å Monday, March 20th, 2017

In “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence” Adrienne Rich explores why homosexuality in women is seen as deviant or inherently negative behavior – addressing the misconception that a woman only indulges in sexual activities with other women out of spite for men. Rich also addresses that lesbianism has been underrepresented in feminist theory and literature. Citing Kathleen Gough, Rich explores her hypothesis that this perception has been created, in part, by man’s desire to control women. Female circumcision, chastity belts, denial of masturbation, idealization of heterosexuality, arranged marriages, prostitution and much more, are elements of male power dynamics that have been used against women to confine and control their sexuality. Women are threatened physically and fully employed in the home which prevents their movement, both literally and figuratively, outside of their designated role as homemaker, wife and mother. Women are objectified and subjugated against men, ultimately being held back in society to allow male power to progress and remain dominant against women and female objectives.

Rich claims that these power tactics enforce heterosexuality because they lead women to believe that participating in the institution of marriage (and of course, motherhood) is their purpose in society, that marriage and children are inevitable and a man is a vital component of fulfilling that legacy. A woman couldn’t be a woman, in society’s standards, without a man (a man to provide a woman with a socially accepted heterosexual marriage, children and family dynamic).

Kathleen Barry claims that domestic abuse, incest, prostitution, marital rape, daughters being sold into marriages and more have created a system that acts to enslave women through ‘female sexual slavery’. Rich suggests that compulsory heterosexuality basically acts as a ‘procurer and pimp’ in a world-wide prostitution ring that manipulates women into accepting the conditions they are forced into (creating an analogy to the battered woman that stays with her husband because she doesn’t think she has a way out, is confined economically, is emotionally manipulated, scared, etc.).

Rich’s argument suggests that the institutionality of heterosexuality (in terms of marriage, female reliance on men, love, etc.) is another, almost global, means of control that manipulates women into dependence on men and sexual suppression that could result in ignorance to homosexuality. Rich calls out feminists for largely ignoring this in feminist theory and literature, suggesting that their lack of attention is actually making the problem worse for women. It is troubling to think of heterosexuality as the norm and homosexuality as deviant or wrong. After unraveling the history of heterosexuality and women, it is evident that women have “resisted male tyranny” seen throughout every period. Rich suggests we do away thinking/labeling things in society as “good” or “bad” and “right” or “wrong”. The freedom to choose and have autonomy over your decision making, without society telling you what is right or wrong, is a crucial component in developing an understanding of your desires and sexuality.

In society heterosexuality is the norm for how relationship should go, but it is forced upon people (women in Rich’s piece) who doesn’t want to be heterosexual. Instead these women want to become homosexual, but they have to hide their sexuality because of how they are treated in society. In Rich’s piece she mentions how women market sexual attractiveness (the way they look and dress up for the job they are applying for and if they are sexually attractive in their boss or person who is hiring them eye’s then they would probably get hired) to get hired because their bosses are usually the people (male) with the money and position to be able to make a decision on whether or not they should be hired or fired. If they do end up getting hired they would have to endure sexual harassment if they want to keep their job and this is usually when they would join a group (usually feminist) to fight for women inequality. Also since women’s role in society have been usually to become a housewife in the past it isn’t rare to see that some people from that generation still view that women should play that housewife role, where women do all the chores around the house and to produce kids and take care of them. So if a women decides that she is a lesbian the society of that generation would apply the rules/laws that happened during their time whereas with the next generation depending on how they were raised and how open minded they are they would probably view women who is a lesbian differently or the same. Also I think Rich’s brings up a point where by being homosexual you have a better understanding of the person of the same gender because your body and partner body is similar, so you can understand each other more than with partner of the opposite sex. Since women are usually treated as an object in certain men eyes (thinking them as sexually depending on what they wear, for some reason human beings are the only creature on earth that views the female’s breast as a sexual object) it makes women uncomfortable.

In “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence,” Adrienne Rich argues that heterosexuality is institutionalized, or established in practice and customs. Rich begins her argument by drawing examples from Kathleen Gough’s list of male characteristics that describe how men take advantage of and stifle women of their true existence. Some examples listed are more physical: including robbing, rape, and incest; while other examples are more psychological: including making sure they are always at the lower end of the social order. Both however are common and can be seen prevalent in history and currently in present-day.

Another example of how heterosexuality is institutionalized are the sexual pressures created by men in the workplace. Rich describes the struggle for all women, heterosexual or not, placed by males in the place of work. However, there is another layer of opposition for women that identify as lesbian because they are forced to be flirtatious to a gender they are not attracted to because of their economic disadvantage. This dilemma lies in this specific economy structure that sees a greater work value in men than women. As a result, women must place their personal sexual preferences aside as a means of survival.

Marriage is another institution that does not benefit lesbians. Those who leave their husbands for another woman are more looked down upon than those who leave their husbands for another man. It is accustomed for many to believe that women should want to have intercourse by a man and should want to create a family. For those who choose otherwise, they are considered an outcast and are not thinking of their future in a successful way. Doctors have even taken the situation as far as providing “services” to “cure” this issue. Rich mentions the story of a lesbian woman who wanted to leave her husband and was tricked into forcible rape under the assumption she was getting help. This method was approved and organized by a professional doctor.

Rich argues these issues are more detrimental than many portray because it prevents women from being united and throws away this sense of “togetherness” that we, as women, are born with.

Heterosexuality has been embedded into the minds of individuals for as long as we can remember. It is depicted as the ideal and ‘correct’ form of sexuality, which ultimately, affects individuals who identify themselves as homosexual. Throughout the course of history, homosexuality has risen and become more prominent in society, yet the systematic beliefs of what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ still seem to be in constant battle with anything that opposes the concept of heterosexuality. According to Rich, heterosexuality is forced upon individuals, and is specifically targeted towards women.

The initial, and most obvious, instance in which heterosexuality is imposed on women is through the workplace. Since the very beginning of industrialization, it is no surprise that women have been treated unfairly, as they are paid less and seen as less valuable. Ultimately, this creates the idea that a woman needs a man in order to support themselves. Another case is sexual harassment in the workplace. Rich argues that not only are women directed into lower paying jobs, such as nurses, waitresses, or child care workers, but they are sexualized, as ‘sexualization of the woman’ is part of the job. Women who resisted sexual remarks or insinuations in the workplace were automatically deemed as lesbian. Ultimately, women were shaped by two major aspects; men’s control over their sexuality and economic control over the lives of employees.

Lesbian existence is depicted as an attack on a male’s ‘right of access’ to a woman. The act of being a lesbian rejects the compulsory way of life, which many individuals have grown comfortable with. Lesbian individuals are deprived of their own placement in society, as they are simply thrown in as the female versions of male homosexuality. However, by lumping them into the same category as male homosexuality basically removes the focus on females, yet again. Essentially, they cannot be categorized the same way, as their constant inferiority to men leaves them lower on the ladder in comparison to male homosexuality. Another issue is that it is said that women turn to women in spite of men. This idea not only takes away from the lesbian existence but also takes away from women in general, as it makes a mockery out of their choices. Ultimately, heterosexuality is depicted so often in our society as the proper way to be that it leaves no room for anything that is out of this norm. Whether it may be the workplace or the media or the imposition of men, heterosexuality is clearly institutionalized. Not only do individuals believe this and voice this to others, but our society is structured around it as well. Heterosexual couples and ideals are protected and enforced in society so that this rigid mindset remains.

In “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence,” Adrienne Rich argues that feminism has to address no only gender inequality as a way to include women’s ideas in the cultural norms of patriarchal society, but feminism should also address heterosexualism as an institution in society established  by the capitalist system, which  deprives women from accessing empowerment and embrace their  identities as a group .

The system of heterosexuality imposed to women as a natural choice for women’s erotic life and development in general is a managed and organized form of coercion according to Rich. The reality of women’s identity is distorted by a fragmented  perception and false consciousness about themselves. The information and social scripts for women, determine fixed patterns of behavior, that are represented in the media and reinforce with stereotypical ideas of romance, marriage, women’s role, womanhood, freedom of choice, sexual liberation, etc.

However, women’s  empowerment would lay in questioning the “compulsory heterosexualism,” or the “female sexual slavery” in which women are used as objects and subjected to violence.  By questioning heterosexualism, women perhaps would be able to see the methods and mechanisms that lay underneath the surface of the family institution and the societal arrangements that keep women subjugated.   The many ways in which male dominate women’s lives are by controlling women’s self-expression and  creativity, limiting their access to education and economic freedom, regulating their offspring , imposing  division of labor, and erasing erotic ideas about themselves and their own bodies.

According to Rich, the suppressing of women’s history and  lesbian invisibility creates the appropriate terrain for male domination. Rich discusses the term “lesbian continuum”  to reflect the experiences of women transcending sexual attraction, but bonding in an intimate way against tyranny, marriage resistance and forming women associations. Lesbian existence comprises the rejection of an imposed way of life, in which women are naturally, emotionally and sensually inclined towards the masculine figure .

Heterosexuality is a relationship between a man and a woman. Heterosexuality has been recognized all over the world as one of the most common and “normal” practices. However, many other sexualities have existed throughout the course of history like homosexuality. Writer Adrienne Rich wrote a book named Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence which discusses how heterosexuality is a sexuality forced upon citizens, mostly women. My essay will discuss the ways in which heterosexuality is institutionalized in the world as stated by Adrienne Rich.

First, heterosexuality is institutionalized through the economy. Nations have structured their societies so that many women will be dependent on men to survive financially in the world. Women who are not in a relationship with a man or do not have one in their household will have difficulty supporting themselves. The government controls relationships by paying women far less than men for the same work. This inequality makes it extremely difficult for women to survive. It is outrageous to know that a working lesbian couple will normally make less money than a working heterosexual couple. Through this economic inequality the government can force people into unwanted relationships just so that they can survive. I feel this is unfair. Regardless of gender I believe that people working the same job should be compensated for their work equally.

Heterosexuality is also institutionalized through the elimination of lesbian history. The destruction of works of literature and the history of lesbianism is a way of denying and hiding its existence from female citizens. This is an attempt to make people believe that there is only one sexuality which is believed to be heterosexuality and that is false. By concealing this information, it prohibits women from learning that they can be with someone from their same gender and not a man. Women who are questioning their sexuality or are developing feelings for someone of their gender have nothing to read or turn to. These women were not given the chance to see that there are others who at one time felt how they do which leads them to believe that their feelings are wrong. Shielding female citizens from this history denies them the right to have a choice of their sexuality.

Lastly, the institutionalization of heterosexuality happens through the media. The media in the past and present times forces upon people certain ideals of with whom they should live their life and how they should live their life. By constantly reinforcing heterosexual relationships in certain programs it shows people that it is “right” and “normal” for men and women to be together and that anything other than that isn’t “normal”. By failing to show same sex relationships this is another way of denying lesbianism and trying to conform people to fit societies ideals. The media also airs many programs that depict women as sexual objects to men. I believe that this depiction is terrible because it insinuates that a woman’s responsibility is to not only be with a man but to strive to satisfy him sexually.

Heterosexuality is a relationship between a man and a woman. This sexuality has constantly been reinforced upon people for many years. Heterosexuality is institutionalized through the economy, the elimination of lesbian history, and the media. Many societies have structured their economy so that heterosexual relationships are the most beneficial unions. The unequal pay between men and women forces many women to be dependent on men for their survival. The elimination of lesbian history keeps its female citizens from learning about possible unions other than heterosexuality. Lastly, the media is a way for societies to influence the lives of its citizens by reinforcing certain practices like heterosexuality upon them. In my opinion, I strongly believe that societies should not possess the ability to influence its citizen’s sexuality and destroy historical evidence.

In “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence,” Adrienne Rich explains how compulsory heterosexuality is institutionalized in everyday lives. According to many researches and essays, influential scholars asserted that women are “innately” sexually oriented towards men, and were also subordinated to men in economic context. Women were raised up seeing those fixed form of ideologies widely current in fairy tales, literature, television programs, social sciences, etc. Rich introduces Kathleen Gough’s theory of “eight characteristics of male power.” From Gough’s words, it shows clear sexual inequality between men and women. Women suffer from physical exploitation, as well as psychological abuse. By that, they are convinced that sexual orientation towards men is natural inevitable.

To see this problem in economic context, we can easily find that women are getting low paid jobs compared to men. Also, jobs require sexualization of women that they have to endure any type of sexual harassment at work. Not only being economically disadvantaged, women suffer from sexual slavery within family that it makes them harder to speak up about their experience and also forces them to think that their subordination could be justified.

Therefore, because of social acknowledgement, prejudice and overlooking, women’s preference of women were, in most of the times, disguised or hidden. Comparing their experience to male homosexuals, it was harder for lesbians to achieve their rights and be acknowledged, because only by being women, they had their chances deprived. There was clearly lack of economic privilege among women. Therefore, feminist thoughts were also devoured by compulsory heterosexual orientation.

Some people catalogued lesbian existence under disease. Some assumed it as act of resistance. It could not be acknowledged as a preference or choice. Rather, it was discounted as deviant or apolitical. This explains why marriage was a necessary form for lesbians to survive economically. Rich asserts there is possibility that all women exist on a lesbian continuum. However, majority of women as a whole are still psychologically trapped and institutionalized heterosexuality is prevalent in our society.

Heterosexuality is something that has become monetized and commercialized in capitalist societies. It has been engraved in us since birth that heterosexuality is the only correct sexuality, and this has been institutionally enforced. The institution of heterosexuality places an attack on the lesbian community, claiming that they have a bitterness towards men. Because of this belief, heterosexuality is engraved into women from a young age. When girls are as young as 1-2 years old, they are told about fairytales where every single ending involves a woman getting married to a man. This need for parents to have their children grow up heterosexual is extremely profitable in media. Children’s shows, books, and films frequently relate back to the topic of heterosexual marriage, even though that is something that children do not understand. The capitalization of heterosexuality occurs in every platform other than platforms geared towards children. It is very rare to see a homosexual couple being the lead of a television show or a film. Most couples in popular media fit the trope of being straight, white and wealthy. This thrives in our society, causing heterosexuality to be something that is capitalized.

Another way that heterosexuality is an economic institution relates back to the way that women are treated in the workforce. Women are given an unequal pay, are sexually harassed in the workforce, and are often denied jobs if they claim they are a lesbian. Women are often forced into low-paying degrading jobs because higher position jobs are claimed to be “unfit” for a woman. Sexual harassment in the workforce is an extremely common occurrence, and the perpetrators are infrequently held responsible. This makes it almost impossible for a woman to speak out against this behavior, and when she does she is often labelled a prude or accused of not being heterosexual. Women are placed into this vicious cycle of being abused in the workplace but not being able to advance in their place because of the institution of heterosexuality.

Many people in this world think heterosexuality, being attracted at male and female each other, is the natural thing as a human being. However, in her essay, Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence, Adrienne Rich contends that heterosexuality is not natural thing in mankind, but an institution forced by societies and culture that oppress women into subordinate situation. For example, throughout many generations, women were depend on men economically and therefore they had less right in the family. The only way for women to get the power was a marriage. However, as female got depend on male, societies started to represent the male power over female.

Male had stronger power so that they denied women sexuality. In addition, male forced female to satisfy male sexuality by means of rape, which including marital rape. Therefore, society only gave an option of heterosexual marriage, and women had no chance to show their sexuality, and hid them to stay in the society. Women had to be in that format no matter what the marriage made them happy or not. On the other hand, nowadays, women have power and right to achieve those economic status so that they started to get out of that social institution of heterosexuality, and having relation of lesbian like homosexual marriage. Nevertheless, male still trying to oppress rebel of female. For example, most of the States in United States have laws that homosexual marriage is illegal. In addition, there are still oppression of male towards female to keep the male power over female. We could see it by the number of males working at professional jobs compare to number of females’.

Another point Rich argued in this essay is about the potential of feminist thought. It is true that most female in this world are heterosexual. However, Rich pointed out that Feminist didn’t concern or include the existence of lesbian in the writings like feminist scholarship. Rich see that lesbian is also part of the feminist. All these examples that Rich wrote on her essay proves that women have lack of choice which led to inhibition of women to show their true sexuality.

Heterosexuality being institutionalized forces all women to be seen and regarded as having to fit a certain role, which in turn, oppresses them. This idea of women only being able to be heterosexual is forced upon on them by men and being lesbian is seen as taboo or even not existent in our society. In media, such as movies, shows, and art, women are mostly shown to be in heterosexual relationships, whereas lesbian relationships are almost never shown. Chick flicks, for example, almost always show a woman and man trying to pursue a relationship with each other. But then there are almost none showing a woman and woman relationship. The way the media sort of ignores the existence of lesbian relationships further perpetuates how society forces women into having heterosexual relationships, as women feel less comfortable admitting they are lesbian and even less are comfortable confronting problems that are oppressing them in everyday life.   Women are paid less in a work place because of this institutionalization as they are still seen as below men. They are taken advantage of sexually and if they refuse, they risk losing their job to the men that are trying to control their sexuality and how they express it. Many cultures still see women as objects that can be gifted in marriage or used in rape. In general, women are seen as needing men to survive and if they don’t, they are perceived to be abnormal even though being lesbian shouldn’t have such a huge taboo around it. These underlying social norms forces women into not being able to express their sexuality and in turn many women are stuck in heterosexual relationships that they are not happy with. It is also hard for women to identify with being lesbian as society does not talk about it openly and tries to hide it, forcing female thoughts and ideas to be dominated by male ones.