Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Sociology Dissertations Department of Sociology Winter 12-16-2011 Coming Out Narratives: Realities of Intersectionality Marni A. Brown Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/sociology_diss Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Brown, Marni A., "Coming Out Narratives: Realities of Intersectionality." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2011. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/sociology_diss/63 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Sociology at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sociology Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COMING OUT NARRATIVES: REALITIES OF INTERSECTIONALITY by MARNI ALYSON BROWN Under the Direction of Dawn M. Baunach ABSTRACT Coming out of the closet and sharing a disclosure narrative is considered an essential act to becoming gay (Jagose 1996; Meeks 2006). Although coming out experiences vary by time and place, sexuality scholars note the assumed difficulties when claiming a non-heteronormative identity, including stress, isolation, and rejection (Chauncey 1994; Faderman 1991; Herdt 1993; 1996; Savin-Williams and Ream 2003). In the late 1990s, a post-closet framework emerged arguing that coming out of the closet has become more common and less difficult; “American homosexuals have normalized and routinized their homosexuality to a degree where the closet plays a lesser role in their lives” (Seidman Meeks and Traschen 1999:19). Moreover, post- gay activists and writers such as James Collard (1998) contended that being and doing gay “authentically” involves moving past oppression and despair and living an openly gay life. In light of such arguments, this dissertation research was constructed to explore coming out experiences. I collected 60 narratives from self- identified lesbians and gay men living in Atlanta, New York, and Miami and analyzed these narratives using an intersectional framework. Intersectionality highlights the ways in which multiple dimensions of socially constructed relationships and categories interact, shaping simultaneous levels of social inequality (Crenshaw 1989; 1995). Through the multiple and sometimes complicated intersections of race, class, gender, capital, place, religion, and the body, my analysis exposes institutional and interactional dimensions of power, privilege, and oppression in coming out narratives. Indeed, the kind of "American" or "routinized" homosexuality described by post-closet scholars privileges white, non-gender conforming, middle-class individuals, most often male and urban. Coming out stories that express or embody elements of non-normativity are marginalized and marked as different. In conclusion, intersectionality exposes how privilege functions as a dimension to coming out stories, leading to marginalization and oppression amongst already discriminated identities. INDEX WORDS: Coming out, Intersectionality, Post-closet, Gay, Lesbian, Normativity, Privilege, Marginalization COMING OUT NARRATIVES: REALITIES OF INTERSECTIONALITY by MARNI ALYSON BROWN A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor in Philosophy In the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2011 Copyright by Marni A. Brown 2011 COMING OUT NARRATIVES: REALITIES OF INTERSECTIONALITY by MARNI ALYSON BROWN Committee Chair: Dawn M. Baunach Committee: Griff Tester Don Reitzes Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University December 2011 DEDICATION I dedicate this project to my beloved wife, Casey Brown. Your unconditional love and support has helped me get through this exhausting, daunting, and amazing experience. “I am my beloved and my beloved is mine.” To my mother Genie, you taught me “to reach for the moon; if I fall I will be dancing among the stars.” Thank you for advising me to be honest with myself and to accept change. To my father and friend Jeff, your trust and encouragement have been instrumental in my success. Without my parents’ love I would not be the individual I am today. Thank you for loving me for who I am. To my brother and best friend Jason, “who would have known that mom and dad only ‘breed gay,’ lucky them!” You inspire me! I love you. To my Grandma Edna, the matriarch of our family and first influential feminist in my life, you have taught me that life is about love and education. I am forever grateful for our long talks. I will be forever grateful to my chair, Dawn Baunach. Dawn, you provided me the space to grow with this project. Thank you for the support and encouragement to find my sociological self. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful for the help and encouragement of Griff Tester, Don Reitzes, Adia Wingfield- Harvey, Memo Konrad, Amanda Jungels, and Breeanne Cloudus. Your insightful contributions helped me turn this project into an intersectional work of sociological art. Melissa Metcalf, thank you for the support, advice, friendship, and insight throughout the duration of this project. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS v 1 HISTORY AND BACKGROUND 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Heterosexuality 3 1.3 Heteronormativity 8 1.4 Post-Gay and Post-Closet Discourse 17 2 THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES 25 2.1 Capital and Class 27 2.2 Beyond Racial Binaries 30 2.3 Place Matters 35 2.4 The South: One Place, Multiple Meanings and Possibilities 40 2.5 Patriarchy, Feminist Theory, and Gendered Embodiment 42 3 METHODOLOGY 55 3.1 Narrative Analysis 55 3.2 Who is a Narrative Analyst? 57 3.3 History of Narrative Analysis 58 3.4 Sociological Applications of Narrative Analysis 62 3.5 Narrative Analysis and Coming Out Stories 65 3.6 Sample Description 69 3.7 How to Conduct Narrative Analysis 70 3.8 Limitations and Realities of Narrative Analysis 73 3.9 Journal Example 74 vi 3.10 Narrative Example 77 4 COMING OUT AND TODAY'S CLOSET 81 4.1 Neil, Rachel, and Cole 82 4.2 Michelle, Erin, and Jamie 85 4.3 Steve: One More Narrative 91 5 STORIES OF PRIVILEGE AND EXCLUSION 97 5.1 Ben: Introduction 97 5.2 Claire: Class, Capital, Privilege, and Race 99 5.3 Marsha and Rhonda: Marginalization and Oppression 105 5.4 Arvind and Ian: Multiple Intersections of Invisibility 110 5.5 Jim: Moving Forward with Intersectionality 115 6 INTERSECTIONS OF RACE, SEXUALITY, AND PLACE 120 6.1 Courtney: Mississippi and Coming Out in the South 120 6.2 Kris: New York City and Intersections of Race and Place 123 6.3 Meg, Alaine, and Ken: Welcome to the Bible Belt 129 6.4 Conclusion: Intersections Matter 139 7 FEMININE MASCULINITY 141 7.1 Travis: Introduction 141 7.2 David: Masculinity, Violence, and Fear 145 7.3 Locating Gendered Narratives 150 8 CONCLUSION 156 8.1 Intersectionality and Coming Out 156 8.2 Why this Project? 160 vii 8.3 Influencing Factors 165 8.4 Limitations 167 8.5 Policy Implications 168 REFERENCES 170 viii CHAPTER 1: HISTORY AND BACKGROUND Introduction Sexuality has always mattered to western society (D’Emilio and Faderman 1998; Tiefer 2004); it plays a vital role in reproduction and capitalism while also defining gender roles and social interactions. Western sexuality is based upon Judeo-Christian doctrine, puritanical principles, and patriarchal rhetoric (D’Emilio and Faderman 1998; Seidman 1993; 2002). Sexuality defined by faith and biological gender roles views sex and gender as inherent components of human identity; “sexuality is the most natural thing about us” (Weeks 1986:4). Thus, in its myriad of purposes, including reproduction, family life, the division of labor, and intimacy, sexuality is rarely challenged (Fausto-Sterling 2000). Invisible yet dominant, sexuality is functional to the order of society (Richardson and Seidman 1993; 2002; Seidman 2002). Historically and currently, sexuality has been discussed and understood in relation to gender and sex. All three categories—sexuality, gender, and sex—are contentious, existing at the heart of many social, political, cultural, moral, and religious debates. Social institutions such as medicine, politics, and religion attempt to remain the dominant force in defining the boundaries, rules, and regulations pertaining to sexuality, gender, and sex. Reproduction, family practices, and labor markets justify medical, political, and religious structures’ legitimization of sexuality, gender, and sex as natural and inherent to the human body. However, feminist, post- structuralist, queer, and social constructionist frameworks challenge assumption of sexuality as inherent and natural. Feminist, post-structuralist, and social constructionist scholars claim that sexuality is a social product, a social fiction, as well as a hegemonic construction created out of cultural meanings, social relationships, and power politics (Butler 1990; Lorber 1994; Martin 1 1994). Thus, sexuality is influenced by cultural and political power structures, creating social norms and scripts. Social constructionism is a “multi-layered and multifaceted process” (Jackson 2006). It explains multiple experiences and positions in society by challenging all that is assumed to be natural. That is why feminist and social constructionist scholar Judith Lorber argues in her groundbreaking work Paradoxes of Gender, “for humans the social is the natural” (Lorber 1994; 2010:117). Natural rhetoric is privileged and disguised as normal,