It’s not about whether it’s okay, it’s about whether it’s “part of who he is” or an alien intrusion.
That doesn’t solve PhilGoetz’s example though. And in the original version of Larry, his parents might very well say that his revulsion at homosexual acts is “who he is” and his sexual feelings the “alien intrusion”. Are these concepts anything but a way of making disguised moral judgements? Is “who someone really is” just “who I would prefer them to be”?
Then again, another attitude to Larry is that his sexual feelings are who he really is, but that resisting them is a cross he has to bear. (I believe this is the Roman Catholic view.) So I don’t think the concept of authenticity solves these problems.
That doesn’t solve PhilGoetz’s example though. And in the original version of Larry, his parents might very well say that his revulsion at homosexual acts is “who he is” and his sexual feelings the “alien intrusion”. Are these concepts anything but a way of making disguised moral judgements? Is “who someone really is” just “who I would prefer them to be”?
Then again, another attitude to Larry is that his sexual feelings are who he really is, but that resisting them is a cross he has to bear. (I believe this is the Roman Catholic view.) So I don’t think the concept of authenticity solves these problems.