5 Assignment 06

I agree with Rich’s idea that heterosexuality is institutionalized. There are so many ways we see women being forced to be subservient to men, or to care what men think of them more than what they think of themselves. We are taught from a young age that women marry men and we become housewives who take care of the men and the children and clean and cook, etc. There is this idealized idea of a woman as a 1960’s housewife that enforces the idea of a woman as a heterosexual. MY best friend is bisexual and the first time she told her boy friend at the time, the first words out of his mouth were, “Cool! Are we going to have a threesome?” Lesbianism is a sexualized fantasy for men, even the thing that Rich argues is the one thing women can really have, is still taken to this perverse place.

I’ve heard many arguments about women being more open to homosexuality than men are; since we tend to be more comfortable touching each other and showing affection. If this is true, it does not make the public more open to it. If you look even at TV shows, gay couples such as in Modern Family, we see that the male homosexual couples are much more accepted, shown as family oriented and funny or cute, while their female counterparts tend to be heavily focused on sexual arousal and sex scenes. Lesbian couples seem to make society more uncomfortable than male homosexual couples. Even in lesbian couples we often try to force a heterosexual model onto it by asking, “Who is the man and who is the woman in the relationship?”

I believe Rich is arguing that women are drawn to each other because they are oppressed by men, and because men can never fully understand what it means to be a woman because they do not have the same types of harassment and oppressions that we do, yet women are still forced into heterosexual relationships.

Feminist theory targets gender inequality, and narrows in on discrimination, oppression, and sexual objectification. Adrienne Rich argues that heterosexuality is institutionalized, and in the examples she introduces in her work, she believes the view of female homosexuals are bias, and looked at as abnormal. Assuming in a sense that lesbians are just spiteful and resentful towards men, so that explains why they prefer other women, which is false. Therefore in this article it is shown that women choosing other women as their lovers/ partners is suppressed and greatly  discredited.

She argues that their is a lack of understanding of gender equality in literature, not enough texts exist on lesbians precisely, yet heterosexual romance is shown all over in films, books, and even art. There is the demolition of documents focused on lesbians specifically, and undercover messages showing that cruel heterosexuality is normal rather than sexual attractiveness between two women. Rich claims that in society heterosexuality is some what forced on women due to male domination. Women were overpowered, and discriminated against professionally in the work place, with no education, they were poorly paid, men controlled childbirth, abortion, and contraception along with physical sexual harassment such as rape. Being exposed to chastity belts, child marriage, arranged marriages, and even brutal surgeries (clitoridectomy) where the clitoris is cut to make a female more “marriageable” and making sure that female sexual relations will be cut out is also a sign of male domination. Feminists viewed this as female torture.

Men were economically powerful, so for women to keep their service jobs being sexualized came along with it, they would have to look a certain way, purposely promoting sexual attractiveness for men so they can keep their jobs. Women were automatically considered “dried up” lesbian, or sexless if they happen to withstand these sexual approaches on the job. I agree this is form of female enslavement, as well as female torture because a lesbian women would have to actually deny her true relationship with another women, pretending to be heterosexual although she might not have been, in order to maintain her employment. Dressing up and playing the ‘feminine’ role she then was considered a real women. These women were put under certain pressures, forced conditions, and continuously endured exploitation…. because they simply had to. Rich shows in her article that heterosexuality is indeed institutionalized.

In Adrienne Rich’s, Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence, she argues that heterosexuality is institutionalized. Heterosexuality is the most widely accepted orientation in society by far and although that is alright, it is often forced upon women who don’t agree with it. This can lead to homosexual women being oppressed and having to suppress or hide their interests and/or sexual orientation.

Rich brings up an essay by Kathleen Gough titled “The Origin of the Family,” in which she lists the many ways men maintain power over women and by extension, control their sexual orientation. Such ways include: physical abuse, rape, confinement, objectification, etc. Rich also brings up a study called Sexual Harassment of Working Women: A Case of Sexual Discrimination  by Catharine A MacKinnon where she talks about women and their orientation in the workplace. Not only are they underpaid but women have to sometimes deal with sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace by male workers who get paid more for the same jobs. Even if homosexual, women have to keep up a heterosexual facade as to not be rejected in the workplace.

Heterosexuality being a social norm also makes it hard since homosexual women have to hide their orientation or be forced into relationships they are unhappy with or don’t agree with. Being a lesbian may be viewed as trying to restrict male rights to women and therefore gains less support and can make some uncomfortable and hesitant. Heterosexuality is institutionalized in society, the workplace, home, media, everywhere. As long as it is the norm and everything else is seen as wrong, women’s right of choice and ability to express their sexual orientation in ways that are uncommon will be difficult and an uphill battle.

In Adrienne Rich’s, “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence,” she goes on to describe the heterosexual society as the primary sexuality for women due to the dismissal of female choice. Rich goes on to explain that the exploitation of women have led for women to become voiceless in their sexual endeavors which has led them to generations of being taught to be economically dependent on men. The eight characteristics of male power by Kathleen Gough is used as an argument for Rich where she breaks down how the construct of oppression from the male counterparts in society has intentionally hindered the advancement of women in the workplace and in society in general making it ten times harder for women to be placed in positions of power such as CEO for companies.
Rich also argues that the sexual objectification of women is detrimental in the workforce and in part forces heterosexuality onto women where if they were homosexual there would be a double-standard because even though society looks down upon lesbians it is still something that heterosexual men find appealing due to the hyper sexual objectification of women make it only okay if it’s pleasant for them not because that is the women’s sexual orientation. Historically, society has always been controlled by men who have made heterosexuality what is “normal” and because of this there is huge inequalities that apply in the workforce for women still to this day because of the institutionalized idea that men will always be more classified for any job over a women and is also why women get paid 23 percent less than the average man. The disregard of the existence of lesbians causes them to mask who they really are just to get jobs by taking on the role of being a heterosexual women. Through the media the idea that women are only heterosexual is also constantly being forced down the throat of women of homosexual orientation of society making is seem almost as if their sexual orientation might be something that is wrong with them rather than their sexuality being something that they are comfortable with that is normal to feel.

In her chapter, “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence”, Adrienne Rich argues that heterosexuality is institutionalized and provides many examples to prove how the institutionalized heterosexuality(of women) has always benefited the men. Adrienne believes that the institutionalized heterosexuality of women has always given men physical, economic, and emotional access. The institutionalized heterosexuality has also made it seem as a norm for women to be heterosexual and to follow the standards/regulations that men have both explicitly and implicitly imposed on them. Such compulsory sexual conduct has been in both public and private spheres. It’s been in the public sphere in many forms such as clitoridectomy, sterilization, marriage, prostitution, slavery, in the workforce and much more. This oppression is also present at home whether it’s through father-daughter/brother-sister incest, marital rape, wife-beating and the list goes on.

The control that men possess over women also shape the way that women behave, the way society is structured, and how the social and sexual standards are set. In Rich’s chapter, she talks about how men exploit women in the workforce and hold power over them by the higher positions that they hold. Rich also brings up how women also serve in secondary jobs such as waitresses, secretaries, and nurses, which continues to set them in the mercy of sex-valued jobs that serve the male transactions. Another way that heterosexuality is institutionalized is through the absence of lesbianism in the arts, literature, and history. No matter which medium it is, most literature, arts, and historic document have excluded lesbianism in order to eliminate any evidence of its presence and to demonize it or make it seem as something that is “unnatural”.

I think that Adrienne Rich does a great job in providing examples of how the institutionalized sexuality of women has always kept women from achieving equality and how society has not allowed women to be who they are, instead it gave them a role to follow.

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.

In the piece of Adrienne Rich’s work “ Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence argue the relationship between the feminism and sexism and how the conflict is cause of institutionally. During twenty century, the Kathleen Grough use eight characteristics points the inequality of sexuality. The women have such a lower position in the society, also people put stereotype in women’s sexuality and behavior. They have to be heterosexual in totally, because the culture give a traditional ideology about heterosexuality is more normal. All of the culture, the society’s economics, the religious and ties of family push heterosexuality became institutionalized in that time.

Developing of the industry and economics, the sexuality of women became property of the society. The sexualization of women is part of job; it really hurt women’s society position and begins the glass celling in the role of society. It’s refresh women’s identity and how the prejudice of the homosexuality in people’s mind. Women usually received lower pay rate or unable to survive independently. The lesbian couples are being discrimination by others and earned less money than a heterosexual couple. The growth of economics environment gives an unfair position among gender, sexuality and race.

There is another reason of institutionally is the elimination of lesbian history and limited the female relationship. And make people believe there is nature to only have heterosexual. The government not allowed media, the literature and art contains any lesbian ideas. To denial of women’s choice and their emotion, did not allowed them to touch any homosexual in daily life. It’s isolated from outside of the society, the cultural norms control women’s belief and determine they just be a wife or a mom.

The rich argue the impact of political; economics, and elimination of history cause the institutionalized during twenty-century United States. The prejudice of lesbian and homosexual relationship, limited the natural laws and give people stereotype about the gender identity and sexuality.

In “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence,” Rich describes heterosexuality as being institutionalized due to the oppression of women through their sexuality. This oppression stems from what Rich calls compulsory heterosexuality, which denies women the choice of choosing their significant other, only giving them the default option of being with a man. In Barry’s theory, this concept is rooted from the social norm that accepts the “uncontrollable” male sex drive during adolescence, which gives the excuse that males cannot control their sexual urges and that both men and women should just accept it as human nature. However, in the woman’s case, they are apparently dependent on the man, which gave way to the misconception of lesbianism being nonexistent is society’s perspective. The acceptance of compulsory heterosexuality evolved into male assertion of their heterosexuality onto women or denying them their own sexuality, which was expressed in a number of ways such as through rape, incest, prostitution, etc.

By imposing their sexuality and denying women their freedom of sexuality, the men are creating a society that controls and exploits women, which institutionalizes the concept of female sexual slavery. This concept connects the relationship between situations that victimizes women and making them feel responsible for being in that situation, trapping them in this endless cycle of being oppressed by men. An example of this institutionalization is in the work environment, where women are sexualized and sexually discriminated in the work force. First, they are given low wage positions such as being someone’s secretary or waitress, this being an example of being sexually discriminated. Second, they are prone to be victims of sexual harassment by those in higher positions such as a customer or their boss, and they surrender to it as they fear to lose their job, which further reinforces the idea of compulsory heterosexuality in society.

The institutionalization of this heterosexuality limits the potential of feminist thought as it subjugates women to a male egocentric society. It places them in a society in which they believe that heterosexuality with a male is the only acceptable relations a woman could have, which has limited  thoughts such as lesbian relations and the lesbian experience as Rich has  discusses in this work.

Adrienne Rich’s article, “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence” addresses the many ways in which heterosexuality is enforced through institutions. Through both physical, psychological and economic means, society forces the notion of heterosexuality. Heterosexuality is often promoted through literature, art, and societal norms that constrict women and force them to follow suit. The idea of lesbianism is stifled and underrepresented, often in feminist literature, that casts it aside as a small occurrence that is due to sexual bitterness and preference, rather than natural attraction.

Rich uses Kathleen Gough’s “The Origin of the Family” to explain the physical and mental ways that men control women and force their heterosexuality upon them. Through rape, punishment, hysterectomies, domestic violence, men use physical force as a means of preventing women from escaping the realm of patriarchy. Mentally, men enforce heterosexuality through its promotion in the media, literature and the arts, as well as through marriage and workplace inequality.

In the workplace, women are often sexualized and harassed in addition to being underpaid. The low-paying jobs that women are often forced to take up require them to endure the sexualization at the hands of their higher paid male superiors. If a woman fails to maintain this heterosexual image, they are rejected and insulted by the males in their workplace, meaning that they have to keep up a sort of facade if their sexuality deviates even slightly from the heterosexual norm. This economic control over women creates the institution of heterosexuality in that women’s jobs often depend on them being sexual, obedient and submissive to men.

The institution of heterosexuality is also present through men’s need for sexual access to women. Things such as prostitution, marital rape, incest relationships and pornography contribute to men’s need to access women and fear of being rejected or not cared about. The power of men in society allows them to subjugate women to lower roles, and place value based on sexual attractiveness, which in turn reflects their attitudes in the workplace. Heterosexuality is enforced through many institutions that work with one another to subdue women.

In her essay “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence”, Adrienne Rich introduces the argument that heterosexuality is institutionalized. This is a very radical thought compared to previous literature and ideas on heterosexuality being “innate” within the female conscious. Rich argues that heterosexuality is not innate, but rather compulsory and has been imposed and forced upon women throughout history as a way to keep women under male siege. She lists ways in which institutions have deemed heterosexuality the ‘norm’, namely through idealization of heterosexual marriage (assuming she means in art, literature, and film), and by the mere “erasure of lesbian existence” within these institutions. (I would also add that religion has played a role in this as well.) Through a historically male-dominated society, these heterosexual ‘norms’ have added to inequality and sexism within the household and in the public sphere, including the work place. In addition, if we deem heterosexually ‘normal’ and natural, women who have chosen to be lesbians are therefore deviant. If heterosexuality becomes an imposition on women instead of a natural inclination, we are forced to re-evaluate women’s resistance to men over the years. The author goes on to say that many scholars view resistance to men part of lesbianism. To dismiss heterosexuality and “choose” to love women is to stand up against the tyranny of a patriarchal force. However, it is much more complicated than that.

Heterosexual feminists, as Rich explains, may have a hard time thinking about their heterosexual preference as compulsory, but this questioning is imperative in order for these feminists to truly understand the intricacies of lesbianism as “woman-identified experience” (135). The lesbian existence has been associated with male homosexuality as a version of male homosexuality, therefore adding to the lack of female voice and unique female experience. Rich decides that we need to examine institutionalized forms of heterosexuality in order to have a feminist perspective on sexuality as a whole.