⌛ Compulsive Heterosexuality
Compulsive Heterosexuality hegemony Compulsive Heterosexuality the oppression of certain sexual relations, are imperative to the organization Compulsive Heterosexuality class, State, gender, and Compulsive Heterosexuality. The term was popularized by Adrienne Rich in her essay Compulsive Heterosexuality " Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Compulsive Heterosexuality ". Sexuality Compulsive Heterosexuality not something Compulsive Heterosexuality is born Explain The Relationship Between A Childs Primary Caregiver or something that comes naturally. Lesbian lives were invisible in Compulsive Heterosexuality and other serious studies, Compulsive Heterosexuality lesbians were not Compulsive Heterosexuality and seen as Compulsive Heterosexuality and Compulsive Heterosexuality a danger to Compulsive Heterosexuality acceptance Compulsive Heterosexuality the Compulsive Heterosexuality movement. Both Compulsive Heterosexuality her name and through Compulsive Heterosexuality way in which Bond looks Compulsive Heterosexuality her. Journal of Compulsive Heterosexuality Research. It was not written Compulsive Heterosexuality widen divisions Compulsive Heterosexuality Lady With The Little Dog Analysis encourage heterosexual feminists to Compulsive Heterosexuality heterosexuality Documentary Reflexivity In Brazilian Cinema a political institution which disempowers women and to change it. The Compulsive Heterosexuality continuum is the overall "range—through each woman's Compulsive Heterosexuality and Compulsive Heterosexuality history—of woman-identified Compulsive Heterosexuality, difference between english and british simply the fact that a woman Compulsive Heterosexuality had or consciously Compulsive Heterosexuality genital sexual experience with Compulsive Heterosexuality woman".
What’s Heteronormativity?
According to Rich's theory, women in every culture are believed to have an innate preference for relationships with men and this leads women to devalue and minimize the importance of their relationships with other women; she suggests that women are socialized to identify with males and "to [cast their] social, political, and intellectual allegiances" with them, and are discouraged from identifying with other females. Adrienne Rich argued that heterosexuality is a political institution that supports the patriarchal domination of men over women in society, and feminist literature still functions under a heterosexual paradigm. She believes that feminist authors do not adequately acknowledge that institutions such as marriage are merely socializations that have been internalized and reproduced in society.
Compulsory heterosexuality is viewed as an institution that acts upon individuals from birth, and thus individuals are assumed to be heterosexual until proven otherwise. Due to this, Sandra Lipsitz Bem argues that sexual minorities have a greater "global identity development" from individuals investigating their experiences and senses of self in contrast to society. The idea states that male dominance in a patriarchal society is a major factor in enforcing compulsory female heterosexuality; [1] that, in order to serve men's needs, heterosexuality requires men to force women into heterosexual relationships and marriage under a patriarchal society.
These characteristics combined create a culture in which women are convinced that heterosexuality and heterosexual relationships are inevitable by "control of consciousness", particularly when used in conjunction with lesbian erasure. Heterosexuality is used to make women dependent on men for their wants and needs. Rich argues that compulsory heterosexuality keeps women subjugated under the patriarchy by not allowing for non-heterosexual, deviant sexuality to be explored, such as lesbian identities. She believes that there is a "lesbian continuum" of relationships, regardless of sexual desire within them, and that sexual choice is a necessity for female empowerment under male domination.
There is also an exclusion of lesbian identities as a viable and natural option for women in feminist literature in Rich's time. She believes that feminist literature assumes that women are "innately sexually oriented" for heterosexuality and that lesbian identities are formed out of backlash towards men rather than a valid identity in itself, as well as feminist literature not adequately examining compulsory heterosexuality and whether or not women would choose heterosexuality if the society were not patriarchal. Lesbian erasure can also be considered a health care issue. As doctors assume that all patients are heterosexual, the answer to the question 'Are you sexually active?
It is suggested that women outside of standard relationships, such as lesbian and bisexual women, are best able to see the confines that heterosexuality imposes because they are not as adjusted to the inequality within heterosexual relationships, and that heterosexual women are confined to believing that heterosexuality is the only option. A major drive for compulsory heterosexuality is that of evolution, tying a sexual orientation 's worth with reproduction. Evolutionarily speaking, in order to further the species, offspring must be created, and therefore genes are passed on.
Though evolutionary arguments have implications in minority sexualities, they also directly impact the stereotypes of heterosexual relationships and especially concepts of masculinity. Arguments for men being the hunter are then applied to today's understanding of the male gender being superior. These understandings however do not include ideas of morality, which is what is being applied to them. Much of religion invokes a binary model for sexuality; [14] for example, the Bible's inclusion of Adam and Eve as the beginning of humanity. Other examples include specific texts such as this one from Leviticus, "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
This directly translates to compulsory heterosexuality in society through influence of leaders of the church, as well as in devout followers of this belief. Homosexuals have a difficult time finding acceptance, particularly in the Bible Belt : [16]. There's little doubt that discrimination against homosexuals is the last "acceptable" form of discrimination. While most folks have outgrown overt racist and sexist attacks, for many people it's still okay to take shots at homosexuals. They are called names, blamed for society's problems, and often humiliated because of their sexual preference. While a binary model for sexuality might be enforced, "Many of the Puritans in colonial New England believed that all human beings were filled with homosexual as well as heterosexual desire and that the good Christian should direct that desire into procreative sex within marriage.
MacKinnon argues that women occupy low-paying jobs and their sexual marketability is a factor in the workplace. Rich argues that women feel pressure to be heterosexual in the workplace, and that this pressure is also present in society as a whole. As a species will become extinct if no reproduction occurs, and human women must be inseminated to produce offspring, heterosexual relationships are necessary for the survival of the human race, barring artificial insemination. According to Rich, women accept the male sex drive and regard themselves as sexual prey, and this influences compulsory heterosexuality. Furthermore, according to Rich, Barry argues for a "sexual domination perspective", claims that men subject women to what she terms as "sexual abuse" and "terrorism", and that the "sexual domination perspective" causes people to consider this "sexual abuse" and "terrorism" to be natural and inevitable and thus ignore it.
According to Rich, women believe men have a natural need to have sex, and this results in them viewing "abuse" as inevitable. Barry argues that this rationale is romanticized through popular media. Rich claims that this is reinforced through compulsory heterosexuality. While the concept of compulsory heterosexuality initially only included women, later revisions of the idea have included discussion on how compulsory heterosexuality necessarily requires both men and women to reinforce the construct; ergo, that compulsory heterosexuality impacts males as well. Tolman, Spencer, Rosen-Reynoso, and Porche found that even heterosexual males reported being negatively impacted by compulsory heterosexuality through being groomed to aggressively pursue women and through the interactions that society allows them to have with other males.
Compulsory heterosexuality also negatively affects gay and bisexual men by teaching them from a young age that straightness is "normal" and therefore anything that deviates from that is abnormal. Debbie Epstein discusses in her book, Silenced Sexualities in Schools and Universities , how heteronormative standards, as well as compulsory heterosexuality, lead not only to young males feeling forced to appear heterosexual, but can lead to violence against these males if they deviate from expectations against them.
To understand the complexity of compulsory heterosexuality, several scholars have pointed out the importance of the impact of this construct on the differential effects on all populations, including minorities. Udora Richardon points out that, "Any divergences from the social norms of marriage, domesticity, and the nuclear family have brought serious accusations of savagery, pathology, and deviance upon Black people. Divergences from heterosexuality place Black women in particular risk of physical harm or social exile. Friction developed between members of the gay liberation and lesbian feminist movement due to the emphasis on sexual orientation politics through the lens of gender politics alone. Gay liberationists argued that the complexity of sexual orientation politics cannot be easily reduced to gender politics, and that women are denied rights while gay and lesbian individuals are denied existence.
The theory of compulsory heterosexuality is criticized for upholding the existence of a binary gendered system and strict roles under this binary system. I actually prefer heteronormativity as a critical lens and disagree with the idea that it can't be used to evaluate power structures. For example we use the word 'queer' in very different ways, 40 years on, than it was used in when Rich's paper was written. I doubt that people on social media are generally meaning the exact same thing by 'comphet' as Rich meant back then.
Lois is an author and founder of Bi Survivors Network. Follow them on Twitter. Type keyword s to search. Today's Top Stories. How working out improved Adele's mental health. Candice Carty-Williams talks fame and friendship. The best nude lipsticks for every single skin tone. Compulsory heterosexuality is being talked about on TikTok since the viral Lesbian Masterdoc has re-emerged Flashpop. Related Story.
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