Summary Of D Emilio

D’Emilio makes the argument that gay and lesbian identities are not fixed but have been created by society over time. He cites the rise of capitalism in America as the main element that created the circumstances for same-sex desires to form into identities. D’Emilio first explains how before the free labor market, colonial white Americans could only survive from within a family unit. Each member of the family (husband, wife or child) played a role in their survival, which meant that each family was their own independant unit (D’Emilio, pg. 469). However, the rise of capitalism took many workers (mostly men, but some women) outside the family and into the workplace. Because of this, D’Emilio argues that the family unit became less important