Heterosexism In Sentime Education

Belicia or Beli, is the mother of Oscar and Lola. She grows up in Bani with La Inca. At thirteen, Bani gets a scholarship to El Redentor-- one of the best schools in the area. At El Redentor, she falls in love with a Jack Pujols who is described as “The school’s handsomest(read: whitest) boy, a haughty slender melnibone of pure European stock”(p.89). The narrator ackloweges that Jack’s single thing that makes him the handsomest boy at El Redentor is that he is white. Coinciding with Audre Lorde's idea that within our consciousness there is a “mythical norm” of a person being white, thin, male, young, heterosexual, christian, and financially secure, Jack fits this description perfectly. Although there is no indication of his religion, the reader …show more content…
The usage of the words “gay” or “homo” in a negative way can further normalize heterosexism. Within chapter four, “Sentimental Education” of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Yunior describes the dorm Oscar lives in as “Homo Hall” because it was full of “weirdos and losers and freaks and fembots”(Diaz, 170) (Fembots is a term often used to describe a feminist who is very adamant that women are oppressed in every situation they encounter.) Yunior’s use of the word Homo doesn’t refer to the sexual identities of the occupants but that they are stupid and do not fit properly into society. The use of the word homo as a way to refer to something as stupid or abnormal can lead people to think that queer people are stupid and abnormal. The word gay used as a substitute for stupid comes about again when Yunior and Melvin are talking to Oscar about the sign on his door. Melvin says the sign written in Sindarin is “gay-hay-hay,”(Diaz, 172) meaning that the sign is silly and lame. The usage of the words homo and gay in this way can also further intensify homosexual panic. If a person who associates the words gay and homo with words like stupid, lame or abnormal, they will have a bigger reaction to being called gay or thinking that they might be gay(Parker, 210). By associating “homo” with “abnormal” then we are also associating “hetero” with “normal” and further …show more content…
Oscar understands this and asks Yunior is if it is true that “No Dominican male has ever died a virgin. You have experience in these matters-- do you think this is true?(Diaz, 174)” Yunior tells him it is against the laws of nature and this worries Oscar. Oscar fears he will never lose his virginity and will be outcasted from a overly sexualized culture. It is assumed by this experience that in order to be a true dominican male, you must have sex. Oscar’s statement does not mention anything about Dominican women losing their virginity. It appears to be assumed by the two characters that women are meant to be chased after and to have sex with. Yunior attempts to make Oscar more desirable by making him lose weight because both Oscar and Yunior feel that Oscar’s lack of sex is making his life