Ross examines how in the field of queer theory, there is a dominant narrative of 'coming out of the closet' among same-sex loving people (he sometimes uses the term intragender) that is used to describe both a historical timeline and one's own personal experience, and how this narrative has an inherent notion of universality. He shows how this narrative might not be as relevant to groups of people as it is to middle-class metropolitan white gays, and in order to reflect a truer, more nuanced picture of same-sex loving peoples and their histories, and to offer a queer theory that is more relevant to people of different cultures, races, and classes, the construct of the closet, and the belief of its universal significance (called claustrophilia), needs to be questioned. The dominant history of 'modern' same-sex loving people, from Molly houses to Oscar Wilde to Foucault, is structured around Euro-American experience with an inherent theme of progression, leading up to the Stonewall riots as the symbolic event of 'coming out.' Ross examines how the idea of progress intersects with colonialism, modernity, and European exceptionalism and their framework of 'advanced' cultures and 'non-advanced' ones, and how this leads to a focus on the individual histories of upper-class whites as they are considered more progressed than "[p]rimatives, savages, the poor, and those uneducated in the long history of epistemology."
I appreciated this reading because it shows us that there are alternatives to the narrative of coming out that are just as valid (and also this reading doesn't feel the need to dismantle same-sex loving people as a legitimate identity with subjectivity and agency, it just complicates it). I've always thought that my experience was strange because I had never gone through any significant event that could be described as coming out of the closet, but this reading affirmed that my experience isn't strange at all, and 'the closet' is just a constructed metaphor that doesn't always apply to everyone. I also think that since reading this text, I can approach our other readings in a more nuanced way by appreciating that any of the experiences of people of different cultures, races, and classes might not be reducible to any grand narrative, regardless of it being about coming out or not.
Questions:
– Do you think the narrative of coming out of the closet has lost relevance? Has it ever been relevant?
– Ross cites a study done in the 90s in Harlem that among same-sex loving black people, instead of a closet binary, there was something more like a "continuum of knowing that persists at various levels according to kin and friendship relations within the community." What would be your alternative to the closet paradigm, as someone coming from your culture, community, and life experiences?
–This reading was published almost ten years ago; do you think since then, the closet paradigm has become unpacked, thus causing queer theory to become more inclusive, like Ross said it would?
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ReplyDeleteI think the narrative surrounding “coming out of the closet” is becoming increasingly irrelevant, but hasn’t reached the point of completely dissipating from society. As Ross shows, there were ideas in the 19th century surrounding how to scientifically distinguish “typical” Anglo-Saxon males from homosexual Anglo-Saxon males: “While the perceived racial difference of an African or Asian male could be used to explain any putatively observed sexual deviance, racial sameness becomes ground zero for the observed split between heterosexual and homosexual Anglo-Saxon men.” This seems ridiculous in the modern age because it attempts to force the closet paradigm (defined in this piece as being a way to explain an “invisible anatomical species difference”) on white non-heterosexual people - because they are non-heterosexual but also white, they must be a variation on our species, which is degrading on a basic human level. On the same note, racism has not dissolved completely, but has also lost a large following over the years as some “facts” used to propagate differences between whites and all other non-whites were ridiculed, disproven, and became outdated. “Coming out of the closet” implied that people who identify as anything but heterosexual had something that separated them from the rest of the species and that could be backed up by pseudo-science. This was relevant with respect to similar views of race in the 19th century, but to the generally educated population today, it doesn’t hold any water.
ReplyDeleteI think this metaphor of coming out of the closet is still quite relevant today. Though the sort of Eugenicist ideas of being able to distinguish one race from another are slowly on the way out, there is still common rhetoric of all queer persons having to "come out." We have discussed in class before the questions Janet Mock receives in interviews, and how she is always asked questions about "when she knew." There is always an assumption that there was a realization of the closet and a consequential "coming out." Even though "coming out" tends to be a repetitive and constant part of a queer person's life (because of our heteronormative society,) our society persists with this idea that there is a closet, and one grand exit from it. I think this is also still true in regards to our view of queer history in general. I think the dominant understanding of queer history is that all of queer society was "closeted" until Stonewall and Harvey Milk and then the whole demographic of queer people "came out" and now we can fight for gay marriage. This is obviously a false narrative that ignores so many stories and lived experiences specifically those of people of color. But If you watch the most popular media (I am thinking of media such as Macklemore's same love) it seems to me this is still the dominant understanding.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the first question, I agree with Jessie that the idea of coming out of the closet is losing relevance. However, I think the relevance of coming out depends on several factors, including how you identify and who you're coming out to. As a queer women who grew up in a very queer-friendly and has a supportive family, I barely "came out." I recognize that this is an experience unique to me, but it was definitely influenced by the fact that I grew up in a place where people's sexualities were not assumed. Similarly, some people may feel a greater need to come out to certain people than others. As our society continues to become more aware of sexuality, I feel that heterosexuality is not assumed as often, and therefore is making coming out more obsolete. It still, however, has a place, especially in less liberal places.
ReplyDeleteI also think it's important to recognize the narrative of coming out not just as personal (something that cannot be individually render (ir)relevant, but in this instance historiographic. That the way we construct queer histories is based around this central assumption and framework (grounded as Ross points it out a European-white-classist ideology) and this modernist approach can do with some revisionism perhaps. Collective narratives are constructed so the notion of how we are able to parse them and utilize these histories must be carefully examined.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 1: Because of a friend who is struggling to accept his sexuality, I have thought a lot recently about what coming out of the closet means. I think the idea of "coming out" is very relevant still. It will be that way until people stop looking at heterosexuality as the default and as the normal form of sexuality. On a personal level, I don't think coming out publicly is anywhere near as important as "coming out to yourself". The way I see it, queer people don't owe society and shouldn't need to declare anything. Being comfortable with yourself is definitely more important to me. However, I also recognize the positive political implications of coming out. As more high profile people make their queer sexualities/genders known through the media, the general public becomes more aware and queer adolescents have more people to look up to. Ironically, for now, this form of coming out is one of the best ways to work towards a world where coming out isn't necessary.
ReplyDeleteOne of your points in particular resonated with me: the difference between coming out to yourself and coming out publicly. I think that the "closet paradigm" is just as relevant as ever, but within a different social context. Above all, it is purely individual. Your identity is yours and yours alone, and if part of the self-acceptance process for you involves coming out publicly: great! However, that is, in my eyes, a major distinction between our generation and others. We veer more toward individualism – how you identify and how you choose to show it is purely up to you – than the mindset that a paradigm in and of itself instates. On a public level, I am "out" in some places and not in others; however, I am out to myself, and I think that distinction is not only important but empowering as well.
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ReplyDeleteI thought reading this article was very enlightening about the closet narrative has been being primarily that of an “Anglo-Saxon” gay male. Ross gives the example of Black gay men in Harlem not having to come out because “folks their social networks had gradually taken for granted their sexual orientation” (179). I had never considered coming out of the closet to be such a culturally driven occurrence. Being a white queer individual, I also took the route of this coming out approach. It was expected of me. I’d been told by society that it was the only proper way to do things in order to “be free” and feel better about myself. I’m realizing now since I’ve been at college that there isn’t so much of a closet structure here. My existence does not revolve around be revealing my sexual identity to people as if they didn’t already know. Then again, this coming out narrative doesn’t necessarily apply because I am white and perceived as androgynous or “more masculine” looking, which already makes people assume that I am queer. Society and white culture has expected me to “come out” to others, but it has also exempted me from this model later on in life. While Ross says that Black gay men (specifically) may not have the coming out narrative as part of their lives, Ross does not cover how any other examples of colored people with many other identities deal with sexual identity in their culture (though he does bring up how race is a major factor in identifying people, which I will bring up after this very long paragraph). The intersectionality of identities leads to a huge variety of possibilities when it comes to experiencing this “coming out process” and when it comes to sharing more taboo identities with others. The variety of makes Ross’ claims about the closet paradigm seem slightly one sided, but completely valid for the specific example he gave. I would like to know if other people of color are subjected to/exempt from this closet paradigm (or any variation of it). I’m also curious about what other people’s experiences are at college and/or in the past.
ReplyDeleteI believe "coming out" is becoming irrelevant in half of the LGBTQ community and the other half it is still very much alive. For lesbians, gay men of color, and trans* people they were born with certain obstacles in this country (being female, a race other than white, or identifying themselves as a gender other than male/female). These people may feel empowered by being true to themselves and expressing their sexuality without having to "come out" and their friends and families may not talk about it or even acknowledge their sexuality due to the oppressive societal norms they, too, experience. On the other hand, white gay men may use the term "coming out" more so than the members of the LGBTQ mentioned above. White men can hide behind their identity of being white and male in America and as long as they play by the rules, they nothing to lose and everything to gain. Being "in the closet" can help propel white gay men to extraordinary heights and only then do they have to freedom to "come out" of the closet by having nothing to lose.
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