Social Labels

Once again I find myself toying with the ideas of labels. I quote Chauncey on page 297:

The theater of drag balls enhanced the solidarity of the gay world and symbolized the continuing centrality of gender inversion to gay culture, much as ethnic parades and festivals helped establish the solidarity of the ethnic community by bringing people together and constructing a sense of common culture.

 Obviously in modern times we would view homosexuality as that- a sexuality. But here, in this time period, we've found that sexuality didn't exist. Gays performed a more effeminate gender role. Yet they didn't identify as women. Fairies merely dressed as women to create spectacle. So of the roles that existed, what is left? Class and ethnicity. Being that this is is not an issue of economic status, ethnicity is all that's left. Could one argue that homosexuality is an ethnic label during that time period? In class we talked about how one may choose to be a certain ethnicity. While someone may not be able to choose their sexuality, they may choose to engage in the gay culture of new york. They could attend the drag balls and other events which would bring all the people together in "...a sense of common culture." I realize that homosexuality is not an ethnicity, but it's good just to approach the past from a different lens every once in a while... perhaps always.