Sex and Gender

In her book, The End of Sexuality Identity, Jenell Paris has an admirable goal: she wants to counter unfair judgment of gay people by doing away with sexual identity labels for everyone. But her approach is not without problems. Some traditionalists argue that using the terms “gay” or “lesbian” is always wrong—even if one is predominantly attracted to the same-sex. A significantly harmful aspect of the ex-gay movement was/is the deceptive phrase “I am no longer gay,” often stated despite continued same-sex attraction. Participants were counseled to only acknowledge an identity in Christ, leading to the false impression that their sexual orientation had changed. Conservative politicians have used these testimonies to fight basic survival rights for gay people (employment, housing, services), claiming that being gay is a choice. Using Paris’s book as a backdrop, I discuss the problem of trying to eliminate sexual identity.

Paris is concerned about the moral superiority that many straight Christians have that cause them to judge those who are gay. She believes the categories “heterosexual” and “homosexual” are unhelpful constructs that create unnecessary division between groups of people. Paris proposes an end to sexual identity. By refusing to take on a label of straight or gay, she hopes to level the playing field as each of us considers the other first and foremost as a human being created by God. Paris, a professor at Messiah College, tells her students that she is not heterosexual—even though she recognizes that her sexual identity is apparent (she is married with children, etc). She argues that she does not want to be heterosexual because she does not want a life of privilege in which other people are marginalized.

…

Review: The End of Sexual Identity by Jenell ParisRead More »