ABSTRACT
When it comes to sexual identity, nothing is as “straight” as it seems. Today, when someone asks about a person’s sexuality, more often than not they are referring to whether the person is straight, bisexual, or gay. However, sexual orientation, or self-identification of sexuality based on the gender/sex of preferred partners, is only one aspect of sexuality. Recent research suggests that, although people may identify as one orientation or another, their narratives have a fluidity that challenges the notion of fixed sexual identities. Sexual fluidity refers to sexual experiences, desires, and fantasies that contradict static heterosexual or homosexual identities. For instance, many women report engaging in sexual encounters with, or some level of intimacy, fantasy, or desire for, other women during their lives. This essay will explore sexual fluidity by exploring the sexual histories of several women. My interviews suggest that a critical rethinking of how heterosexuals negotiate sexual identities is vital to understanding the social organization of sexuality in contemporary American society.
