Inequality and the ‘Universal’ Gay Male Experience: Developing the Concept of Gay Essentialism

Debate over the origins of sexuality has animated a great deal of research on homosexuality, centering largely on whether sexuality is biologically determined or socially constructed. The contours of this debate have important ramifications regarding experiences of marginalization within the gay imagined community. Dominant discourses of sexuality can flatten and obscure differences within this community, and these discourses are often connected to essentialist notions of the origins of homosexuality. Nonetheless, the mechanisms through which essentialist notions affect non-heterosexual individuals’ understandings of sexual identity and of the gay community remains somewhat unclear. Through analysis of interviews with 29 non-heterosexual men, I find evidence of essentialist logic concerning not only origins but also race, nationality, class, and sexual identity/preference. I synthesize these by advancing the concept of gay essentialism, arguing for a more intersectional approach to the concept that deemphasizes debate over origins. I also examine how gay essentialist logic helps to (re)produce and obscure inequality.