Q. What makes a person gay?
A. Homosexuals are people who are sexually attracted to people of the same sex. Gay people are homosexuals who think it's important that you know that about them and want to make some social statement about their sexuality.
Homosexuals exist. It doesn't really matter why. I am perfectly content to say it is natural. I am perfectly content to say it's unnatural. People are what they are. The social question of interest is what to make of that fact. So if you are asking why people are homosexual, I don't think that is an interesting question. You might as well ask why people have large biceps. But I think it is an interesting social question with various ramifications to consider what it means to be gay in the context I presented.
That said, I believe that gay identity is part of a failure in Western civilization to convince individual citizens that they are politically equal or socially acceptable. Thus homosexuals had to take it upon themselves to take a higher profile in society in defense of their own dignity and rights. Homosexuals, the way I read things, required social power and so became Gay.
I think there is a certain amount of rage any emergent minority must go through as they attempt to bring understanding to their persons and cause, and I think that works its way out over time when progress is made. But I also perceive that sensitivity to that rage can be overdone, just as resorting to rage can be overdone.
It is further my personal opinion that this continuing shortcoming in our civilization is exacerbated by a circular reasoning about identity, established by the need to rage, and respond to rage, in the first place. Heightened awareness of sexual preference leads to separation and estrangement - precisely the opposite of the presumptions against which precipitated the need for a higher profile, i.e. the premises of equality WITHOUT regard to sexual preference. There's that paradox. If you presume that somebody wants to treat you differently, betrayal of that presumption could lead them to treating you differently. I'm not saying that it is proper to keep quiet about the whole thing, I'm saying that rage, over time, becomes counter-productive.
We have a society that is highly amenable to change, and it is inevitable that people take the position that a permanent counter-culture is necessary - that voices must constantly be raised to guard against backsliding. There's a certain amount of truth to that. So there will always be gay activists, and there will always be rage. But this is not a fundamental characteristic of homosexuality, it is only the nasty part of the medicine.
When it comes to progress, a wise man said, 'the future is already here, it's just unevenly distributed'. There are plenty of places in this world where it is not necessary to employ rage simply to deal with homosexuality. And I believe it is one of the proper evolutions of humanity which is central to Western civilization that is perfectly compatible with a quiet, simple, respect for people without regard to their sexuality. I am not convinced that Western civilization thinks a person is so completely defined by their sexuality. I am convinced, however, that American society is flirting with a kind of tribalism that departs from what Western civilization ought to be exemplifying. And so often, the choice to be Gay is not a choice at all, but a necessity. That's a little bit sad.
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