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W
hat if heterosexuality
is not innate or the only
“normal” sexuality?
Heterosexuality is often seen as
a “natural” foundation for society,
but Adrienne Rich challenges
this idea in her important essay
“Compulsory Heterosexuality and
Lesbian Existence” (1980). Rich
was influenced by the French
intellectual Simone de Beauvoir,
who argues that women have been
urged to accept the roles placed
upon them in a society that views
women as inferior.
Rich suggests that, far from
being natural, heterosexuality is
imposed on women and must be
seen as a system of power that
encourages false binary thinking—
heterosexual/homosexual, man/
woman—in which “heterosexual”
and “man” is privileged over
“homosexual” and “woman.”
Compulsory heterosexuality, she
says, presents “scripts” to us that
are templates for how we conduct
relationships and “perform” our
gender. We are, for example,
encouraged to think of men as
being sexually active and women
as sexually passive, even though
there are no studies to prove this.Women are therefore expected,
according to Rich, to behave in
restrictive ways, as passive and
dependent on men; behavior
that does not conform to these
expectations is considered deviant
and dangerous. Sexually active
women, for instance, are labeled
as abnormal or called promiscuous.
Patriarchy (a power system that
assumes male superiority) is a
useful conceptual tool for Rich in
explaining women’s oppression
over time; she suggests that it is
necessary to think about maleADRIENNE RICH
Heterosexuality
is promoted and
maintained by
ideology and force;
lesbianism is
denied and denigrated.
.Heterosexuality
is constructed
as normal; men are
seen as active and
women as passive.Heterosexuality
must be recognized
as an institution and
a system of power
that benefits men
and subjugates
women.IN CONTEXT
FOCUS
Compulsory
heterosexualityKEY DATES
1864 The Contagious
Diseases Act in Britain
punishes prostitutes who
are infected by their clients.1979 Sexual Harassment of
Working Women, by US lawyer
Catherine A. MacKinnon,
argues that women occupy
markedly inferior positions
in the workplace and are
sexualized as part of their job.1993 Marital rape is finally
recognized as a crime by
every state in the US.1996 In Theorizing
Heterosexuality: Telling it
Straight, British sociologist
Diane Richardson introduces
a series of key essays that
critique the institution of
heterosexuality.The most pernicious message
relayed by pornography is
that women are natural sexual
prey to men and love it;
that sexuality and violence
are congruent.
Adrienne Rich