Same Sex Legalization in the Modern World:
As of December 2023, same sex marriage is legal in over 30 jurisdictions across the world, the most recent being Estonia. Two thirds of the countries that have legalized same sex marriage lie within Western Europe. As of now, Taiwan and South Africa are the only locations within their continents that same sex couples have the right to marry.
Queer Theory:
Within the last decade, primarily in the West, Queer Theory has been progressing throughout the public. Queer Theory, rather than advocating for “gay rights”, proposes the idea that a fixed sexuality is not realistic to all human beings.
Gender Identity:
Gender identity is a massive part of Queer Theory. Gender identity became a topic of discussion throughout the west during the “second wave” of feminism in the 1960’s and 70’s. Women within the movement presented gender as a social concept and began to speak about how assigned at birth sex is fixed but gender roles between men and women are fluid. Queer Theory has taken on the nickname of the “third wave” of feminism. According to Queer Theory, biological sex is also a fluid concept. The age-old ideals of “men” and “women” no longer apply. The idea of gender norms have been imposed on the general population for centuries and these define what makes a “girl” or “boy”. Children have been raised in a society where these made up expectations are enforced on them from a young age, compelling them to conform to a binary. Binary, meaning two ways of being. When in fact, gender and sex fall upon a spectrum. When a human baby is born, they are assigned a “sex”, based upon physical characteristics such as chromosomes and biology. Most often, male babies are assigned as “boys” and female babies are assigned as “girls”. There are some babies that have a combination of anatomies, there are endless possibilities for this case, such as having the outward appearance of a male but female internal reproductive organs. The term given to these individuals is Intersex. Humans that continue to identify with their assigned at birth sex are known as Cisgender. There are humans that feel contrary to this, that their assigned at birth sex does not represent who they are. Several identities that do not conform to the gender binary have been brought into the light within the last few decades. Some of these include:
Transgender - “a person whose gender identity, gender expression or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth” (American Psychological Association)
Nonbinary - “one term people use to describe genders that don’t fall into one of these two categories, male or female” (National Center for Transgender Equality)
Genderfluid - “ the gender a person identifies as changes over time” (Healthline)
Sexuality:
The term “queer” in the English language, originally had a sole definition of “strange” or “peculiar”. The term was then used in a derogatory fashion to alienate gay men following WWII. As we as a society have moved into the twenty-first century, the term has been reclaimed and now serves as an umbrella term for individuals who are “not straight”. Much like the gender spectrum, dozens of identities and titles have emerged within the past several decades. Previously, the assumption that was widely accepted was that people were either “gay” or “straight”. Queer Theory has brought to light that just like gender, sexuality is a spectrum and a fixed preference does not represent all human beings. The LGBTQIA+ community is constantly evolving and growing due to the fact that gender identity and sexuality are a fluid piece of humanity.
Some terms regarding sexuality are listed below and even more can be found in the resources listed at the bottom of the page.
Straight - “People who are heterosexual, or “straight,” typically feel sexual and romantic attraction toward people who are of a gender different than their own.” (Medical News Today)
Gay - “A person who identifies as gay typically only feels sexual attraction toward people of the same gender” (Medical News Today)
Lesbian - “ women who are primarily attracted romantically, erotically, and/or emotionally to other women” - (National LGBT Cancer Network)
Bisexual - “bisexual people are those who have the capacity to form attraction and/or relationships to more than one gender” (The Trevor Project)
Pansexual - “ Pansexuality is defined as an attraction to people of any gender or to people regardless of their gender, with the prefix pan- coming from the Greek prefix for “all.” (The Trevor Project)
Asexual - “experiencing little or no sexual attraction to others and/or a lack of interest in sexual relationships/behavior” (National LGBT Cancer Network)
Demisexual - “little or no capacity to experience sexual attraction until a strong romantic connection is formed with someone, often within a romantic relationship” (National LGBT Cancer Network)
Links for further reading:
Gay Marriage Around the World | Pew Research Center
Chart: Where Same-Sex Marriage Is Legal | Statista
What is intersex? | Intersex Society of North America (isna.org)
Queer Theory on the Rise - Lausanne Movement
Understanding Gender Identities | The Trevor Project
Answers to your questions about transgender people, gender identity, and gender expression (apa.org)
9 FAQs About Being Gender-Fluid: Other Terms, Pronouns, and More (healthline.com)
Understanding Bisexuality | The Trevor Project
LGBT Terminology Resource - National LGBT Cancer Network (cancer-network.org)