Abstract
Sexuality studies have been moving toward a research program that emphasizes sexualities as part of the intersectional study of identity categories, such as race, class, and gender for over two decades now (Gamson and Moon, 2004; Taylor, 2007). On one hand, intersectional understandings of sexualities complicate and better capture individuals’ lived experiences. Yet, on the other hand, intersectionality points to a potentially endless process of multiplying identity categories indefinitely. Consequentially, intersectionality can end up recapitulating the same essentialist epistemology of experience framework that constitutes focusing on a single identity category (Clough, 1994; Seidman, 2007). To this end, I explore the benefits and limits of intersectionality for sexuality studies, highlighting my theoretical points with a US-based case study of racial heterosexual masculinities.
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© 2010 James Joseph Dean
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Dean, J.J. (2010). Thinking Intersectionality: Sexualities and the Politics of Multiple Identities. In: Taylor, Y., Hines, S., Casey, M.E. (eds) Theorizing Intersectionality and Sexuality. Genders and Sexualities in the Social Sciences. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230304093_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230304093_7
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