Can I Be A Homosexual Please? A Critique Of Existential Deliberations On The Issue Of Homosexuality And Their Significance For The Practice Of Existential Psychotherapy

Abstract

This paper critically reviews some of the key contributions towards an existential view of homosexuality with particular reference to the link between theory and practice, abstracted thought and individual experience, and self-derived and culturally imposed aspects of identity. It is argued that in the practice of existential psychotherapy it is important that we meet the client who is actually ‘there’ and join with them as they explore the meaning that they attach to their sexuality whilst guarding against the adoption of a theoretical frame that dogmatically eschewes the possibility of a biological and fixed formulation to an individual’s sexual orientation. The over reliance on constructionist theories is also challenged as recent history casts a new light on homosexuality as a purely socio-political phenomenon. Some ideas towards a new perspective are also derived from the work of Merleau-Ponty who does not require us to embrace the idea of a fluid sexuality but to simply be aware that our sexuality comes alive and is only ‘there’ in the physical world where the synchronisation of our essence and our experience leads to a felt sense of incarnational completeness.