Cognitive cultural theorists have rarely taken up sex, sexuality, or gender identity. When they have done so, they have often stressed the evolutionary sources of gender differences. In Sexual Identities, Patrick Hogan extends his previous work on identity to discuss the complexities of sex, the diversity of sexuality, and the limited scope of gender. Hogan begins with a rarely drawn distinction between practical identity (the patterns in what one does, thinks, and feels) and categorial identity (how one labels oneself or is categorized by society). He adds to this a nuanced reformulation of t ... More

Cognitive cultural theorists have rarely taken up sex, sexuality, or gender identity. When they have done so, they have often stressed the evolutionary sources of gender differences. In Sexual Identities, Patrick Hogan extends his previous work on identity to discuss the complexities of sex, the diversity of sexuality, and the limited scope of gender. Hogan begins with a rarely drawn distinction between practical identity (the patterns in what one does, thinks, and feels) and categorial identity (how one labels oneself or is categorized by society). He adds to this a nuanced reformulation of the idea of social construction, distinguishing ideology, situational determination, shallow socialization, and deep (or critical period) socialization. On the basis of this, and wide-ranging citation of empirical research, Hogan argues for a systematic skepticism about gender differences and a view of sexuality as evolved but also in many ways contingent and highly variable. In Hogan’s analysis, the variability of sexuality and the near absence of gender fixity—the imperfect alignment of practical and categorial identities in both cases—give rise to the social practices that Judith Butler refers to as “regulatory regimes.” Hogan goes on to explore the cognitive and affective operation of such regimes. Hogan concludes by turning to sex and the question of how to understand transgendering in a way that respects the dignity of transgender people, without reverting to gender essentialism. Throughout the study, Hogan draws on a diverse body of literary works, not simply to illustrate prior arguments, but to develop his analyses.