Heterosexuality Essay

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Recommended: The effect of the media on gender roles

Olivia Souza
Prof Thompson
GND 101
17 May 2016
Heterosexuality and Male Power
While the people in the LBGTQ community have become more accepted by the heterosexual society in recent years, such as the legalization of same-sex marriage, they are still not in the clear. We still have a society that is controlled by the white patriarchy and praises heterosexuality. Compulsory heterosexuality is the theory that heterosexuality is enforced and made to be the norm by a patriarchal society. This term was made popular by American writer and feminist Adrienne Rich in the 1980s. In Rich’s essay, “Compulsory Heterosexuality and
Lesbian Existence”, she argues that feminism should focus on lesbianism and that heterosexuality is not “natural” but rather …show more content…

Children also learn that if they don’t fulfill these expectations, they will be subjected to harassment or even violence. If men do not follow traditional gender roles or don’t meet the expectations that constitute traditional masculinity and are anything but strong, sexual, powerful, respected, and virtually emotionless, they are punished by other men by using homophobic or feminizing slurs such as: “homo”, “girl”, “bitch”, “pussy”, or “Mama’s boy”. The use of these degradations allow men to police the boundaries of what is adequate appearance and behavior for men, which is why gender roles are still enforced today.
By everyone having different upbringings, environments, and experiences, masculinity is not exactly the same for everyone. Influential factors such as race, class, and sexual orientation can help shape a male’s idea of manhood and masculinity. Through intersectionality, some men face oppression while others are given power. For example, homosexual colored men who belong to the working class would not have the same amount of male privilege and power as heterosexual white men who belong to the upper-middle class. Men who are considered as …show more content…

This teaches women to ask men for permission and make sure that they are dressed to men’s standards. Sixth, women are used as objects in male transactions through pimping, arranged marriages and cocktail waitresses dressing for “male sexual titillation” such as geishas and call girls. This allows women to be viewed as objects that can be played with and dressed to a male viewer’s liking. Seven, women are constrained of creativity by male creativity being praised more than female creativity and cultural values being the “embodiment of male subjectivity”. By being taught that women have limitations to creativity, women are taught that men are simply more creative and women shouldn’t be creative (Rich 639-640). Lastly, women are withheld knowledge about lesbianism and are not as educated in science or technology because women are stereotyped as not being interested in those “masculine” areas of study (Rich 639-640).
Without this education, women are stereotyped to pursue non-science or technology based careers and are also deprived of the history of lesbianism. Men have controlled women successfully for an extremely long time by using these

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