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'The closet' is a psychoanalytic metaphor which refers to a part of the subconscious or unconscious mind where people 'store' long-term memories, unwanted thoughts, unresolved conflicts, and so on. Typically, it is used in reference to something about a person's identity or interests which s/he wishes to keep repressed or kept secret. Sociologically, the closet refers to a social space in which stigma management practices pertaining to one's sexual identity occur. The closet metaphor is inextricably tied to the notion of coming out of the closet, in which one makes known their stigmatized identity. The closet is most commonly associated with an undisclosed or secret sexual orientation.
History of the closet metaphor in reference to sexuality
The expression "being in 'the closet'" has been used to describe keeping secret one's sexual behavior or orientation, most commonly homosexuality or bisexuality, but also including the gender identity of transgender and transsexual people. Being "in the closet" is more than being discreet or private, it is a "life-shaping pattern of concealment" where gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender individuals hide their sexuality/gender-identity in the most important areas of life, with family, friends, and at work. Individuals may marry or avoid certain jobs in order to avoid suspicion and exposure. Some will even claim to be heterosexual when asked directly. "It is the power of the closet to shape the core of an individual's life that has made homosexuality into a significant personal, social, and political drama in twentieth-century America". (Seidman 2003, p.25).
"Heterosexual domination may have a long history, but the closet does not" (Chauncey, 1994). The closet dates from 1950s post-war America, when the deliberateness and aggressiveness of heterosexual enforcement increased. According to David Tettke, "The word ''closet'' was first used to mean secret or unsuspected as early as the 1600s, but not in relation to a person’s sexuality. Closeted also came into use around the same time and meant to keep something hidden or secret from others. Closet case, closet queen, or closet homosexual began to be used during the middle of the 20th century to mean that someone was hiding their homosexuality from others. Similar terms used around this time period were canned fruit, cedarchest sissy, and dry queen, which have now fallen into disuse."[1]
"Gay people in the prewar years [pre-WWI]...did not speak of coming out of what we call the gay closet but rather of coming out ''into'' what they called homosexual society or the gay world, a world neither so small, nor so isolated, nor... so hidden as closet implies" (Chauncey 1994, emphasis added). In fact, "using the term 'closet' to refer to" previous times such as "the 1920s and 1930s might be anachronistic" (Kennedy 1996). (ibid, p.25 and 214)
Connection between the closet and neurosis
Both scientific research and popular culture have purported the notion that there is a connection between being "in the closet" and neurosis.
In 1993, Michelangelo Signorile wrote ''Queer In America'' (re-released in 2003 by University of Wisconsin Press, ISBN 0-299-19374-8) in which he explored in depth the harm caused both to the "closeted" individual and to society in general by being 'in the closet'. Signorile promoted the practice of outing: publicizing, intentionally or unintentionally, the sexual orientation or gender identity of another person who would prefer to keep this information secret. Often "outing" is used solely to damage the outed person's reputation, and has thus been controversial. Some activists argue "outing" is appropriate and legitimate in some cases—for instance, if the individual is actively working against gay rights.
Classic models of homosexual identity development (i.e.: Dank, 1971; Cass, 1984; Coleman, 1989; Troiden, 1989), and most prominently, the Cass identity model, have perpetuated this suggestion in the social sciences. In the early stages of the coming out process, homosexuals are labeled confused and maladjusted in society. Only by going through this process, these models purport, can one become a well adjusted homosexual.
Closeted individuals have also been reported to be at an increased risk for suicide.[2]
Classic research studies pertaining to "the closet"
The Tearoom Trade
Laud Humphreys' classic Tearoom Trade experiment investigated the lives of men in the 1960s who engaged in sexual activity in public restrooms. After observing the behavior, he arranged to interview these men in their homes and found that, other than their homosexual activity, there was little to distinguish these men from typical adult males.
Related terminology
★ "Coming out of the closet" (often shortened to coming out) describes voluntarily making public one's sexual orientation or gender identity.
★ The Grunge band The Fluid has a song called "Closet Case" based on homosexual activity, but also about other embarrassing aspects of a persons life.
★ "Being 'out'" means living a life in which you do not hide that you are not heterosexual, or more generally that you do not hide your sexual orientation or gender identity.
★ Passing refers to the practice of a person pretending to be of a sexual orientation other than their real one, usually a homosexual or bisexual person who is pretending to be heterosexual.[3]
★ The term 'Narnian' has been used to describe someone who is metaphorically very deep in "the closet". This is a term that has been coined primarily by youth culture as can been seen in the following message board entry. (Narnia is a land in the books of C. S. Lewis which can be accessed by travelling through a magical wardrobe.)
"In Australia alone there are around 3 million gay people (last statistical estimation was 14% of 20 million people). Australia has approx .33% of the world's population (20 million out of 6 billion), so therefore this closet can hold at least 800 million people. It's a very big closet. ''Narnian in fact''".[4]
★ The Glass Closet (Harlow, 2006) refers to those who may not be out, even to themselves, but whom others can plainly see are, in fact, in the closet.
★ A person who is in the closet may be referred to as "closeted" or a "closet case." Calling someone a closet case is generally meant to be disparaging, and usually refers to someone (male) who seems to go to great lengths to prove or assert his masculinity.
★ In Beyoncé's 2006 single "Irreplaceable" 'the closet' is referred to as a place where unwanted memories of past relationships can be suppressed.
★ The term 'closet' has been extended to indicate any identity or affiliation that a person keeps secret for fear of persecution or exclusion Acts of coming out are sometimes held back due to stigmas still present in today's society. (e.g., because of one's religion, lifestyle, political affiliation, etc.).
★ The term "broom closet" was used on the TV show ''Charmed'', referring to people who hide the fact that they are Wiccans.
★ Otherkin adapted the expression, replacing the closet with "wardrobe".
★ Brights are also urged to "come out", and Richard Dawkins refers to "closet brights".
★ Often used by the media outlets the "steroids closet", or the "Barry Bonds closet", referring to athletes who keep their usage of steroids or other performance enhancing drugs a top secret for fear of punishment.[5]
Criticisms of the closet metaphor
Seidman, Meeks, and Traschen (1999) argue that "the closet" may be becoming an antiquated metaphor in the modern day for two reasons.
1. Homosexuality is becoming increasingly normalized and the shame and secrecy surrounding it may be declining.
2. The metaphor of the closet hinges upon the notion that stigma management is a way of life. However, stigma management may actually be increasingly done situationally.
See also
★ Down-low
★ List of gay, lesbian or bisexual people
★ Homophobia
★ Transphobia
★ Gay community
★ List of gay-related topics
★ National Coming Out Day
★ List of transgender-related topics
★ Religion and homosexuality
★ Denial
★ Trapped in the Closet (South Park)
References
★ Chauncey, George (1994). ''Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940''. New York: Basic Books. Cited in Seidman 2003.
★ Humphreys, L. (1970). ''Tearoom Trade: Impersonal Sex in Public Places.'' Chicago: Aldine.
★ Kennedy, Elizabeth. "'But We Would Never Talk about It': The Structure of Lesbian Discretion in South Dakota, 1928-1933" in ''Inventing Lesbian Cultures in America'', ed. Ellen Lewin (1996). Boston: Beacon Press. Cited in Seidman 2003.
★ Seidman, Steven (2003). ''Beyond the Closet; The Transformation of Gay and Lesbian Life''. ISBN 0-415-93207-6.
★ Seidman, Steven, Meeks, Chet, and Traschen, Francie (1999), "Beyond the Closet? The Changing Social Meaning of Homosexuality in the United States." ''Sexualities 2'' (1)
Notes
1. The Coming Out Project-Dallas/Fortworth
2. Gay.com News
3. The Questia Online Library
4. zgeek.com message board
5. Steroid Law Document
Further reading
★ ''Epistemology of the Closet'' (reprinted 1992) by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, ISBN 0-520-07874-8.
External links
★ National Coming Out Project
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