Getting Over It

Edmund Coleman-Fountain*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

This chapter reflects on the identities that young lesbians and gay men seek at a time of shifting attitudes to lesbian and gay identities. Transformations are occurring generally, although they are far from even (Weeks, 2007), and have been linked to the emergence of new identity narratives for young lesbians and gay men, who seek to go beyond the difference that liberation era identity labels denote, towards a more inclusive identity politics (Cohler and Hammack, 2007; Ghaziani, 2011). This is supported on the other side (so to speak) as transformations in the gender practices of heterosexual young people (notably young men) are, in some places, seen as becoming more ‘inclusive’ (McCormack, 2012). In particular, a growing resistance to labels is taken to indicate an emerging ‘post-gay’ era in which ‘sexual identity categories are becoming less relevant than in the past’ for young people (Lewis et al., 2013: 2.1).

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationGenders and Sexualities in the Social Sciences
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
Pages67-90
Number of pages24
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014
Externally publishedYes

Publication series

NameGenders and Sexualities in the Social Sciences
ISSN (Print)2947-8782
ISSN (Electronic)2947-8790

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2014, Edmund Coleman-Fountain.

Keywords

  • Gender Practice
  • Heterosexual Peer
  • Narrative Identity
  • Sexual Difference
  • Young People

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