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assignment 06

In today’s culture, heterosexuality is heavily glamorized and viewed as the normal sexuality. Therefore being, a homosexual, immediately meant being an outcast and considered as abnormal. Within our pop-culture, we grow up watching movies, seeing advertisements, reading books, and so forth, all in the context of heterosexual romance. It is evident in our society that, this idea of finding pop-a husband is a woman’s only, necessary goal. Heterosexuality is an institution that is politically organized within our capitalist system in order to maintain the oppression of women, and keep men as the dominant sex. The economy is in favor to the man, and so forces women to be submissive to men in the work field every day. Women are enslaved both physically and mentally through the control of men.

In “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence,” Rich explains that, things like marriage, rape, vaginal surgery, idealization of heterosexuality through media, are all methods to oppress the women’s freedom of choice. Moreover, the women’s sexuality is no longer something we can think of for ourselves. We are controlled by male dominance, resulting women to see sexuality in only western culture’s lens. And to further believe, that heterosexuality is the acceptation.  Lesbian existence is then diminished of its value and often hindered. It is rarely acknowledged enough. Lesbianism is often misinterpreted as a choice that women takes on because they became bitter towards men. And it’s this false representation, that disallows lesbian existence to be able to progress.

We are born into the world of male control, and so we often see the world in only one perspective. And this one perspective is much influenced by the institutionalization of heterosexuality, enforcing us to remain dependent to men. This, politically organized, romanticizing of heterosexuality brutally limits our natural right of choice, and  effects our self-identification. We are still so objectified and until we can change this, we will never be able to freely think of our sexuality, without the judgments and disadvantages of our culture. Once we find a place for lesbian existence in our culture, maybe then can women progress in society.