University of California, Riverside associate professor Brandon Robinson argued that a sexual identity label like “gay” or “lesbian” “harms trans people” and called for abolishing sexual identities altogether.
While promoting the book “Trans Pleasure: On Gender Liberation and Sexual Freedom,” Robinson, a member of the Gender & Sexuality Studies Department, spoke with UC Riverside about gender identities on Friday.
Robinson, who uses they/them pronouns, explained the importance of moving beyond “gender essentialism” from sexual identities, which the professor claims can be built around gender “stereotypes.”
“If being ‘gay’ means being a man attracted to men, it assumes ‘man’ is a stable, inherent category, when history shows the definition of manhood is constantly changing,” Robinson said. “Gender essentialism also harms trans people, who often complicate those binary boundaries.”
Robinson included traditional labels like “gay” or “lesbian” as ones to abolish, wanting readers to question “why we privilege gender and genitals above all other attributes” in our desires.
“I think the risk is worth it. While those communities are important, moving beyond those labels allows us to see people more accurately. It leads to a more complex — and more biologically accurate — understanding of ourselves as human beings. It allows us to explore our desires beyond labels that often confine and constrain us. And it allows us to explore our desires beyond shame that often comes with many labels as well,” Robinson said
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