNE PENNINGTON has been approved for the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the College of Arts and Sciences by Christine L. Mattley Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology Benjamin M. Ogles Dean, College of Arts and Sciences Abstract PENNINGTON, P. SUZANNE, M.A., June 2006, Sociology WHO ‘WEARS THE PANTS’?: BISEXUALS’ PERFORMANCES OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS (170 pp.) Director of Thesis: Christine L. Mattley Employing the concept of gender as a situated performance, my research explores negotiations of gender performances by bisexuals in interpersonal relationships and how such performances may alter due to the sex/gender of their partner. Previous studies of gender performance have primarily focused on heterosexual women and men. Also, the existing research on bisexuality has largely concentrated on the gender of bisexuals’ relationship partners, particularly the perceived differences between women and men. By focusing on the gender performances of bisexuals themselves, this research is a contribution to the budding academic literature on bisexuality as well as the sociological study of gender. I examine how bisexuals utilize traditional scripts of femininity and masculinity in their relationships with women and men. Also, due to the dichotomization of heterosexuality and homosexuality, male/female sexes, and the corresponding genders of masculinity and femininity, bisexuals must negotiate an alteration of traditional performances of gender and sexuality. Approved: Christine L. Mattley Associate Professor, Sociology and Anthropology Acknowledgements Over the course of the two years in which this research evolved, numerous individuals have offered me considerable guidance and assistance with this work. I foremostly acknowledge my advisor, Dr. Christine Mattley, for her ongoing enthusiasm in support of this project and the many insightful and rejuvenating meetings that facilitated my work. I would like to thank my additional committee members, Dr. Michelle Brown and Dr. Deborah Thorne, for reviewing the final stages of this project and providing helpful feedback. Also, I thank Dr. Robert Shelly for his invaluable professional direction and personal guidance throughout the extent of my studies in the master’s program. My family and close friends deserve special recognition for all of the various ways in which they have supported me throughout this research. I am grateful to have such caring people surrounding me and helping me take care of the everyday things, as well as keeping me smiling. Also, I would like to express my deep appreciation for all the participants who volunteered to share their time and personal lives with me. I thank my respondents for making this research possible. To my father, who taught in Bentley Hall long before me; and to my mother, who makes everything possible. 6 Table of Contents Page Abstract................................................................................................................................3 Acknowledgements..............................................................................................................4 List of Tables .......................................................................................................................8 Part I: Overview of Research ...........................................................................................9 Introduction..................................................................................................................... 9 Inspiration for Research: The Bifurcation of Gender and Power ............................ 11 Methodology ............................................................................................................. 12 Caveats...................................................................................................................... 16 Contextualizing the Research: Literature Review ........................................................ 21 The Sex/Gender Debate: Social Constructionist Theories of Gender ...................... 21 Sexuality and Gender: The Social Construction of Sexuality................................... 26 Bisexuality and Gender............................................................................................. 32 Bisexuality: A Revolution of Gender and Sexuality?................................................ 37 Part II: Gender Ideology: How Bisexuals Think about Gender .................................40 Traditional Gender Ideologies ...................................................................................... 43 Traditional Differences between Women and Men................................................... 43 Traditional Gender of Respondent............................................................................ 46 Awareness of Gender Ideology ................................................................................. 48 Resisting Traditional Ideologies ................................................................................... 50 Critique of Dominant Gender Ideologies ................................................................. 51 Anticipation for Change............................................................................................ 54 Reconceptualizing Gender........................................................................................ 56 Part III: How Bisexuals ‘Do’ Gender in Romantic Relationships ..............................60 Traditional Gender Performances................................................................................. 61 Always Feminine Women, Always Masculine Men................................................... 62 Traditional Gender Performances: ‘Easy’, ‘Natural,’ and ‘Obvious’..................... 64 Resistance to Traditional Gender Scripts................................................................. 67 AC/DC Gender Performances....................................................................................... 71 Fluid Gender Performances ..................................................................................... 71 Female Bisexuals’ Transitive Gender Performances ............................................... 74 Who ‘Wears the Pants’ in Same-Sex Relationships?................................................ 78 Alternate Performances with Same-Sex Partners..................................................... 84 Batman and Robin: Beyond Sex/Gender ...................................................................... 89 Previous Relationship Experience ............................................................................ 90 Age Difference .......................................................................................................... 92 Physical Stature ........................................................................................................ 94 7 Page Part IV: Before a Relationship Can Begin…Finding a Partner..................................97 Dichotomous Genders and Sexualities: What is the Gender of Bisexuality?............... 98 Gender Performances as Performances of Sexuality ............................................. 102 Look Both Ways: Looking Bi .................................................................................. 106 Signaling ................................................................................................................. 115 Signaling via Symbols. ....................................................................................... 116 Signaling via Performances of Gender. .............................................................. 118 Gendered Access to Potential Partners ....................................................................... 120 The Masculine Male’s Dilemma ............................................................................. 121 Attraction: The Gender/Sexuality Performances of Potential Partners ...................... 125 Attraction to Traditional Gender............................................................................. 125 Attraction to Gender-Benders................................................................................. 132 Attraction is Not Gendered ..................................................................................... 136 Part V: Conclusion ........................................................................................................140 Summary of Findings.................................................................................................. 140 Future Elaboration ...................................................................................................... 142 Female vs. Male Bisexuality: Performances of Gender and Sexuality................... 142 The ‘Road to Bi-Dom’: The Contested Terrain of Bisexual Identity...................... 151 ‘Mutual’ Imbalances of Power?: Discursive Inconsistencies ................................ 157 Closing ........................................................................................................................ 159 References........................................................................................................................162
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