Sexuality identity: Let’s get it all out on campus

A professor wants LGBT people to be able to express themselves openly.

Does one’s sexual orientation matter when working or studying at a postsecondary institution? For most people, the answer is “no.” For other people – and I’m one of them – the answer is a definite “yes.” Such responses depend on one’s assumptions about what “sexual orientation” is in the first place.

Sexual orientation is presumed to be a private matter only. What one does and does not do sexually is not appropriate for conversation on campus. However, there is another aspect of sexual orientation that is appropriate on campus. I refer to this as public sexuality identity.

To see how it works and why it matters on campus, consider these situations:

1. Your partner or spouse drops you off at work and you give them a quick peck on the lips goodbye before they drive away.
2. You hang a picture of your partner or spouse on your office wall or place a framed picture of them on your desk.
3. In class, you happen to mention your wife or girlfriend (if you are male) or your husband or boyfriend (if you are female).

Although these situations are mundane, they communicate to others your sexuality identity. Whereas “sexual orientation” indicates how you are oriented sexually, “sexuality identity” is a public expression that announces your sexual orientation without saying a single word about your actual sex life. Very few people, if anyone, will notice or care about quick pecks, mentioning of wives and husbands, or pictures on walls or desks, provided these expressions are in reference to the opposite sex.

But what about when these public expressions are in reference to the same sex?