Andrew Sullivan, author of, What is a Homosexual, portrays his experience growing up; trapped in his own identity. He paints a detailed portrait of the hardships caused by being homosexual. He explains the struggle of self-concealment, and how doing so is vital for social acceptation. The ability to hide one’s true feelings make it easier to be “invisible” as Sullivan puts it. “The experience of growing up profoundly different in emotional and psychological makeup inevitably alters a person’s self-perception.”(Sullivan)This statement marks one of the many reasons for this concealment. The main idea of this passage is to reflect on those hardships, and too understand true self-conscious difference. Being different can cause identity problems, especially in adolescents. In this lifetime, society has very pragmatic views. This makes it difficult to feel normal if you are considered different. You may be viewed as an outcast, which can make growing up harder than it already is. The idea of self-concealment is a sexual lesson that ones’ survival depends on.(Sullivan) Sullivan speaks of his own experience as a child, opening up with a story of an un-willful desire for a boy unchanging in front of him in the locker room. Sullivan states, “ He learns that that which would most give him meaning is most likely to destroy him in the eyes of others; that the condition of his friendships in the subjugation of himself”. This demonstrates why a homosexual may be deceitful and contained. Being young is a time to explore, understand ones’ self, and be open about your true personality. I believe the authors’ views because I see it daily .With these conflicts, a child may miss out on the carelessness of youth which is natural to experience before ... ... middle of paper ... ... It causes identity problems, confidence issues, and keeps people from experimenting with their true selves. Sullivan properly allows the reader to look at that point of view, and too understand walking in his shoes as a child. His explanation of self-difference explains why homosexuals contain themselves in order to live a normal lifestyles away from the negative views of our world. “It is not something genetically homosexual; it is something environmentally homosexual. And it begins young.” (Sullivan) Works Cited Peterson, Linda H., John C. Brereton, Joseph Bizup, Anne E. Fernald, and Melissa A. Goldthwaite. The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Nonfiction. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2012. 195-99. Print. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-02-07-gay-teens-cover_x.htm. Ed. Marilyn Elias. USA Today, 11 Feb. 2007. Google. Web. 1 Oct. 2013.
This paper has effort to generally show youths growing up gay. A number of issues have been presented involving gay identity formation, parental interaction, and disclosure. Homosexuality is a very controversial subject. By no mean does this paper try to say that it is “totally correct.” However, the paper does examine logical theoretical ideas of what gay adolescents endure, using and combining research and reports of other gay studies.
“Sexual identity is dead,” says Derrida; however, according to Hubbard[3] , it is not so much sexual identity that is dea...
Children and Adults (2 ed.), Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 428–429, ISBN 978-
In a structured society, as one we’ve continued to create today, has raised concerns over the way society uses the term queer. Queer was a term used to describe “odd” “peculiar” or “strange” beings or things alike, but over the centuries societies began to adapt and incorporate the term into their vocabulary. Many authors such as Natalie Kouri-Towe, Siobhan B. Somerville, and Nikki Sullivan have distinct ways of describing the way the word queer has been shaped over the years and how society has viewed it as a whole. In effect, to talk about the term queer one must understand the hardship and struggle someone from the community faces in their everyday lives. My goal in this paper is to bring attention to the history of the term queer, how different
Literature. Ed. Henry L. Gates, Jr. and Nellie Y. McKay. Second ed. New York: Norton,
The issue of Homosexulity has been a big topic in today’s society that has been very controversial. Some people believe that homosexulity is a sin while other see it as being one's true self and accepting that they are different. The novel The Misconception of Cameron Post by Emily Danforth, explores both ends of this controversy and shows the effects of people being so close minded and failing to accept others for who they are. Cameron Post is a true inspiration for standing up for her beliefs and for truly accepting her
The topic of homosexuality has become a constant issue throughout our society for many years. Many people believe that being gay is not acceptable for both religious and moral reasons. Because being gay is not accepted, many homosexuals may feel shame or guilt because of the way they live their everyday lives. This in turn can affect how the person chooses to live their life and it can also affect who the person would like to become. Growing up, David Sedaris struggled to find the common ground between being gay as well as being a normal teenager. He often resorted to the conclusion that you could not be both. Sedaris allows us to see things through his young eyes with his personable short story "I Like Guys". Throughout his short story, Sedaris illustrates to the reader what it was like growing up being gay as well as how the complexities of being gay, and the topic of sexuality controlled his lifestyle daily. He emphasizes the shame he once felt for being gay and how that shame has framed him into the person he has become.
When one grows up in a society that constantly tell you that being homosexual is bad or that diverging from the norm makes you strange and sub human, they cannot think anything otherwise. For the young, these stigmas can be especially damaging because they grow up treating those who aren’t like them less than animals. The anecdote offered in “Dude…” strongly shows the negatives of approaching the topic of human sexuality in that light. You have the all star jocks scaring impressionable pre-teens into thinking that “fags” are out to get you and steal your masculinity. However, as Butler put it “all gender is drag” (pg. 205 “Gender”), so, this masculinity many straight cis males try to preserve is nothing more than a construct of what society
Mental health professional have tried to correct their ‘‘gender identity disorder’’ with brutal aversion therapies. Tran’s youth who came out often faced crises throughout their family and social systems. Once out, developing a sense of realness about their new gender became extremely important. An urgent need develops ‘‘to match one’s exterior with one’s interior’’ In ad...
Words such as love and nurture are used in everyday life. As stated by Ellen C. Perrin and the American Academy of Pediatrics, “ Children may satisfy people’s desire to provide and accept love and nurturing from others and may provide some assurance of and support during their older years ” (Perrin and AAP). Parents of either sexuality understand a common goal, raised children required care. Children with homosexual parents receive the same love like children of heterosexual parents. Oppressors state, that the children will live horrible lives if raised in a homosexual environment. The fact is this, not all homosexual families face the same disapproval from those around them, and the same goes for heterosexual f...
There are several theorists that have presented models on sexual identity development. Many of the models have stages of sexual identity development suggesting that certain characteristics are present during a specific period. However, Anthony D’Augelli presents a model that suggests processes rather than stages. These processes take place over the span of one’s life and not necessarily in any specific order or fashion. D’Augelli’s (1994a) life span model of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) identity development takes into account “the complex factors that influence the development of people in context over historical time” (Evans et al, 2010). According to D’Augelli’s (1994) theory, identity formation includes three sets of interrelated variables that are involved in identity formation: personal actions and subjectivities, interactive intimacies, and sociohistorical connections. Personal subjectivities and actions include individuals’ perceptions and feelings about their sexual identities as well as actual sexual behaviors and the meanings attached to them. Interactive intimacies include the influences of family, peer group, and intimate partnerships and the meanings attached to experiences with significant others. Sociohistorical connections are defined as the social norms, policies and laws found in various geographical locations and cultures, as well as the values existing during particular historical periods (Evans et al, 2010).
For the vast majority of our children, growing up with an awareness of other forms of coupling will not change their own identification as heterosexuals. Yet that awareness may give them an important thing--permission to be all of who they are, in all the myriad ways that don’t quite fit the societal idea of “normal.” Isn't that, ultimately, what we want?
Stein, Edward. The Mismeasure of Desire: The Science, Theory, and Ethics of Sexual Orientation. New York, NY: Oxford UP, 1999. Print. 20 Oct. 2011
Transition and change are some of the most difficult obstacles for people to overcome. It is no surprise that adolescence, defined as the transition from childhood to adulthood, is full of obstacles (Feldman, 2012). During this time period, adolescents are neither adults nor children; they do not appear to belong in any stable group. However uncomfortable this may seem, it is also a fitting definition. For during the adolescent stage, adolescents face puberty, sexual curiosity, self-esteem issues, and doubts about their future (Feldman, 2012). Psychoanalyst Erik Erikson aptly argued that adolescents pass through the identity-versus-identity-confusion stage in which teenagers search for defining and unique characteristics about themselves (Feldman, 2012). When a teenager struggles with this stage, a crisis emerges in which they are unable to find an appropriate role in life, often acting out or pursuing dangerous behaviors (Feldman, 2012).
Peterson H, Brereton C, Bizup J, Fernald E, Goldthwaite A. The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Nonfiction. W W Norton & Company Incorporated, 2011