I wanted to post on Lisa Diamond and her theory of sexual fluidity detailed in the book Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women’s Love and Desire. Here is an excerpt briefly explaining this theory from the Feminist Review:

Diamond argues that women’s sexual responsiveness is situation-dependent, or fluid, making it possible for women to desire either men or women under certain circumstances. A model of fluidity helps us understand how women of all orientations may experience variations in their erotic and romantic feelings. She does not argue to eliminate the concept of sexual orientation, but rather to acknowledge that fluidity acts in tandem with orientation – and that all women may experience different degrees of fluidity. Fluidity does not mean that women “choose” their orientation, but that women experience transformations in their lives based on a complex interplay of biological and environmental factors.

Diamond acknowledges the challenging nature of her theory. It requires nuance and subtlety, and could be misinterpreted as arguing that all women are bisexual or that sexual orientation does not exist. Sexual fluidity could also be viewed as threatening or destabilizing to the political advocacy work of GLBTQ community. Yet, as Diamond reiterates throughout Sexual Fluidity, current fixed models of sexuality do not accurately represent or include the experiences of countless women. In this excellently argued and fascinating study, Diamond makes a compelling case that we must re-evaluate our thinking about women’s sexuality, great news for women and an evolving dialogue about women’s sexuality.

The idea of applying nuance and subtlety to such complex subjects as sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender is what we want to promote here. Viewing the theory of sexual fluidity as not negating the GLBTQ community is very important to note as well. What we want to continue saying is that our understandings of sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender, are evolving as more of us bravely and openly express and pursue who we are.

(Read also Jonah Lehrer‘s post on Sexual Fluidity and find the image above from an important post at Pansexual Pride commenting on her theory.

The establishment of sexual Orientation law is a human rights and family rights issue.There has been some progress when it comes to legal equality and social justice for the GLBTQ community, but it remains tenuous with so much work ahead. As we have noted in previous posts Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer equality is the civil rights issue of our day along with making sure that every American has access to affordable healthcare. We are concerned that the well-being of individuals and our nation as a whole, which is determined by our freedom to be who we are and choose who we want to be with, is being compromised. The right to be who we are is central to democracy as are the rights to privacy and earned and shared property. (Check out the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law. Hat tip for the chart to The Economist.)

Talking Points Memo (TPM) has a post titled “Poll Suggests America Has Turned A Corner On Homophobia,” providing hope that attitudes may be shifting in some parts of the country. But, this poll also indicates how split the nation continues to be and the amount of work that remains to establish civil rights for the GLBTQ communities. An appeal to the libertarian strain of the American consciousness, where individual rights and privacy matter to most of us, is key to moving this debate forward. I see that many young people come from this place of live and let live, measuring a person by their character and behaviors and not such deeply personal and private issues like sexual orientation. There is great hope in seeing more same sex couples integrate into communities where they haven’t been openly accepted before and how newer generations increasingly don’t view homosexuality as an issue. Yet, the act of legally allowing gay marriages to take place, which is the great civil rights battle of our time, and supporting gay and lesbian adoptions across the nation will be the real turning points in combating homophobia and defending social justice.

For the first time, the CNN/Time poll shows more Americans don’t think homosexuality is morally repugnant than do. For more than 30 years, since 1978, a majority of respondents to the poll have said “homosexual relationships between consenting adults is morally wrong,” while a minority have said homosexuality “not a moral issue.”

That is, until this Presidents Day Weekend, when 50% of respondents said homosexuality is not a moral issue, while 48% said that it was morally wrong. Two percent said they had no opinion.

Also check out the NYT article by Patrick Healy titled “New Gay Theater Has More Love Than Politics” for more depth and a post by the Atlantic’s Marc Ambiner titled “Gays In The Military Supported By People Who Don’t Like Homosexuality” for more complexity on this subject.

(Find the image of the Castro Rainbow Flag at SFist.)

Andrew Sullivan of the Daily Dish, a blogger and site we greatly admire, has a must read post titled “Posts Of The Year: What Happened In 1990?, July 7, 2009.” We follow his posts and learn so much from what he and his staff comment on and find. One of the most important human rights causes is equality for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning (GLBTQ) populations. We have worked with loving couples from the gay and lesbian communities who are amazing guardians to foster children and willing and wanting to adopt wherever and whenever possible. For us, their ability to marry and raise families is vital to our local and national interest and most importantly to the health and well being of children who need loving parents and homes. What we have found is how well suited so many of these couples are to take on the challenges of guiding and parenting abused and neglected children. They are unsung and largely negated heroes of the foster care system. Here is an excerpt from the Daily Dish post:

(I joined the gay rights movement publicly in 1989 with a cover story for TNR, making the case for marriage equality. I had been out for a while, and made the same case in the Advocate a year earlier, but that was my first foray into public advocacy for civil rights for gay people. Looking back, I am in shock and disbelief at the progress we have made.

This first decade of the 21st century has been an astonishing thing. I’m now legally married in both places I reside: in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. Five states now recognize marriage equality and many countries. My home country offers all the rights of civil marriage to my husband. The cynical use of homophobia by the GOP worked for a while, but has since faded. Meanwhile, the dialogue has deepened and widened, and, as it has done so, attitudes have shifted more profoundly than at any previous point. Ted Olson is now one of the faces of gay equality. The next generation gets the fact that gays are human beings, have relationships as valid as straight ones, and have love as deep.
It can be hard to recognize it, but we have come an enormously long distance, even past the narrow defeats in Maine and California. We have overcome. And we shall again. – Andrew)

Here is a listing of gay and lesbian friendly open adoption agencies/resources:

• Adoption Open
• Family Builders
• Alternative Family Services
• Open Arms Campaign