Date of Submission
Fall 2019
Academic Programs and Concentrations
Philosophy; Gender and Sexuality Studies; Human Rights
Project Advisor 1
Robert Weston
Abstract/Artist's Statement
This project examines the political limitations of the rhetoric of authenticity in relation to sexual and gender identity. Implementing Foucault’s work on the discursive production of sexual identity, the author argues that the rhetoric of authenticity constructs an ahistorical representation of a fixed, innate identity. The author examines two mid-twentieth century studies of homosexual relationships in a women’s prison at length to further show how the delineation between authentic and adaptive sexuality serves to stabilize and essentialize heterosexuality, rendering high rates of activity deemed “adaptive homosexuality” politically innocuous to the dominant heterosexist and binary sex/gender ideology.
Open Access Agreement
On-Campus only
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Martin-Ruben, Adira A., "The Limits of Authenticity: “Jailhouse Turnouts” and the Depoliticization of Inmate Relationships in the Study of the Women’s Prison" (2019). Senior Projects Fall 2019. 60.
https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/senproj_f2019/60
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