Out of Capitalism Emerges Gay Identity

Prior to the 20^th century, life was based upon a nuclear family.  A nuclear family was self-sufficient and independent.  It was the only means of survival.  There were not opportunities for self-sustained living apart from a family that worked together to support themselves.  In these times, an opportunity for a homosexual lifestyle seemed completely unrealistic. 

When capitalism arrived, however, people were now able to work for wages and be self-sufficient.  There was no longer the need to have a “nuclear family” on the economic basis.  The view of family now turned from survival, to an opportunity for emotional fulfillment.  The capitalist economy, thus, created the ability for homosexuals to have their own lifestyles free from the societal demands and also assisted them in knowing that they were not the only people who lived this lifestyle.  As stated by John D’Emilio, “The decisions of particular men and women to act on the erotic/emotional preference for the same sex, along with the new consciousness that this preference made them different, led to the formation of an urban subculture of gay men and lesbians,” (D’Emilio 231)

Because of this change to a capitalist economy, it is now not as difficult for young gay men and lesbians to “come out” as it was even 50 years ago.  My grandpa’s brother came out quite recently, I would guess about 15 years ago, and my grandfather has still not accepted him and his lifestyle due to his old beliefs.  He grew up on a farm in a small town of Minnesota and experienced the drastic change to capitalism.   On the other hand, my brother is also gay, and came out a year ago.  My dad was a little “untalkative” at first, but my immediate family willingly accepts him as he is (my grandpa still doesn’t know… shhh). 

I would still say that we have plenty of work to do.  People under the age of 18 are still sometimes under pressure to live up to their parent’s expectations because they are considered their dependents.  If the parent’s are traditional, people under the age of 18 may still have intense fear of expressing who they are.  As stated by D’Emilio on children being dependents, “we can scarcely imagine what it would mean to treat them as autonomous human beings, particularly in the realm of sexual expression and choice,” (D’Emilio 235).