COMPULSORY HETEROSEXUALITY AND ITS ROLE IN THE FORMATION AND CLINICAL WORK WITH "FIREFLIES“

In recent years, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic and with the advent of the social media platform TikTok, American society has seen a significant increase in the population currently referred to as “late-in-life lesbians” or “late bloomers.” The individuals who identify with this term tend to be cisgender women who have entered into a heterosexual monogamous relationship or marriage and, within the confines of said partnership, came to the realization that they are queer. The current popular term, “late-in-life lesbian” is restrictive in gender and in sexual identity. As a result, in 2021 Mallory Hanfling, LCSW, a PhD student at the California Institute of Integral Studies coined the term “firefly” for this population as a sexuality and gender expansive and inclusive option for individuals with this particular experience. This article reflects upon existing literature and clinical best practices pertaining to the role of compulsory heterosexuality in influencing the experiences of fireflies in regard to the trajectory of sexual identity development, sociocultural and political implications of living in a heteronormative society, medical/psychological gaslighting of female sexual dysfunction, social scripts regarding sexual pleasure and desire, media representation, and institutionalized forms of sexism, heteronormativity, and economic autonomy which influence choices pertaining to partnerships and family planning. The implications of these interwoven institutions, theories, and scripts, related to the experiences of “fireflies” will direct the question of whether compulsory heterosexuality and heteronormativity contribute to coming out later in life, and explaining sexual dysfunction through medical and psychological factors rather than exploring authentic sexual orientation prior to making a long-term commitment to a sexually incompatible partner. These considerations inform clinical assessment and treatment of clients entering into a therapeutic relationship and require specialized competency training, to be addressed throughout the article.