The Politics of Identity in Lesbian and Gay Anthropology

Authors

  • Andrea Kleinhuber

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15173/nexus.v14i1.171

Abstract

This paper provides a review of the anthology Out in the Field: Reflections of Lesbian and Gay Anthropologists (Lewin and Leap 1996a). In discussing their experiences as gay men and lesbians involved in anthropological work, the contributors to this volume address issues of identity management, ethical dilemmas, questions of representation, and the implications that their sexual identity has on the way they conduct fieldwork, particularly on how they relate to their subjects. The authors argue that lesbian and gay anthropologists have a different subject position, a different perspective on their work, and different ways of practicing anthropology than their heterosexual colleagues. The focus of this paper is an examination and critique of these claims and the politics of identity on which they are based. I argue that this politics is based on a problematic understanding of identity that remains trapped within a binary construction of sexual identity and uncritically applies labels such as 'gay' or 'lesbian' to people who do not understand themselves in these terms. Its emphasis on sameness obscures significant differences between researchers and researched and avoids dealing with questions of power in research. I conclude with a brief outline of a 'queer' commentary on such lesbian and gay identity politics and its failure to provide an effective critique of heterosexism and normative identity constructions.

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Published

2000-01-01

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Section

Articles