Tell Me Dad: Am I Straight or Gay?

Paper Summary:

This paper argues that homosexuality, specifically lesbianism, is not a natural process. According to the author it is rather socially constructed, and understood by the meanings people attribute to it. This paper examines the cultural institutions that aid this process by reinforcing individualization through the notion of identity formation, and the search to find one's sexual identity.

From the Paper:

"The process of becoming is defined by the dictionary as "1 to come to be; grow to be 2 be suitable for; suit 3 looks well on" (Gage Canadian Dictionary, 1983, 100). Formally, that is, to become means to learn how to develop, how to arrive, how to be, how to act, how to live. In other words, it is a social process. In the world we live in, full of uncertainty, fear of the unknown and a reluctance to criticize science, reason, progress, individualization and rationality, the concept of becoming has been confused with the notion of being: "1 a person; living creature 2 life; existence 3 nature; constitution" (103). This confusion has trained us to attribute anything and everything " including sexuality " that concerns the "unknown," or that which opposes societal norms, to the scientific analysis of causation and effect. It has also trained us to ignore many of the social processes at essence of many of the issues of the world today. Essentially, humans are socially constructed. "

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