Accounting for sexuality

P. Reynolds

One of the foremost social struggles of the last thirty-five years has been the struggle for equality, rights and social justice for non-heterosexual people. Principally, this has been represented by legal, legislative and political struggles around the 'rights claims' of gay men, but these struggles have extended to lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered and transsexual people and others whose sexual identity departs from the 'norm' of heterosexuality. In response, official agencies that produce demographic data have continuously failed to ask questions about sexuality. The purpose of this brief discussion has been to make the point that the National Census (British Census 2001 and USA Census 200) does not account for sexuality. Whilst this might be defensible in heteronormative terms, recent struggles that have brought diverse sexual identities into the public arena from their pathologising and exclusion are challenging that assumption. Whilst heteronormativity is still the dominant valoration of sexual difference and diversity, the emergence of diverse sexual identities from the shadows and margins requires a revolution. This revolution will be neither bloody nor violent (though it has its moments) but based upon the demystification and deconstruction of heteronormative characterisations of the 'other'. The development of bodies of knowledge that challenge heteronormative assumptions will be a key element of this revolution.