In response to my last entry, somebody at the Born This Way blog wrote:
You just spent a lot of time saying “Cynthia Nixon is bisexual” - which is all she should have said in the first place. Just sayin’….”
First, I have no idea how this person left a comment. I didn’t even think you could leave comments on Tumblr. Second, the commenter’s well-intended response has incited me to share a lengthier conversation I had about the topic on my Facebook page. I share more of my reaction to the controversy because, despite the commenter’s sentiments, Nixon ABSOLUTELY SHOULD NOT have just claimed she was bisexual. Moreover, my initial post wasn’t simply a long-winded way of saying, “Cynthia Nixon is bisexual.” The response to my initial post engenders the criticism I originally articulated, namely that Nixon’s detractors have a very narrow understanding of LGBTQ identity politics and theory, which is only exemplified by a respondent who’s affiliated with a blog titled Born This Way. It’s hard to punctuate a response with a condescending “Just sayin’…” when, in fact, the person has a very limited understanding of WTF he or she is talking about. At any rate, here’s the additional FB commentary.
Context: My good friend Wanda posted a comment criticizing Nixon for what he (Wanda is a drag queen) interpreted to be anti-bisexual speech. Here’s my response. You can judge for yourself:
Nixon’s statement “rings true” with the way many in our culture dismiss the possibility of bisexuality and affirm a sexual binary, where one can EITHER be straight OR gay. I don’t think she’s advocating disdain for bisexuals. I think she’s being ironic and responding to critiques of bisexuality. In other words, speaker location matters. Had Newt Gingrich said, “Nobody likes bisexuals,” I’d get your point. But we’re talking about a woman who admits that she’s attracted to both sexes and has, in fact, been in long-term relationships with men AND women. More to the point, Nixon’s had to absorb her fair share of, “Are you REALLY bisexual?” questions. In my eyes, her statement is a response to criticism of HER identity rather than a judgment of bisexual people. It might also be helpful to put the referenced sentence in its proper context. The full paragraph reads, ” I think for gay people who feel 100 percent gay, it doesn’t make any sense. And for straight people who feel 100 percent straight, it doesn’t make any sense. I don’t pull out the ‘bisexual’ word because nobody likes the bisexuals. Everybody likes to dump on the bisexuals. We get no respect.” The longer quotation seems to support my argument, lest anyone think I’m grasping or simply a crazed “Sex and the City” fan.
My fabulous friend Wanda then replied, suggesting that 1) I’m giving Nixon too much credit, and 2) he worries that anti-gay bigots will use Nixon’s words against LGBTQ people. My response:
I think your real beef is with what you describe in the latter half of your post and not the former. Your characterization of Nixon’s comment in the first half of your comment reads into her motivations, despite the fact that her sexual behaviors and life choices engender a direct response to what you assume about her statement. At the end of the day, I 100% give her the benefit of the doubt and see more logic in my interpretation of her words. Not surprising, given that I’m currently writing a defense of my own defense. LOL. That said, I sympathize with and understand the concern you vocalize in the second half of your comment. I’m CERTAIN that tons of bigots will twist her words and use them as a rallying call against LGBTQ people. My point is that it doesn’t do you or anyone else any good to ALSO misrepresent her claim; and, IMHO, that’s what you’re doing. I stand behind Nixon for the same reason I criticized GaGa’s overly simplistic and pandering “Born this Way.” From where I stand, Nixon hasn’t paid too little attention to her argument; quite the opposite, in fact. She’s thought SO much about identity politics and desire that she’s metaphorically lapped the people that find her statement so offensive.
When it comes to LGBTQ politics and theory, it sometimes takes “a lot of time” to explain an argument’s complexities. I’d much rather be on the side of intricacy and nuance than an advocate of biological determinism and over-simplification. Assuming that all Nixon should have said was, “I’m bisexual,” misses the entire point of conversation. Just sayin’.
