Capitalism and Gay Identity
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Philosophy
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Nov 24, 2024
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Capitalism and Gay Identity
There were not many references for gay persons in ancient America until the rise of capitalism. Before capitalism, gay people faced discrimination, isolation, and oppression. The ushering in of a capitalistic economic favored the development and flourishing of gender rights and manifestations in America. Capitalism required that employers pay their labor rather than rely on
slavery and servitude. With the income earned from such wages, silent gay people learned the concept of freedom and its benefits. Capitalism provided people with the right to offer their labor
freely to anyone willing to purchase it and unlocked a feeling of freedom (Abelove, 1999). The people felt free in other aspects of life. They realized an alternative way to circumnavigate gay oppression. This freedom led to the open declaration of gay sexual orientations for both men and women. Capitalism triggered the spark of the first gay liberation movements now that people felt
free to express their needs and demand what they believed to be their rights. People who made a living outside the family unit in waged labor offered by capitalism had more urge to transform similar gender eroticism into a personal identity. The term queer has been, in the past, a conventional slang reference for gay people. It is often intended to be offensive and depicts strange and unwanted behavior. In ancient England and the USA, just before and at the onset of gay liberation movements, people who openly declared a gay identity appeared out of place, commonly referenced as queer. It was a morally unacceptable sexual orientation, and those against it did not shy from openly offending gay people. These readings support the Paris is Burning Film which explains the troubles that gay people face in a world that expects them to behave and act normally. In the film, gay people must conform to oppressive social norms to meet the primary treatment of people who are not gay.
Sheyla I concur with your reference to the existence of gay people before the 1970s when gay liberation began. These people existed but could not express their emotions and feelings. Some probably felt betrayed by their bodies and decided to lie low in hibernation away from their realities. It is not that gay people did not exist before this time, it is just that they could not tell what they felt. With the rise of capitalism, they learned about the freedom of waged voluntary labor. They understood the need to express their feelings openly, and the term gay people arose. With the sudden open declaration of gay identity, the straight people in the society could neither appreciate nor respect this new form of sexual orientation. They thus developed offensive terms such as queer to refer to gay people. The term has, however, undergone positive evolution and lost its slang meaning. It is a collective term for people who are not oriented sexually in a normal
way (queer).
Vanessa I agree with your assessment that capitalism led to the development of gay identities but do not support their existence. Capitalism defines the basic family as the institution of the wife, husband, and kids. Gay people existing in this era went through hard times trying to fit in a system not made to accommodate their sexuality. The film Paris is Burning is a superb representation of the trouble gay people went through during the gay liberation movements. They
were termed as “queer” and had to pass for their straight counterparts to qualify for jobs and have an acceptable social identity. The film represents such moments of oppression and the trouble surrounding the attempt to live in a foreign sexual orientation to make a living. It was the
situation during the gay liberation movements in the 1970s when capitalism was the day's talk. D’Emilio’s argument that gay people exist in every period of history is a huge support for the acceptance of their sexual orientation under the societal umbrella.
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