A Critique and Synthesis of Biological Essentialism and Social Constructionist Views of Sexuality and Gender

Abstract

To say that a person is homosexual is a statement about an individual in a particular social context and at a particular point in that person's life. Homosexuality is an aspect of sexual and gender expression that profoundly reflects contemporary social and cultural values. The essay is critical of both biological essentialist and social constructionist views. Biological essentialism depicts a process in which biological influences precede cultural influences and set predetermined limits to the effects of culture. In effect, it submerges sexual preference, a human process, into sexual orientation, a biological mechanism. Social constructionism tends to depict the individual as an empty organism that is filled and shaped by culture and society and is devoid of consciousness and intention. An alternative view is proposed that views sexual and gender expression as a product of complementary biological, personal, and cultural influences.

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