"Peep Shows and Bedroom Access": Women's Identities and the Practice of Outing

Authors

  • Christine Overall Queen's University

Keywords:

Lesbianism, Sexual identity, Stigmatization, Coming Out (Sexual orientation)

Abstract

"Passing" may be defined as the concealment of a stigmatized identity, often through the assumption of a counterpart non-stigmatized identity. "Outing" is the practice of revealing the passing of persons with stigmatized identities. Focussing on a variety of stigmatized identities usually or invariably possessed by and/or attributed to women, I raise moral questions about the practice of outing by means of an ontological and epistemological critique of some of the assumptions on which outing is based.

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Published

1998-10-01