Date of Award
8-12-2016
Degree Type
Closed Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Philosophy
First Advisor
Nicole Vincent
Second Advisor
Brian D. Earp
Third Advisor
Eddy Nahmias
Fourth Advisor
Neil Van Leeuwen
Fifth Advisor
Dan Weiskopf
Abstract
Note:
This work has been updated in a modified version in Vierra, Andrew. 2020. “Make Me Gay: What Neurointerventions Tell Us About Sexual Orientation and Why It Matters for the Law.” In Neurointerventions and the Law: Regulating Human Mental Capacity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/neurointerventions-and-the-law-9780190651145?cc=us&lang=en.
This thesis challenges the restrictive definition of ‘gay’ used in legal discourse, argues for the adoption of a broader definition that is inclusive of more gay individuals, and demonstrates that the adoption of a broader definition would help frame gay rights debates in a way that is more acceptable to both progressives and conservatives. Current legal arguments for gay rights use ‘gay’ to refer almost solely to individuals that have exclusively—largely immutable—same-sex erotic desires. However, ‘gay’ should be understood to include a more diverse group of individuals. Thus, the current restrictive use of the term ‘gay’ either captures too many people or too few. Too many people, for conservatives, because gay rights are extended to many gay individuals that are not included in the restrictive definition. Too few people, for progressives, because the restrictive use of the term ‘gay’ doesn’t capture the entire gay community.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/8782315
Recommended Citation
Vierra, Andrew J., "Make Me Gay: What Neuro-interventions Tell us about Sexual Orientation and Why it Matters for Gay Rights." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2016.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/8782315
File Upload Confirmation
1