In the reading titled, "About 10 Percent of People are Gay or Lesbian" that was assigned for the class on Feb. 27th, Michael Bronski explains that this widely used statistic from the Kinsey Reports has been misused. This statistic was taken and sensationalized in news coverage following the publication of the release, which showed that the public did not grasp the point of the Kinsey Scale. The Scale was not meant to define what is gay and what is not gay but rather measure "all human sexual behavior" to create "a more complete picture of human sexuality" (12). Therefore, he strayed from identifying individuals as either homosexual behavior but behavior or desires as somewhere between the two of these categories. His conclusion was that "most people, in behavior and arousal, fell somewhere in between completely homosexual or hetereosexual" (12).
Interestingly enough, while I was browsing the news, I found this article titled: "Some 4.5% of the US adults identify as LGBT" https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-lgbt/some-4-5-percent-of-u-s-adults-identify-as-lgbt-study-idUSKCN1QM2L6
Aggregated from a study done recently from the UCLA School of Law, researchers attempted to measure homosexuality across regions, ethnicities, classes, and ages. According to Bronski, isn't this study again missing the point of the Kinsey Scale? Bronski claims that the tendency to develop these types of studies and statistics may be due to the idea that people like to feel comfortable knowing that there are others that are similar to them, especially when they can be discriminated against or feel like outcasts.
This leads me to a question: Is it more beneficial to the gay rights movement to devise clear categories like LGBTQ or to assume we all exist on a Kinsey Scale?
I think it's useful to acknowledge both the Kinsey-esque spectrum and clearly defined categories within the gay rights movement. The two aren't mutually exclusive. By asserting that everyone exists on a spectrum of sexuality, we are normalizing the fluidity of sexuality and this is a positive thing. And clearly defined categories (LGBTQIAA+) are also useful because they create space to build community within the movement. Essentially, both approaches serve an important purpose in the gay rights movement.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Nikki. While it's easy to want to know, is this the "right" way, or is THIS "right," we have to consider there might be multiple "rights." As with many identities, I think it can be important to consider the fluidity and spectrum in which people can identify and to also be cognizant that a lot of concepts have been socially constructed. BUT with that, I think it can be powerful and really important to have labels that people can identify with so that they feel like they have a community/people alike them. Also I think labels can be helpful for people in "explaining" themselves to others, even though you shouldn't have to, and reaching different audiences.
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