A heated political and social conflict in the United State centered around homosexuality. One side of the issues states homosexuality wrong and a conscious choice, while the other maintains it’s biological. The American Psychological Association doesn’t seem to support the “choice” side as they wrote a resolution supporting gay marriage.
Based on the American Medical Associations policy regarding discrimination, they dont seem to support the “wrong choice” side either. The growing consensus in the US seems to be gay’s okay. Eastern exposure to the Western words “gay” and “lesbian” have affected the terminology used to identify sexuality in Indonesian culture.
However, this does not really change how people in Indonesia identify themselves sexually. Sexuality has its roots in biology, so if an Indonesian person was homosexual and had no label for their sexual identify, finding the label “gay” doesn’t make them gay. It only provides them with a label and description for themselves. Therefore homosexuality isn’t Western. Any label for homosexuality adapted from Western vernacular is not strictly Western.Having a word for homosexuality doesn’t mean homosexuality didn’t exist before it was named. In the case of labeling sexuality, globalization is different because no new idea, technology or lifestyle is being transmitted. Indonesians were homosexual before the words gay and lesbi existed. Therefore, sexuality can’t be globalized, but words labeling sexuality can.
