Meaning of Sexual Identity in the Twenty-First Century

"e;Something happened in the 1990s"e;; a group of people who were perceived as radical and "e;unmentionable"e; were transformed into a group of people who deserved human rights, and, if you looked close enough, were "e;normal,"e; just like everybody else (John D'Emilio (2002). Had a "e;post-gay era"e; (Ghaziani, 2011) begun? And if so, how might this impact on the meaning of sexual identity and a political movement steeped in identity politics? Have the LGBT youth of today been "e;duped into conformity because they believe the media's representation of their lives?"e; (to quote Sarah Shulman). The articles gathered here address, from a wide variety of perspectives, the question of sexual identity for LGBT people in an era when sexual identity is seen by some as obsolescent. In the opening essay, Ritch Savin-Williams asks whether "e;young people with same-sex desires are basically content with modern culture and don't desire a critical analysis."e; This volume considers this question and others in relation to identity, fluidity, ambisexuality, a reluctance to label sexuality, and the possible irrelevance of sexual orientation in the 21st century. Contributors explore postulations in contexts that include same-sex topics in high school teaching; rural queers; the nature of art installations and same-sex desires; post-AIDS literature; contemporary Russian film and online chat rooms; and the Boy Scouts of America. The essays offer compelling debates about the current state of the discourse about sexual identity in the 21st century.