Studying sexuality has always been fraught with societal push-back. The story of other scientific innovations being rejected and ultimately adopted, such as with evolution, is widely celebrated as a triumph over religiously motivated politics. Yet the social sciences have repeatedly faced similar struggles and continue to do so today, but these stories are lesser known.

Erving Goffman’s theory of Dramaturgy draws on metaphors from stage acting to describe the public and private work that individuals maintain in their social interactions with other people. “Front stage” work is the face you show to people in different social contexts. Sometimes our modes of interaction will be different in different situations and with different groups (or “audiences”). Backstage work is how we manage our identities and emotions when we’re alone. We can work on our “performance” or rethink the behaviour we want to reflect to others.