Bisexual, pansexual, queer: Non-binary identities and the sexual borderlands

Abstract

This article focuses on sexualities in the USA that exist within the border between heterosexuality and homosexuality. I first examine the usefulness of applying borderland theory to non-gay/non-straight sexualities such as queer and bisexual. I then give an ethnographic analysis of sexual self-identities on the borders, shedding light on how participants envisioned labels such as ‘pansexual,’ and ‘heteroflexible.’ Finally, I explore the ways that the sexual borderlands became tangible in Lexington, Kentucky at certain events and locations. Throughout, I highlight the ways that the sexual borderland touches on all sexualities, as individuals knowingly cross, inhabit, or bolster sexual identity borders.