A Unified Theory on Homosexuality
This essay attempts to identify the prominent problems of a strictly
social constructionist theory as it pertains to homosexuality. One's
sexuality is neither explicitly innate and immutable, nor as plastic
and changeable as switching a dial. Social constructionist theories
on homosexuality - and, indeed on sexuality in general - have concentrated
on the latter in a milieu of social control. And while it is easier to
understand the labelling and categorising of humans through historical
study of the methods of social control, for laws controlling human
actions, specifically sexual conduct, are written in well kept records,
there is a lot to be gained by switching the focus to the victim in
such cases, rather than exclusively focusing on the offenders.
What I propose is a partial redirection of the studies on ``Queer''
theory from the offender, the homophobe, to the victim, the homosexual.
While maintaining the percept of cultural and temporal factors, we
can explore the existence of a homosexual identity if we look
towards the subject (the homosexual) in order to gain an understanding
of his world view. Further this partial redirection leads us to
unify a moderate Social Constructionist theory with a moderate essentialist
theory.