Standards of Self-Definition

Although the term is "self-identity," the term sprouts from projections of an individual's self unto others, convoluting one's true perception of oneself. This happens inevitably as people seek clear-cut answers for exactly where they fit into the gender/sex nominalization, forming some sort of boundaries for acceptability of physical appearance and actions. In Joon Oluchi Lee's essay, homosexual males face obstruction in the face of femme psyche, believing himself that he is feminine, while "the gay subject produced thus may look like a woman, but, we are told, it is definitely not a woman." So, the male expects to find solace among those who he believes are similar in whatever aspect to him but is as met with criticism, realizing that feminine as he wishes to be, he will never "be" the female. Within the homosexual world that he emerses himself in, there exists an ideal to be achieved; when the boys fall short of reaching this ideal, this causes the

In Sedgwick's case, she examines the similarities that, according to the essay, males look for in one another to "achieve consensual validation." She mentions, "Boys measure themselves in relation to others whom they estimate to be similar." This constant comparison leads them to instead see the differences, quickly informing each person who is under misleadingly casual scrutiny if he is or is not deemed acceptable as a self-proclaimed male.