Orginally published in Crikey 9 August 2013.
In 1971, academic and queer activist Dennis Altman wrote the bookHomosexual: Oppression and Liberation. Positioned between the riots at Stonewall in 1969 and the expansion of the gay liberation movement in the 70s and 80s, Homosexual was in many ways before its time. Altman managed to predict the key trends within the queer movement and propose ways we can create community out of shared sexual identity – propositions that have often been followed through.
This year, Altman has followed up Homosexual with a sequel – The End of the Homosexual?
The question of the title comes directly from Altman’s original work. InHomosexual, Altman posited that a ‘homosexual identity’ had been developed through the ‘coming out’ of homosexuals. Seeking community and solidarity, homosexuals moved into the ‘gayworld’, defined by its queer spaces, and in turn created a distinct ‘homosexual identity’ defined by centuries of oppression. As coming out continued however, and oppression turned to acceptance, Altman argued that this distinct identity would eventually disappear. As we discard sexual ‘norms’, a new world would be opened up that doesn’t label people through their sexuality. In other words, as homosexuality becomes accepted into our society, sexuality will no longer form the basis of our identity. Altman argued that this would be ‘the end of the homosexual’. Now, 40 years later, The End of the Homosexual? reflects on this thesis, asking whether the ‘end of the homosexual’ has happened or is near.