Hey everyone,
I found an article written by a homosexual philosophy professor addressing the separation of gay identity and gay sexual behavior. He points out that homosexuals are often identified by others solely by their sexual interaction with each other, rather than with intimacy, “movie dates,” and the like. He points out that non-homosexuals tend to forget that gay sexual behavior is only one small part of the relationship equation, just as it is in heterosexual relationships.
For example, the author explains that when he revealed his sexual alignment with his mother, she encouraged him to be “quiet” about it, as she and her husband were “not open about their sexuality.” The key point here is that his mother, of course, is open about her “sexuality” with regard to the less behavioral components; she is openly married to her husband, and by extension, there are certain emotions, habits, and non-sexual behaviors that can be expected to go along with that. With regards to her son’s homosexuality, however, she believed that he would “obviously” be blatantly outwardly sexual towards other men.
I post this article because I think the larger population often does overlook the fact that homosexuals are people, not just sexual beings who constantly interact with each other in a similar sexual fashion (though I’m pretty confident that the constituents of this blog don’t fall victim to such a misconception), and I think it’s a good “reminder” for those who might tend to forget such a distinction.
Stephen