Gay Identity: The Self Under Ban

The author proposes that gay identity is one of the great myths of our age. He sets forth the premise that there exists an evident distinction between 1) homosexual feelings, 2) homosexual behavior, and 3) the homosexual role. The argument presented here is that homosexual feelings play a minor part in becoming gay, which chiefly is the result of adopting the homosexual role. The gay myth is responsible for the creation of the gay community, which is an assemblage, not of people who share the same sexual orientation (they don't), but of those who have adopted the gay role. Citing extensive research, DuBay shows that homophobia arose in the 20th century. Before that time, there was no homophobia, no discrimination against homosexuals, as there were no homosexuals. The term was invented in 1869 by Karl Maria Kertbeny who was protesting against new Prussian laws against sodomy. He claimed the behavior was an inherent condition. The reason, DuBay writes, that people adopt the homosexual role is to "avoid the anxiety of choice," and the fear of slipping back to normality. DuBay claims that whatever the causes of homosexual desires, people always have choices about their behaviors, their life style, and their adoption of the homosexual role.