| Queer theorists and sociologists have argued that the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movement further marginalizes some queer individuals in the pursuit of legitimacy from the dominant heterosexist culture. This study uses qualitative content analysis to examine the Web sites of four social movement organizations that claim to work for the LGBT community (Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal Defense Fund, National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force). In this thesis, I argue that these organizations participate in scripting the normative homo ideal while distancing themselves from problematic identities that challenge normative, natural frameworks for understanding identity. In doing so, they further marginalize bisexuals, transgender individuals, and other queers whose identities challenge the idea that core identities are authentic and immutable---denying the existence of some queer realities, reinforcing normative ideas about sex, gender, and sexuality, and reproducing the system of inequality that privileges heterosexuality. |
