Pomosexual
568956
225519893
2008-07-14T03:11:40Z
7Kim
2984340
Removed [[Übersexual]]; it redirects to [[Metrosexual]] anyway.
{{Sexual orientation}}
'''Pomosexual''', or '''undefined sexuality''', is a [[neologism]] used to describe a person who shuns [[sexual orientation]] labels (such as heterosexual and homosexual) that define individuals, and in turn chooses not to label oneself with a sexual orientation.<ref>[http://www.wordspy.com/words/pomosexual.asp Word Spy: Pomosexual]</ref>
==Etymology==
Pomosexuality is formed by adding the prefix ''pomo-'' (shorthand for ''[[postmodernism|postmodern]]'') to the adjective ''-[[human sexuality|sexual]]'', and is used in reference to oneself as a protest against such labels.<ref name="TimesIndia">{{cite web|last=Mallik|first=Chetan|title=Now, say hello to the pomosexual!|publisher=[[The Times of India]]|date=[[2004-01-24]]|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/442642.cms|accessdate=2007-04-13}}</ref> Some might see the name as [[oxymoronic]], thinking that the name employs an actual sexual orientation, being that pomosexuals distance themselves from orientation labels, but the name is simply [[placeholder name]] put in place to simply give the ideology an actual title.
===Origin===
[[Sex-positive]] [[activism|activist]] writers and editors [[Carol Queen]] and [[Lawrence Schimel]] popularized the term by using it as the title of an [[anthology]] of [[essay]]s published in [[1997]]. In it, they describe '''pomosexuality''' as the ''"[[eroticism|erotic]] reality beyond the boundaries of [[gender]], [[separatism]], and [[essentialism|essentialist]] notions of sexual orientation."'' In the introduction, they state,
{{cquote|We don't propose that 'pomosexual' replace [[LGBT]]&F. We're not interested in adding another new name to the slew we already have, though we acknowledge the usefulness of having one name by which all LGBT&Fs might be called. 'Pomosexual' references homosexuality even as it describes the community's outsiders, the ''queer'' queers who can't seem to stay put within a nice, simple identity. We coin the term to situate this book and its essays within and in relation to the LGBT&F community. It is in every way an artifact of, and in many ways a backlash toward, this community--or rather, to certain assumptions widely held within and/or about it, essentialist assumptions about what it means to be queer. We react against these assumptions in the same way that in the art world Postmodernism was a reaction against Modernism."<ref>Queen & Schimel, page 20</ref>}}
==Criticisms==
The concept of pomosexuality has become the source of some criticism from those who see it as a new [[Fads and trends|fad]] the same way [[bisexuality]] and [[pansexuality]] have been criticized. According to [[Andrology|andrologist]] Sudhakar Krishnamurthy, pomosexuality "is nothing but another lifestyle label. People are creating different categories every single day but this doesn’t mean that these are new phenomena. It is now fashionable to belong to a new category. As far as pomosexuality goes, the fad is about not believing in any of the compartmentalisations."<ref name="TimesIndia"/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{cite book |author=Queen, Carol & Schimel, Lawrence, Eds. |date=1997 |title=PoMoSexuals: Challenging Assumptions About Gender and Sexuality |publisher=[[Cleis Press]] |isbn= 1-57344-074-4 |url= http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=bF3FZ88GaH4C&dq=pomosexuals&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=-B3xf8U8W4&sig=M8SViBB8fQssXcX_8VIcn5i-qds }} Preface by [[Kate Bornstein]].
*{{cite journal |last =Ailles |first =Jennifer L. |title =Pomosexual Play: Going Beyond the Binaristic Limits of Gender? |journal=[[Journal of Bisexuality]] |volume=23 |issue =3/4 |pages = 71–86 |date=2004 |publisher=Haworth Press (Binghamton, New York)|url=http://www.haworthpress.com/store/toc/J159v03n03_TOC.pdf?sid=6D90SDTJXR3Q8H62X824Q1Q593V25T35& |accessdate=2008-04-20 }}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.utne.com/1998-09-01/pomosexual-pioneer.aspx |title=PoMosexual Pioneer |publisher=[[Utne Reader]] |first=Katherine |last=Raymond |date=1998 |accessdate=2008-04-20}} Issue: September/October 1998
*{{cite news |url=http://ubyssey.bc.ca/2008/02/08/pride-and-pomosexuality/ |title=Pride and Pomosexuality |publisher=The Ubyssey |first= |last= |date=2008 |accessdate=2008-04-20}} Issue: February 8th, 2008. University of British Columbia student newspaper.
==See also==
* [[Bisexuality]]
* [[Pansexuality]]
* [[Metrosexual]]
==External links==
* [http://www.pomoworld.com Pomoworld web site]
* [http://www.wordspy.com/words/pomosexual.asp Word Spy entry for ''pomosexual'']
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/22/fashion/22METR.html?ex=1371614400&en=7f4a595e0f27dd6d&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND NY Times]
* [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-111718141.html The Independent]
* [http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-20108709_ITM Asia Africa Intellegience Wire]
* [http://archivio.panorama.it/societa/articolo/idA020001033740.art Panoram (Italian)]
* [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB0D684293DFB73&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM Sacramento Bee]
* [http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainment/view/220475/1/.html Channel News Asia]
* [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1232407,prtpage-1.cms Times of India]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9903E6DF1E38F937A35754C0A9629C8B63&sec=&spon= NY Times]
[[Category:Queer theory]]
[[Category:Sexual orientation]]
[[Category:Neologisms]]
[[pt:Pomosexualidade]]
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