People tend to use definitions to categorize each other, trying to fit complex and unfamiliar concepts into familiar frameworks. Thus, people tend to simplify complicated, ambiguous concepts, making them simple and understandable to themselves. Moreover, even when people encounter something that they cannot understand about themselves, they also strive to find a simple explanation for this and fit themselves into such frameworks. Categorization is an actual problem of society, which is covered in modern literature and is interconnected with such concepts as transnationalism and identity.
One of the brightest examples of such topical issue is Edgar Gomez’s memoir. High-Risk Homosexual sheds light on this phenomenon of human behavior, focusing on addressing these limiting frames (Gomez, 2022). As an example, the author mentions the brochure “What is a boy”, which is a set of generalizations familiar to society for a person assigned certain gender at birth. Society places certain expectations on a person, completely ignoring the fact that a person can be different and strive for something else. In a broader sense, such behavior is linked to opposing ideas such as transnationalism and identity.
Many people’s transnational networks of exchange and involvement are built on some idea of ​​a common identity; conversely, the identities of many persons and groups of people are addressed in social worlds that span many locations. Identity can suggest the ways in which people perceive themselves and characterize others. Previously, transnationalism was seen as a concept mainly related to migrants, but global cultural interaction has made it a part of the life of almost every member of society. Moreover, transnationalism can now shape identities.
Transnationalism and identity may be the same framework that the author writes about in the memoir, but at the same time, this framework helps people find belonging to the people who need it. There is nothing good or bad about following these limits or abandoning them. The only mature and responsible behavior is not to impose them on other members of society.
Reference
Gomez, E. (2022). High-risk homosexual: A memoir. Catapult.