Media Perception of Sexuality

Lane Moore is the author of the article entitled “Why I Won’t Label My Sexuality” in the Cosmopolitan. She says that she has dated from almost every imaginable gender. However, she would not consider herself bisexual. People who are neither straight nor gay are universally known as bisexuals. According to her, all the titles come with unappealing baggage. Bisexuals are viewed as people who are undecided in terms of sexual identity. Lesbians are known to be attracted to women only.

Otherwise, you are not a lesbian while straight people are considered as those entirely attracted to the opposite sex (Adams, 2016).

The author acknowledges that she is not a straight person and is an advocate of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ). She understands the significance of LGBTQ’s visibility and that coming out is powerful because it made LGBTQ people feel much better and included. The author states that people who do not fall under any category do not have to pick one to officially feel like they are part of a community, even if it is the LGBTQ community. She feels the urgent need to select a category. Otherwise, she is straight by default, and if she
cannot decide, something is wrong with her or she will identify as queer, whose meaning most people still don’t know and LGBT people perceive as offensive (Gagnon & Simon, 2017).

The author feels that the world pushes people to pick a side for identification and reveal what it is. She feels the urge to pick a category too, and she is forced to dodge the pronouns of the people she is dating from the friends who know her to date only one gender. She admires people who do not feel pressured to pick a side since it is okay to be attracted to anyone (Budnick, 2016). Some people do not fall under any category, and it is difficult for them to come into terms with that fact and to find a place in the society where they are comfortable. However, they do eventually. Carrie Brownstein does not identify herself as bisexual despite having dated both men and women. She hates the sexuality categories. According to her the relationships she enters identify her and not sexuality.

The author agrees that in a relationship, gender is not the defining factor. A self –identified straight girl having feelings for her female best friend is possible and so is a self-identified lesbian thinking that a certain male is attractive. According to the author, you have a choice of the labels you want, who to show, and when to change the labels, if they do. No one is just one of anything (Dixson, 2015). What you are now will not change a few moments later just because you did something different. The author also thinks that many people more sexually fluid than they think but are so scared of the meaning and what to do about it. She tells them that they do not have to take action.

In my opinion, the author represents sexuality appropriately. Sexuality entails sexual ways of people experiencing and expressing themselves. The author’s perspective on sexuality removes the element of judgment. She levels the playing ground for people who identify with all kinds of sexuality including the queer such that every type of sexuality is accommodated and no sexuality is better than the other (Bancroft, 2009). She asserts her views with confidence because she understands what living in denial means or feels.

Coming out is essential, and in a society where everyone is accepted regardless of their sexuality, people are living up to their full potential, for instance, gay celebrities such as Ellen Page. Additionally, it should not be so strange that a self-identified straight person can feel attracted to a person of the same sex or even a lesbian feeling attracted to a man and vice versa. It is perfectly normal to feel confused and worry when caught up in such emotional situations, but no one should feel pressured to pick a side if they are not comfortable with any of the labels. You have the power over the label you want and only you can make other people give you labels (Bancroft, 2009).

The author’s information is correct and unbiased. According to her, regardless of sexuality, you identify yourself with; you should feel free to explore every corner where your feelings lead you. Other people may not appreciate it, but it is worth it as long as you are comfortable (Dixson, 2015). Although the author understands the turmoil that people who are not sure of their personality experience, it saddens her that straight people feel unsettled when they feel attracted to people of the same sex.

The desperation of the world sways them into wanting to know what they are precisely in terms of sexual identity. The author swims in the same boat and faces the same waves. Sometimes she has to withhold information from her friends because of the fear of judgment. Friends who know that she dates people of the male gender will be curious if they find out that she is dating a woman. The opposite is true. Gender should not be the identifying factor in a relationship (Adams, 2016).

In my opinion, the author has contributed to a better understanding of human sexuality. People can experience and respond to erotically. It is factual to say that among other aspects, sexuality makes us human. By virtue of being human, people can feel attracted to other people of the opposite sex, same sex or both genders. It is not a crime to be homosexual, heterosexual or bisexual. People are born that way, and sexual identity does not need a label. The LGBTQ community is playing a significant role in encouraging people to come out and embrace their sexuality. Conclusively, the type of relationship one has should be the identifier and not sexuality (Adams, 2016).

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