A struggle concerning homo: Use of gender categories by a homosexual unaffiliated with LGBT activism

Abstract

In this paper, we focus on a male homosexual (Mr. A) who criticized LGBT activism on Twitter (currently X). We analyzed how it can be understood as rational of him to describe himself as a homo. In LGBT activism, homo is considered a discriminatory term, and the use of homo by Mr. A could thus be viewed as deviant. We used the concept of “self-enforcement of category” to analyze the predicates associated with homo, showing that Mr. A sought to retrieve an entitlement to self-manage the category of homo. He associated six new predicates with homo. These were based on the personal norms of Mr. A rather than those of LGBT activism, who thus made it rational to describe himself as a homo. In other words, Mr. A reclaimed the right to describe himself as a homo if he saw fit, from LGBT activism. From the political perspective that views LGBT activism as legitimate, it might be thought that Mr. A sought to nullify its achievements. However, when the predicates associated with the use of homo by Mr. A were understood from his political perspective, it became clear that the choice of Mr. A was, in his view, just.