On the Sociality of Sexual Identity: Exploring an Alternate Method

• In Event: 50661 - Section on Sociology of Sexualities Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 2: Making/Being in Communities

Abstract

Current research on sexual identity has revealed how it can serve as a way for individuals to communicate specific self-understandings that can be shaped by social forces such as cultural attitudes, community definitions, and political investments (Bradford 2004, Cipriano, Nguyen and Holland 2022, Yoshino 2000). With the proliferation of terms like bisexual, pansexual, and queer—grouped under the broader bi+ umbrella—it is necessary to consider the ways in which plurisexual identified people navigate identity through a combination of personal experiences and external social influences. These labels challenge monosexual and heteronormative frameworks, reflecting a deeper interplay between self-perception, societal expectations, and the stigma associated with certain sexual identities (Bradford 2004, Cipriano, Nguyen and Holland 2022, Gonzalez, Ramirez and Galupo 2017).
Sexual identity is inherently shaped by discourse, cultural attitudes, and stigmatizing narratives that individuals must account for in their interactions. Plurisexual labels provide ideal ground to examine social-relational forces that factor into an individual’s decision to identify with a specific sexual identity label. Because of the unique positionality that plurisexual identified individuals occupy in relation to hetero- and homonormative forces, and the social interactions through which they define, construct, and adopt their bi+ identities, I argue that centering social interactions in the study of sexual identity is necessary to provide new insights and expand on current sexual identity literature. To achieve this goal, I propose focus groups as an alternate data gathering technique that allows researchers to replicate social processes, center participant perceptions, and gather data at three different levels. Thus, allowing for a more profound understanding on how sexual identity labels are defined, constructed, and adopted in relation to cultural attitudes, perceptions, and normative understandings of gender and sexuality.

Author

• Jeiselynn Nichole Rios Rivera, Boston University