Performing “Of” and “In”: Charting a Body of Ambiguous Performances

摘要

This essay explores how masculinist discourses constitute and challenge desire in non-normative heterosexual bodies by performing acts of social discipline. My intent in this essay is not to uphold a homo/hetero binary while claiming that sexuality is fluid. Instead, I attempt to address performances of sexuality that do not necessarily adhere to comparative discourses, such as representations of masculinity and femininity, in order to locate and theorize performances that may fall outside of these spheres of comparison. I offer an additional term, “in,” to be considered along with the often-used term “of” when addressing performances of sexuality, in order to guide the reader's understanding of how I have negotiated the constitution of my body.