pomosexual
n. A person who shuns labels such as "heterosexual" and "homosexual" that define individuals by their sexual preferences.
Also Seen As
PoMoSexual
Other Forms
pomosexual adj.pomosexuality n.
Etymology
postmodern + -sexual
Examples
2003
With terms like "PoMosexual," "just gay enough" and "flaming heterosexuals," the word metrosexual is now gaining currency among American marketers who are fumbling for a term to describe this new type of feminized man.
—Warren St. John, “Metrosexuals Come Out,” The New York Times, June 22, 2003
1998
In a pomosexual world, sexual categories are no longer rigid. People can move beyond labels — gay, lesbian, bisexual, transexual — while acknowledging the importance those labels played in the past.
—Mitchel Raphael, “Where gay goes after the mainstream,” The Toronto Star, May 17, 1998
1997 (earliest)
PoMoSexual: The queer erotic reality beyond the boundaries of gender, separatism, and essentialist notions of sexual orientation.
—Carol Queen & Lawrence Schimel, PoMoSexuals: Challenging Assumptions About Gender and Sexuality, Cleis Press, September 01, 1997
Notes
This word combines pomo, shorthand for "postmodern," with the suffix -sexual. Although she didn't invent the word, pomosexual was made famous (in certain circles, anyway) by editors Carol Queen and Lawrence Schimel who used it in the title of a 1997 anthology of essays, PoMoSexuals: Challenging Assumptions About Gender and Sexuality (Cleis Press). On the back cover of the book, PoMoSexual is described, unhelpfully, as the "queer erotic reality beyond the boundaries of gender, separatism, and essentialist notions of sexual orientation."
Posted: November 11, 2003