--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Since the most important element of any…" description: "\"Since the most important element of any concept is that its originating question be appropriately framed, any theory demanding an explanation for homos..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/sarah-schulman-15652_categories_since-the-most-important-element-of-any_3070021.jpg" --- # Since the most important element of any concept is that… ![“Since the most important element of any concept is that its originating question be appropriately framed, any theory demanding an explanation for homosexuality is a problematic one because it maintains our existence as a category of deviance. I mean, no one is running around trying to figure out…” quote by Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/sarah-schulman-15652_categories_since-the-most-important-element-of-any_3070021.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/sarah-schulman-15652_categories_since-the-most-important-element-of-any_3070021.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/sarah-schulman-15652_categories_since-the-most-important-element-of-any_3070021.jpg) > “Since the most important element of any concept is that its originating question be appropriately framed, any theory demanding an explanation for homosexuality is a problematic one because it maintains our existence as a category of deviance. I mean, no one is running around trying to figure out why some people like sports, for example.” [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Framing questions about homosexuality as deviant is problematic; it imposes a biased category. **In simple terms:** Questioning homosexuality as deviant is flawed. Key Takeaway Avoid pathologizing sexual orientation. Themes LGBTQ+ rights social theory bias Mood critical reflective Type philosophical social When to use this quote - academic discourse - policy making - public debate Key Concepts deviance theory question framing Questions to Reflect On - How to reframe discussions without bias? - What impact does labeling have on society? A Different Perspective Cultural norms may resist re‑framing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deviance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deviance/) [Diversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diversity/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Homosexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homosexuality/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personality/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Social justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-justice/) [Sports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports/) ## Related quotes > [The Constitution was framed upon the theory that the peoples of the several states must sink or swim together, and that in the long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-cardozo/the-constitution-was-framed-upon-the-theory-that-the-peoples-of-the/) [Benjamin Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-cardozo/) > [“If little else, the brain is an educational toy. The problem with possessing such an engaging toy is that other people want to play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/if-little-else-the-brain-is-an-educational-toy-the-problem-with/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [One thing is to have the protection of human rights for homosexuals and quite something else is this promotion of indecency. It would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-sina/one-thing-is-to-have-the-protection-of-human-rights-for-homosexuals/) [Ali Sina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-sina/) > [Talking about morality can be offensive. Morality is a politically incorrect subject. Many people are genuinely offended if someone speaks of morality and family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-sina/talking-about-morality-can-be-offensive-morality-is-a-politically/) [Ali Sina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-sina/) > [“But the rhetoric of deviance was far from extinct.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-coe/but-the-rhetoric-of-deviance-was-far-from-extinct/) [Alexis Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-coe/) > [Ever since the Evil Empire turned out to be a collection of third-world countries, Americans aligned on the far right have tried to cast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/ever-since-the-evil-empire-turned-out-to-be-a-collection-of-third/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Schoolchildren make up their own rules and enforce their own conformities. They feel safest when leisure time is rationed and dosed. They like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/schoolchildren-make-up-their-own-rules-and-enforce-their-own/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [There is no such thing as a value-free concept of deviance; to say homosexuals are deviant because they are a statistical minority is, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-altman/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-value-free-concept-of-deviance-to-say/) [Dennis Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-altman/) > [Normal is the average of deviance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/normal-is-the-average-of-deviance/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [It's my job to spread deviance to the American youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-mcgowan/it-s-my-job-to-spread-deviance-to-the-american-youth/) [Rose McGowan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-mcgowan/) > [“The deviant and the conformist...are creatures of the same culture, inventions of the same imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kai-erikson/the-deviant-and-the-conformist-are-creatures-of-the-same-culture/) Kai Erikson > [Yeah, well, I'm crazy, but I'm not stupid, hopefully. And I think we're all a bit crazy if we do anything that's deviant. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/yeah-well-i-m-crazy-but-i-m-not-stupid-hopefully-and-i-think-we-re/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Without deviance from normality, there can be no progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/without-deviance-from-normality-there-can-be-no-progress/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [Homophobia's just one form of abjection, and wherever you have a marker of deviance - skin colour, gender, gender identity, disability - you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/homophobia-s-just-one-form-of-abjection-and-wherever-you-have-a/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [I think with any characterization there's a point where you empathize, no matter how much of a deviance his or her actions may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/i-think-with-any-characterization-there-s-a-point-where-you-empathize/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) ## More by Sarah Schulman > [“Nothing disrupts dehumanization more quickly than inviting someone over, looking into their eyes, hearing their voice, and listening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-schulman/nothing-disrupts-dehumanization-more-quickly-than-inviting-someone/) [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) > [“I realized that I’m not a lesbian anymore. I realized that women don’t have fun together. I realized that that’s not love. I realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-schulman/i-realized-that-i-m-not-a-lesbian-anymore-i-realized-that-women-don-t/) [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) > [In the past, heartland whites with some kind of dream or desire left their towns for cities to become citified. They wanted to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-schulman/in-the-past-heartland-whites-with-some-kind-of-dream-or-desire-left/) [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) > [I went to my 30th high school reunion, and I could tell who was gay and who was straight because the gay people were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-schulman/i-went-to-my-30th-high-school-reunion-and-i-could-tell-who-was-gay/) [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) > [The wind smelled clean, like clean magazines. 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He could always tell what was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-schulman/doc-didn-t-have-a-television-but-he-could-predict-that-sort-of-thing/) [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) > [Probably, the nature of homophobia will never be widely interrogated, while we will continue to be excluded from school curricula, subjected to vicious media…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-schulman/probably-the-nature-of-homophobia-will-never-be-widely-interrogated/) [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) > [Breezy journalistic sentences about wealthy white people unaware that other human beings are real became the rubber stamp product of the elite MFA programs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-schulman/breezy-journalistic-sentences-about-wealthy-white-people-unaware-that/) [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) > [If we love and identity people with HIV and other oppressed people, we can help transform the epidemic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-schulman/if-we-love-and-identity-people-with-hiv-and-other-oppressed-people-we/) [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) > [“Strangely, the subsequent AIDS works that have become iconic in our culture rarely mention the movement, or the engaged community of lovers, but both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-schulman/strangely-the-subsequent-aids-works-that-have-become-iconic-in-our/) [Sarah Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-schulman/) > [“I dreamt that I took William Burrough’s penis and tied it up with piano wire. 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For me it \[policy\] is about concepts and substance. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-juncker/i-don-t-think-in-national-categories-for-me-it-policy-is-about/) [Jean-Claude Juncker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-juncker/) > [Virtually every major technological advance in the history of the human species- back to the invention of stone tools and the domestication of fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/virtually-every-major-technological-advance-in-the-history-of-the/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [We don't need to complicate all the "reasons" behind our emotions. It's much simpler than that. Two categories .. good feelings, bad feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/we-don-t-need-to-complicate-all-the-reasons-behind-our-emotions-it-s/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [I put the truth out there, I put the historical facts into Hip Hop to show us how much history repeats itself and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immortal-technique/i-put-the-truth-out-there-i-put-the-historical-facts-into-hip-hop-to/) [Immortal Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immortal-technique/) > [I am devoting my lecture in this seminar to a discussion of the possibility that we are now entering a Jewish century, a time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-a-siegel/i-am-devoting-my-lecture-in-this-seminar-to-a-discussion-of-the/) Martin A. 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