In many of today’s societies, heterosexuality is seen as natural and superior to its opposite of non-heterosexuality. Willis (2007) states that “oppositional and hierarchical concepts of sex and gender are crucial for making heterosexuality appear as the dominant and ‘natural’ configuration” (p. 185). Placing heterosexuality as the norm discriminates against anyone who doesn’t quite fit into that category. However, without the presence of non-heterosexual categories, the concept of heterosexuality would not exist. Hicks (2008) describes that “ simply pointing out that someone is heterosexual, however, draws upon and reminds us that other possibilities are present” (p. 67). In addition, the label of heterosexuality could not remain if there
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When I lived at home with my family I had a calendar up in my room of women in bikinis and I remember some of the negative responses from my family members. I also remember having a friend who constantly referred to me as lesbian and would make comments such as: “I don’t mind that you are a lesbian” or asking me if one of my female friends was my girlfriend because the two of us fooled around a few times. Her constant reminder that she did not “mind” that I was a lesbian, was actually said in a very demeaning way, that it actually confirmed to me that she in fact was uncomfortable with my open sexuality. The fact that she constantly referred to me as a lesbian was another indication that she was misinformed and judging me, because I am in fact, not a lesbian at all; I am a heterosexual female with some bisexual tendencies. I can confirm to people through my experiences that sexual identity cannot be placed into a box, and that it is not black and white. Someone can be heterosexual and still develop sexual feelings for someone of the same sex, or someone can label themselves as homosexual and still engage in sexual relationships with the opposite sex. I believe that as long as we are human beings, we will be attracted to other human beings regardless of gender and
When I lived at home with my family I had a calendar up in my room of women in bikinis and I remember some of the negative responses from my family members. I also remember having a friend who constantly referred to me as lesbian and would make comments such as: “I don’t mind that you are a lesbian” or asking me if one of my female friends was my girlfriend because the two of us fooled around a few times. Her constant reminder that she did not “mind” that I was a lesbian, was actually said in a very demeaning way, that it actually confirmed to me that she in fact was uncomfortable with my open sexuality. The fact that she constantly referred to me as a lesbian was another indication that she was misinformed and judging me, because I am in fact, not a lesbian at all; I am a heterosexual female with some bisexual tendencies. I can confirm to people through my experiences that sexual identity cannot be placed into a box, and that it is not black and white. Someone can be heterosexual and still develop sexual feelings for someone of the same sex, or someone can label themselves as homosexual and still engage in sexual relationships with the opposite sex. I believe that as long as we are human beings, we will be attracted to other human beings regardless of gender and