Initially used to mean “carefree”, “happy”, the term “gay” started to be used in reference to homosexuality in the early 20th century.  It is now used to point to people, and cultures that identify themselves as being homosexual. Derived from the Greek word, homo which means “the same”, homosexual people can be defined as people that feel attracted sexually to people of the same sex. There are various theories developed by sociologists and psychologists that try to explain the process in which one develops or acquires a homosexual identity.

The social constructivist theory believes that one’s sexuality is influenced by cultural, social and temporal factors. Constructivists believe that all human behavior is a conditioned process of inter-subjective notions habits and cultural practices and they apply the same concept to sexual behavior.

The essentialist theory believes that human sexuality varies in incremental degrees from the excusive heterosexuality to the exclusive homosexuality. They also posit that social factors do not have any bearing into the developing nor understanding of one’s sexual identity. Essentialist theorists also contend that the negative stigma associated with this type of sexual identities is a sole product of history. They are committed in believing that sexuality of a product of natural factors.

As a blend between the two, the unified theory belies that we are inherently sexual beings but they way we developed and how we direct our sexuality is shaped by societal factors, into becoming a way of life. In their attempts to explain this process of identity formation, specialists acknowledge that it is a complex concept that so far has been narrowed into various theories that have still not been able to provide a comprehensive explanation of the whole process.