Social Construction Theory: Problems In The History Of Sexuality

In Carole Vance’s “Social Construction Theory: Problems in the History of Sexuality,” some gay rights activist may find the social construction approach to sexuality problematic. One of Vance’s critiques of social construction is that it implies a gay or lesbian sexuality is unreal. To illustrate this, If I told my gay friends that their love is socially constructed, they would argue back that their love is indescribable, like an essentialist where they feel that their sexality is innate, biological and simply unexplainable. Therefore, they would argue that heterosexuality is socially constructed as well, which makes Vance believe this critique is invalid because she argues that it’s absolutely real to people. She argues that individuals have