Essentialism vs. Constructionism, Theories about Sexuality, Issues Concerning Taxonomy, and How All That Relates to Gay & Lesbian Literature and History Do categories exist because humans recognize real distinctions in the world around them, or are categories arbitrary conventions, simply names for things that have categorical force because humans agree to use them in certain ways? The two traditional sides in this controversy are essentialists and constructionists. Essentialists consider categories to be a byproduct of reality: …showed first 75 words of 4764 total…

…showed last 75 words of 4764 total…r that Romans had no interest in the gender of sexual partners, only that the division of labor, so to say, was a more pressing concern and attracted more analysis. Beliefs about sexual categories vary wildly, from the notion that sexual behavior is entirely a matter of conscious choice to the conviction that all sexual behavior is determined by heredity or environment. The same individual may, in fact, entertain with apparent equanimity contrad ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**