One of the central tenants of anthropology is that any given way of life is not universally true, but rather a unique construction of society, historical time and geopolitical location. While it is easy to understand this concept in terms of societies that are foreign to us, it is very difficult to accept a view that says one's own beliefs and way of life are not necessarily always right or true.

This idea becomes even more difficult to swallow when certain aspects of life-like gender roles and identities-are also bound up with biology and science, which are assumed to be necessarily true because they are "natural."

Yet, countless cross-cultural studies have shown that in fact there are no universal genders.
While femininity and masculinity, or womanhood and manhood, may sometimes share a few similar attributes, these genders vary greatly across cultures.

This suggests that there is nothing biologically innate about them, but rather that, they too are constructions of society, time and location.

The same is true of the gender binary system, which argues that there are only two genders-man and woman-that are born of male and female biological bodies, and who are necessarily attracted to each other. Cross-cultural studies also show that in various societies there are innumerable gender categories that do not fit into this binary.
Given my anthropological background, it is frustrating to me that practitioners of so-called gay conversion therapies believe that gay men have been denied the "natural" course of masculine development and can therefore be counseled back to "normal" masculinity.
According to a November 2012 New York Times article, gay conversion therapy is being challenged in court by several men who have prescribed to it.

The practitioners of the therapy claim "homosexuality is caused ... by a stifling of normal masculine development, often by distant fathers and overbearing mothers or by early sexual abuse."

The implication of such a claim is that the stifled masculinity can be "released" and the "victims" freed of their aberrant homosexuality.

This underlying theory of gay conversion therapy is deeply flawed on two separate counts.
The first flaw is the idea that there is a quantified thing as "normal" masculinity or masculine development.

Of course our society has constructed an ideal of masculinity: the illustrious macho-man who brings home the dough for his wife and children, who is simultaneously tough and sensitive, but also never cries.

However, this ideal is not "natural. " Cross-cultural studies on masculinity are proof that this particular gender is not coded in a male-bodied individual's DNA. Rather, it is constructed by the society into which the male-bodied individual was born.

Thus, a male-bodied individual may not have an ideal masculine development, but this does not mean that the masculinity he does develop is necessarily wrong or unnatural.
The second flaw in this theory is the assumption that one's gender and one's sexuality are necessarily linked.

According to the practitioners of gay conversion therapy, gay men have not achieved "normal" masculinity because they are not attracted to women.

This assumption implies that to be a man one must necessarily be attracted to the opposite sex.

However, various cross-cultural studies have also shown that gender and sexuality are not always mutually exclusive.

For example, in many Native American societies, there are accepted gender categories in which a male-bodied individual can live as a woman and be attracted to other women. The same could be true of female-bodied individuals, as well.

Examples like this one throw a wrench in the conventional gender binary system, which assumes that gender defines sexuality and vice versa.

Unfortunately, the assumptions that validate the underlying theory of gay conversion therapy are deeply ingrained in our society and thus incredibly difficult to change. However, these assumptions about "normal" masculinity, as well as our assumptions about "normal" femininity, are also extremely harmful not only to gay men and other male-bodied individuals who do not fit into conventional masculinity, but also to straight men and women.

The idea that men or women should necessarily fit a constructed ideal of masculinity or femininity is extremely pervasive in our society.

This promotes a culture where men and women who do not fit the ideals of their respective sexes need to be counseled, beaten or otherwise reformed back to "normal" masculinity or feminity.

The fact that gay conversion therapy and the assumptions that underlie it are being challenged in court is a big step toward a more equal society.

However, if we want to achieve true equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals, we must continue to subvert and challenge our tacitly held assumptions about "normal," "natural" and "correct" masculinity and femininity.
*