Analysis Of The Gay Enigmatic Reality By Andrew Sullivan

The Gay Enigmatic Reality According to Sullivan To answer Andrew Sullivan’s question, a homosexual is any person of one specific gender that identifies as having a sexual interest or orientation to that same gender. Throughout his essay, Sullivan entices the reader with personal accounts of being an adolescent homosexual in “What is a Homosexual?” Sullivan accomplishes this in his essay by using a formal tone, yet also informal through the use of personal perspective. Being gay, according to Sullivan, entails the isolation of the individual and the separation into two beings: the emotional being and the sexual being. Within these defined boundaries of society, Sullivan defines the great division that exists between gay adolescence and the heterosexual societal norm that oppresses upon gay individuals and causes a certain development within them. Sullivan clearly and accurately presents the argument that “It is not something genetically homosexual; it is something environmentally homosexual. And it begins young” (Sullivan 199) throughout his essay by using figurative …show more content…
Sullivan uses exemplary rhetoric techniques in his essay that debate the development of a person’s sexuality. One of the most powerful techniques used is the title itself – a rhetorical question. The question not only entices the reader, but also introduces the topic of the essay. He then answers his own rhetorical question by stating that a homosexual is: “my life” (Sullivan 197). The implications of his ideas are that he developed into the person he is as seen through his thesis and he has the same story as other homosexual individuals. They all revolve around certain scenarios which ultimately allude to his idea that the isolation and great division between homosexuals and heterosexuals create the atmosphere to develop in a manner of