When it comes right down to it one's sexuality is such a small fragment of who one is as a person that I think that neither heterosexuality nor homosexuality could properly be termed "lifestyles."To say one is homosexual says nothing of one's cultural background, native tongue, talents, dreams, goals, desires, skills, faith, etc. To equate one's lifestyle with one's sexuality is a grave, limiting mistake. I'd be disgusted to be referred to principally as a heterosexual, even though I'm attracted to women. What does that sort of label have to say, really, about who I am?
It may seem that the gay marches and parades, independant newscasts, support groups, protests, and legal battles demonstrate homosexuals' tendencies to make their sexual preference a lifestyle, but that's entirely an illusion. As in the past (and present) with other marginalized groups in contemporary society, an emphasis on these differences is necessary only to produce tolerance and motivate change.
It is necessary, to a point, that these people emphasize an aspect of their life to promote acceptance. Very few of them, I am sure, would equate their choice in sexual partners with their being, their essence, purpose, or their "style of life."
So much more makes a person than that. Sexuality is less than a lifestyle, and if there are any who feel that it's really enough, then they must live the most shallow and unrewarding of lives.
None.
