Heterosexuality

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…

In Chrys Ingraham’s “Heterosexuality”, she discusses an angle of women’s oppression that stems from heterosexuality being normalized in society. This normalization is not natural, and is instigated because it helps men stay above in power. It is a social institution that has a bias in favor of heterosexuality and romanticize heterosexual relationships and related rituals. The main argument of Chrys Ingraham’s “Heterosexuality” is that heterosexuality is not something people are born with or…

Carley Cockrum Dr. Liang Sociology 29 September 2015 The Invention of Heterosexuality The “Invention of Heterosexuality”, by Jonathan Katz, is an outline of his views on how heterosexuality and homosexuality are modern creations. His article traces the historical process by which these sexualities were created. The concept of “normal” and “natural” versus the “abnormal” and “unnatural” may seem self-explanatory and easy to define at first glance, but he offers a deeper insight into what he…

The same could be said surrounding the effects that compulsory heterosexuality has on women, in particular lesbians. Compulsory heterosexuality as a social structure reproduces heteronormative views in society. It enforces the subjugation of women and produces the illusion of innate heterosexuality by denying the legitimacy of lesbianism in multiple ways. This includes the heteronormative nature of Western society, which is connected to the reinforcement of homophobia through hegemonic…

essay entitled “Compulsory Heterosexuality”. Her essay “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence” builds on the first by taking a close look into lesbian visibility and the lack of lesbian existence in feminist literature. Rich’s main arguments in regard to “compulsory heterosexuality” is that contrary to popular belief, she does not see heterosexuality as “natural”, but rather as a socially constructed institution. She believes that this construction categorizes women in the subordinate…

Question One Hegemonic heterosexuality essentially means that heterosexuality is the dominant ideology of sexual orientation and relationships in our culture (Walden 2016). In Mark Carrigan’s article “There’s More to Life Than Sex?” he discusses the asexual community, and defines asexuality in a couple different forms. Carrgian states that many researchers believe that asexuality is defined as, “’I have never felt sexually attracted to anyone at all’ which Bogaert takes to be indicative of…

In Robert McRuer’s “Compulsory Able-Bodiedness and Queer/Disabled Existence,” he introduces the theory of compulsory able-bodiedness into the discussion of Adrienne Rich’s theory of compulsory heterosexuality. Just as society enforces the notion of heterosexuality being the natural and normal sexuality, McRuer argues that in society, able-bodiedness is not only the normal, it is more natural than heterosexuality. Additionally, he writes that the system of compulsory able-bodiedness works in…

The inclusion of queer identities into mainstream cultural productions involve the cultural subordination of homosexuality to heterosexuality through the reconstitution of queerness in a hetero image. The Kids Are All Right and The Fosters contribute to this subordination by projecting heterosexual gender roles onto an otherwise queer relationship. Their relationships replicate heterosexual patterns in normative structural terms and masculine and feminine roles (Hammock 2009). The gender…

psychiatrists, and the like. There is an awareness made by some that gay adolescents are at a high risk for “physical, social, and emotion” impairment, yet the care for these adolescents is impeded by “poor understanding of adolescent homosexuality” by the parents and physicians (Remafedi 331). These misunderstandings by parents and doctors cause a greater separation between familial ties. There are numerously greater accounts of homosexual children and adolescents enduring traumatizing events…

A character’s identity consists of many qualities, however, the repression and denial of any aspect can detrimentally affect their well-being and mental state. If the character lives in a society where going against the norm of heterosexuality is considered detestable, the “homosexual panic, the revelation of an unspeakable same-sex desire” (Smith 391) they experience can cause distress and the belief of needing to suppress such feelings. Once a character recognizes their same-sex desire, they…