comment on theme

Besides being a memoir, "Butterfly Boy" is also a coming-of-age story exploring gender and sexual identification issues. It is not uncommon for such stories to encompass the theme of sexual identification. After all, protagonists often experience the passage from childhood to puberty. During this time they undergo sexual urges, start to think about how they view themselves in relationships, and realize who they find sexually attractive. "Butterfly Boy," however, forces readers to wonder whether one's sexuality is really tied to one's gender. The author, Gonzalez, raises question such as, what makes someone a homosexual? Is it someone who likes to have sex with their own sex or can someone have sex with their own sex, but be married or have a girlfriend and not be a homosexual? How does one truly define their sexual identity and how should the world do so? Is there a clear line?