Feminism and Sexuality

“Compulsory Heterosexuality and lesbian Existence” by Adrienne Rich brings to the forefront of how lesbian feminism is ignored by heterosexual feminists who continue to carry patriarchal ideals of oppression towards women. Then she lays out the 8 characteristics of which women are oppressed by men, but many of these characteristics are not condemned by society as much as a lesbian lifestyle is. If anything she states how lesbians probably resemble the feminist ideals the best because they are completely refusing any male influence or oppression in their lives by taking up female lovers. She says how the “lesbian existence” is potentially liberating for women thus she stresses and introduces lesbian feminism and how our society remains close-minded through the patriarchal mentality that stresses a compulsive heterosexuality.

The article “Toward a Global History of Same-Sex Sexuality” by Rupp brings up the issue that same-sex sexual acts have been occurring since the ancient days of for example Rome. In ancient Athens, adult male citizens were allowed to penetrate social inferiors including women, boys, foreigners, and slaves. But such men were not labeled as bisexual thus there comes the question if sex was even relevant in those ancient days. There are other examples of male same-sex acts occurring in other parts of the world such as Japan, New Guinea, and other cultures as well. Then comes the question of whether these acts are considered homosexual or not. They were simply rituals that were part of the culture but there was never any taboo about it. If anything these rituals were something positive which for example for the Japanese in the 17^th century and the people of New Guinea, theses same-sex sexual acts between older men on boys symbolized their conversion into manhood. These acts were not of “sexuality” but instead symbolized acts of power, domination, submission, etc. There is also the flip side to this in which men and women experienced pleasure and emotion for individuals of the same-sex, thuse when engaging in sexual acts with them they would become confused as to the feelings they were getting since some experienced a mixture of love and lust. This may be due that everything in society, especially today must fit in a category in order to be socially accepted and understood. The category of homosexuality had not been defined in those days, thus the acts may have not been considered sexual because sexuality was generally between a male and female as generally defined in society in those days. It has not been until recently there has been a sparked awareness towards homosexuality and even delving deeper on issues of transgenders, transsexuals, lesbians, intersexuals, etc.

“You’re Not the Type” by Laurel Gilbert is about a young woman who becomes pregnant at the age of sixteen and falls in love with her best friend Kris who is a women , but was never able to express her love for her. The major issue in this article is about how young pregnant women are automatically stigmatized and doomed to failure by society. It is sad to see the cases of pregnant women who never go on to become professionals or fulfill their goals and dreams because they do not have the support necessary to succeed. In many cases all they can depend on is themselves and it is remarkable that this author has been able to transcend the statistics by going to college, getting her PhD and becoming a professional writer. She was faced with a double whammy because not only was she a single young mother, but she is also a lesbian/bisexual women which are both chastised by society. Through her story, hopefully she can be the voice that will push other single mothers to break the statistics and move forward with their lives instead of drowning in the self pity and failure that society has thrown on them.

“The Body Politic” by Abra Fortune Chernik is about a young woman who deals with an eating disorder. She is pressured by society to be thin, thus she indulges in a harmful eating disorder. She continues to practice this harmful behavior because she gets constant praise for the result which is a thin figure. She ends up going to the hospital where she learns to embrace her body and take control of her life which had been consumed previously by the illusion of control that she had dominated by depriving herself of food. The author says how she was “held up by her culture as the physical ideal because she was starving, self-obsessed and powerless, a women called beautiful because she threatens no one except herself” on page 108. Thus we can see how this patriarchal society not only affects women socially and politically but also physically and mentally.