Performativity the Intersections Between Gender, Sexuality, Identity, Essay

Performativity

The intersections between gender, sexuality, identity, and lifestyle converged at an expected moment. I was as prepared as anyone else. Andrew is my brother, and I know him well. It was his friend Darren's 21st birthday. Darren is adorable: he's six feet tall, with plump lips naturally blushed the color of Fuji apples. His skin is milky white, and his eyes are shimmering sateen blue. I haven't got a crush on Darren; I would, but Darren is gay. He's been out of the closet since he was fifteen years old. My brother has known Darren since the two played together in our little apartment complex playground. Almost two decades later, the two friends are doing shots together in a gay nightclub. My brother is straight. Really, he is. But on Darren's birthday, something happened to place my brother Andrew temporarily in an interstitial realm. My brother, not being the analytical type, did not think too deeply on it but I did. And so, too, did Darren. My brother kissed Darren on the lips.

He was drunk enough to do it, but I still question why. This paper is an analysis of this incidence, which had a huge impact on my psyche because it made me think deeper about human sexuality.My brother and I grew up in a liberal household, and one that cultivated open-mindedness and tolerance for diversity. There was nothing even remotely problematic about my straight brother having a gay friend. I knew other boys at school teased them both. One of the reasons why Andrew and Darren drifted apart during high school was that my brother was trying hard to establish his identity. His interests (sports, physiology) were not consistent with Darren's (design). So, regardless of their respective sexual orientations, the two friends started seeing other people, so to speak. Darren had his design crowd clique, and my brother had his set of guy's guys. They remained close friends on an emotional level, though.

Darren's birthday party raises several issues about the performativity of male sexuality. I think what happened was that my brother was testing not himself, but every norm that guided his identity formation for the past several years. There were conflicts brewing in Andrew's brain; I knew….....