Fred Wah wrote a great book, Diamond Grill, in which he creates a life narrative through 132 prose pieces. As a Chinese-Canadian, Wah’s narrative constantly reflects upon his life of “living on the hyphen,” and even “passing” as White. In his review on the Canadian Literature- A Quarterly of Criticism and Review website, Guy Beauregard mentions that Wah calls this book a “fake biotext,” in which he explores issues of identity, “race,” and culture. The hyphen is a critical aspect of Diamond Grill, and thus Wah’s lived perception of a Chinese-Canadian life. There is constantly an internal battle of where- and when- to fit in with each side of his hyphenated life- a battle of what is acceptable to whom and what is considered to be “too Chinese” or “too White.”

This concept of the life on a hyphen brings to mind the issues that often too many queer folk encounter through their lives and life narratives. However in this sense, rather than living with issues surrounding racial identity (and what the term “race” truly means for a hyphenated life), the issues sit with one’s sexual identity amongst a heteronormative world. Some may think that upon proudly claiming one sexuality or another, there could not possibly be a hyphen to fumble over. Alas, there are a few ways in which this is simply untrue.  Many bisexual folks as well as those who are in the process of “coming out” experience this concept of living on the hyphen.

For the bisexual person, the hyphen is staring them, and others, point blank in the face. Questions often arise, similarly to Wah, of who the bisexual person “belongs” to (i.e. the gay community, the lesbian community, the straight community). An Autostraddle article explains how unfortunately, “some bi people put off coming out or come out as gay or lesbian because they feel forced to be decisive and hear from all corners that bisexuality isn’t a legitimate choice.” Also, regardless of whether, or how, the bisexual person comes out, there may always be feelings of uncertainty in regards to how their romantic and sexual needs will be met within in a monogamous relationship (should that be the type of relationship they choose).

On the note of coming out, the second hyphen appears.  Consider a new synonym for the hyphen: The closet.  While different from Wah’s hyphen in Diamond Grill, the process of “coming out of the closet” can absolutely cause inner turmoil for an individual.  Rather than a single event, queer folks are forced to come out handfuls of times during their lives. This process can leave an individual constantly questioning whether or not they can be free to live as their true selves whether it be at the family dinner table, at school, in the grocery store, in the office, at a bar, etc.  One can find themselves asking, “Will I be safe if I act as I wish?” “Will people stare?” “Will I make friends?” “If I come out will I be abandoned by those who love me?” This list is endless and leaves an individual feeling as though they are living a double life- a hyphenated life- where they are somewhere in between the closet and the outside world.

In what other ways can “living on the hyphen” be explored?

For a more visual example of how a queer individual lives a hyphenated life, check out this Youtube video by popular Youtube star Hannah Hart. (Disclaimer: the F word is used once in the video).

I would like to take this moment to note that while I would have loved to include all aspects of the queer community in which we can discuss a hyphenated life (especially for trans* folk), for the sake of the length of this blog post I have only spoke on experiences from which I have encountered and/or can relate to.  Lastly, I apologize to those who are reading this post for their class assignments as I tried desperately to stick as close as possible to the recommended 300 words.  I hope that these 500 words were at least enjoyable!