Emergent Identities ― New Sexualities, Genders and Relationships in a Digital Era

Examining the emergence of new sexual and gender identities in the context of an ever-changing digital landscape, Emergent Identities considers how traditional, binary understandings of sexuality and gender are being challenged and overridden by a taxonomy of non-binary, fluid classifications and descriptors.

In this comprehensive account of the ongoing shift in our understandings of gender and sexuality, Cover explores how and why traditional masculine/feminine and hetero/homo dichotomies are quickly being replaced with identity labels such as heteroflexible, bigender, non-binary, asexual, sapiosexual, demisexual, ciswoman and transcurious. Drawing on real-world data, Cover considers how new ways of perceiving relationships, attraction and desire are contesting authorised, institutional knowledge on gender and sexuality. The book explores the role that digital communication practices have played in these developments and considers the implications of these new approaches for identity, individuality, creativity, media, healthcare and social belonging.

A timely response to recent developments in the field of gender identity, this will be a fascinating read for students of Psychology, Gender Studies, Media and Cultural Studies, and related areas as well as professionals in this field.

Rob Cover is associate professor in the School of Social Sciences at The University of Western Australia.