In the reading, Capitalism and Gay Identity, D’Emilio challenges the idea that gay men and lesbians have not always existed, but emerged because of free labor created by capitalists. However, in my opinion towards the emergence of homosexuality, I disagree with D’Emilio’s concept that homosexuality results from a specific time period when capitalism arose, and I would argue that although attractions among same genders appeared uncommon prior to the twentieth century, homosexuality has established long before the development of capitalism.
In other words, I believe same-gender attractions develop inherently instead of socially (D’Emilio, 1983, 100).
While D’Emilio suggests that gay and lesbian members originated from the development of capitalism, …show more content…
The absence and rarity of gay and lesbian population before capitalism does not imply that gay and lesbian did not exist prior to the emergence of capitalism. Instead, I think those who identify themselves as gay or lesbian must experience a driven force that exerts greater power than their surroundings, and they only had the opportunities to express their identities after capitalism arose. In an article about the studies of gay genes, the author mentions a very interesting fact that physical and genetic abnormalities at birth may alter one’s sexual orientation. For instance, the term congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) refers to the appearance of masculine traits in women, hence, girls born with high level of male sex hormones tend to display more interests in the female gender. The study conducted by several German researchers on CAH female patients and the relationships with their healthy sisters explains that CAH patients tend to display more masculine activities than their sisters would. Also, CAH patients in general showed more inclination toward not having their own children and prefered to stay at home than looking for an employment. Likewise, some males lack the male sexual organ when given birth which would also results in same-sex preference. The likelihood of having same-sex preferences is highly expected and it would be difficult to reshape …show more content…
The research mainly focuses on genetic coding within each gay twin, and the findings suggest the only common characteristic among all 818 gay twin brothers surveyed appears to be being gay. While D’Emilio points out that gay emergence stems from individual sexual liberation, one should take into consideration that homosexual desires could not develop from nowhere in such a short time period right after the development of capitalism, and that people who had homosexual desires seemed more likely to have been hidden their unexpected choices when individual rights were unprotected. In this case, the study of innate homosexuality challenges D’Emilio’s argument that sexual preferences form according to historical events, the emergence of capitalism that provides the platform for individualism and expressing homosexual desires as a result (Avery, 2014; D’Emilio, 1983, p.
In other words, I believe same-gender attractions develop inherently instead of socially (D’Emilio, 1983, 100).
While D’Emilio suggests that gay and lesbian members originated from the development of capitalism, …show more content…
The absence and rarity of gay and lesbian population before capitalism does not imply that gay and lesbian did not exist prior to the emergence of capitalism. Instead, I think those who identify themselves as gay or lesbian must experience a driven force that exerts greater power than their surroundings, and they only had the opportunities to express their identities after capitalism arose. In an article about the studies of gay genes, the author mentions a very interesting fact that physical and genetic abnormalities at birth may alter one’s sexual orientation. For instance, the term congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) refers to the appearance of masculine traits in women, hence, girls born with high level of male sex hormones tend to display more interests in the female gender. The study conducted by several German researchers on CAH female patients and the relationships with their healthy sisters explains that CAH patients tend to display more masculine activities than their sisters would. Also, CAH patients in general showed more inclination toward not having their own children and prefered to stay at home than looking for an employment. Likewise, some males lack the male sexual organ when given birth which would also results in same-sex preference. The likelihood of having same-sex preferences is highly expected and it would be difficult to reshape …show more content…
The research mainly focuses on genetic coding within each gay twin, and the findings suggest the only common characteristic among all 818 gay twin brothers surveyed appears to be being gay. While D’Emilio points out that gay emergence stems from individual sexual liberation, one should take into consideration that homosexual desires could not develop from nowhere in such a short time period right after the development of capitalism, and that people who had homosexual desires seemed more likely to have been hidden their unexpected choices when individual rights were unprotected. In this case, the study of innate homosexuality challenges D’Emilio’s argument that sexual preferences form according to historical events, the emergence of capitalism that provides the platform for individualism and expressing homosexual desires as a result (Avery, 2014; D’Emilio, 1983, p.