Why does it seem the world is all of a sudden concerned about sexual orientation? Especially America. Did I miss how far we came as a society to see it take a 40 year step backwards?
Why does it seem the world is all of a sudden concerned about sexual orientation? Especially America. Did I miss how far we came as a society to see it take a 40 year step backwards?
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Why are people so interested in defining themselves along sexual identity and orientation in relatively recent western culture?
Why now? Why is it so different from most of human existence?
Because we are no longer facing famine. The Green Revolution has made our relationship with food so secure we no longer define ourselves in relation to it.
Throughout most of history people are farmers or ranchers or shepherds or bakers or butchers or millers.
So, we climb the Biological hierarchy of needs looking for our next characteristic that needs fulfillment.
I'd just like to say that I'm not defining myself at any point, I'm describing myself.
A trivial point, maybe, but there's still plenty of bigots around and the ones around me use phrases like "defining yourself" to minimize and erase lbgtq+ people's experiences.
Identifying might be the best word to use, given the psychology literature all tends to use that, but thank you for your critique.
Also heavily under fire, though the arguments are usually paper thin. They dismiss self-identification under the pretense that it's not about identity, that your identity can't be that you're trans or whatever. Just a fiat argument.
And I'd just like to add: you're right, this is the way the literature talks about it. You'd think the term being used clinically - with a clear, concise, and well-defined meaning - would mean it couldn't be targeted and attacked the way it is by the religious right. You'd think, you'd hope, and you'd be wrong. And that sucks.