[jonjacky]

Yes. The author Edmund White writes [1],

"... As a true American I do believe in identity politics, I believe that the personal can be political and I believe that, for better or for worse, my sexual identity is crucial to who I am. ... But I hold this view only because I feel that to grow up in a religious society that oppresses and stigmatizes homosexuals creates a gay identity, and that one can only liberate oneself by affirming that identity, by transforming what was despised into what is valued.

I'm not an essentialist ... I certainly don't think that this essence must be declared or avowed. I do, however, believe that a definition that has been imposed on the individual must be defended and transcended.

[1] Lost in the Funhouse by Edmund White, in TLS May 19 2006