Overview

The debate on whether or not people are born homosexual (biological essentialist theory) or become homosexual during the course of their lives (social constructionist theory) continues as each side claims to prove the truth through research and clinical findings. This breakthrough book shows the fissures in concepts of the gay and lesbian identity and the one-sidedness of both biological essentialist and social constructionist versions of both sexual and gender identity. The editors present an alternative view--sexual and gender expression is a product of complementary biological, personal, and cultural influences in If You Seduce a Straight Person, Can You Make Them Gay? Through theoretical analysis, ethnographic and empirical data, and case studies, the editors show how the one-sidedness of both biological essentialist and social constructionist versions of sexual and gender identity make it difficult, if not impossible, to conceptually determine the origin of an individual’s sexual expression. This thought-provoking book covers many topics that are sure to cause readers to re-evaluate their thinking about the origins of gay and lesbian identity. Among the topics examined with this fresh perspective are: Childhood Cross-Gender Behavior and Adult Homosexuality Gay and Lesbian Teachers and Coming Out Homosexuality, Marriage, Fidelity, and the Gay Community: Case of Gay Husbands Can Seduction Make Straight Men Gay? Gay and Lesbian Identities in Non-industrialized Societies--Surinam (Dutch New Guinea), Turkey, Nicaragua, and Argentina Political-Economic Construction of Gay Male IdentitiesReaders will clearly see that the controversy over the being born gay or becoming gay debate is far from resolved. From the beginning, the book explores how human beings are less constrained by biology than many would like to believe. Social circumstances and economics cause some determination of identity, but not exclusively. Theoretical introductions to each chapter attempt to synthesize elements on both sides of this most contemporary debate.

Full Product Details

Author:   John Dececco, Phd ,  John Patrick Elia
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Inc
Imprint:   Routledge
Weight:   0.680kg
ISBN:  

9781560243861

ISBN 10:   1560243864
Pages:   280
Publication Date:   22 April 1993
Audience:   General/trade ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Contents Preface I. Introduction A Critique and Synthesis of Biological Essentialist and Social Constructionist Views of Sexuality and Gender II. Biological Issues in Gender and Sexual Identity Essentialism, Which Essentialism?: Some Implications of Reproductive and Genetic Techno-Science Childhood Cross-Gender Behavior and Adult Homosexuality: The Resurgence of Biological Models of Sexuality Reproductive Strategies and Gender Construction: An Evolutionary View of Homosexualities The Social Construction of Homosexuals in the Nineteenth Century: The Shift From the Sin to the Influence of Medicine on Criminalizing Sodomy in Germany III. Politically Incorrect Identities The Construction of Identities as a Means of Survival: Case of Gay and Lesbian Teachers Gay Fathers in Straight Marriages Homosexuality and Marriage IV. Fluidity of Sexual Identity Can Seduction Make Straight Men Gay? The Freudian Construction of Sexuality: The Gay Foundations of Heterosexuality and Straight Homophobia V. Gay and Lesbian Identities in the Third World Mati-ism and Black Lesbianism Homosexuality and Police Terror in Turkey In Nicaragua: Homosexuality Without a Gay World Invertidos Sexuales, Tortilleras, and Maricas Machos: The Construction of Homosexuality in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1900–1950 VI. Capitalism and the Gay Identity Political-Economic Construction of Gay Male Clone Identity The Mineshaft: A Retrospective Ethnography Reference Notes Included Index

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