as a "real and apparent entity,"rather than describing a behavior, are recent constructs of humans. "Prior to thenineteenth century - or, some will say, the eighteenth - homosexuality in the westernworld was a practice, not an identity" (Garber, p. 213). The use of the term to describewho a person is, is to attach the negative stigma of an unacceptable behavior to theindividual, thereby making the person unacceptable. This is also done as a means tosanction and prohibit the behavior. Who wants to be called a "homo" or "fag?" Beinglabeled a homosexual is society's way of determining what type of person you are andhow you should be treated. What is also powerfully realized is that definitions ofdeviance and labels are handed down by those in society who decide "the norm" based onthe current trend and philosophy of the time and their culture. This is important for tworeasons. First, it affirms the sociological issue of power in constructing deviance. Secondly, it challenges the notion of gender being immutable and invariable over timeand culture. Woodhouse excellently states this in her discussion of sex, gender, andappearance in relation to transvestites (cross-dressers). "The realization that gender is nota fixed entity, that gender roles and expectations can be questioned, attacked andchanged, emphasizes the significance of viewing both gender roles and gender identity associal constructs whose meanings are continually affirmed and reaffirmed, negotiated andrenegotiated through the social process of human communication and interaction"(Woodhouse, p. 119). An example of the idea that gender is fixed is shown here fromNARTH's School Sex Education Guidelines: "This impression of having always 'feltdifferent' is a reflection of childhood gender nonconformity" (NARTH, p. 2), arguing it isnot the case that you were born homosexual. Here again is the assumption that sex,gender role, and gender identity exhibit a conformity to, and...
