Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Summary of Rich, Rupp, and Gilbert


Rich: Adrienne Rich writes about  what she calls "compulsory heterosexuality and lesbian existence," which is also the title of the article. She begins by examining four recently published books that have differing viewpoints but all are considered to be feminist works. One of these books does not address lesbians, one does not address the resistance of lesbianism, another tries to place men and women as equal partners, and the final looks at the role of mothers and their relationships. Rich disagrees with parts of these works, specifically in their handling of lesbians/lesbianism.
            Rich claims that there is an overarching necessity for women to have heterosexual practices. One of the primary reasons is for economic purposes. In the past, and to some degree today, society was set up for men to have all of the economic power, for women to have an enjoyable social standing, they need to be attached to a man. Pornography acts as a means to degrade women, often depicting sex as violent and passively condoning force. She completely disagrees with the notion that “most women are innately heterosexual” and believes it is a “stumbling block for feminism” (26).
            After her discussion on heterosexuality, she dives into what she calls lesbian existence and lesbian continuum. She believes that just the term lesbian does not quite extent enough. She also places lesbians in a different category that homosexual men. Her main reasons for her terms are that there is an exclusion of lesbians in history, many women have a lesbian relationship at some point in her life, but they might not classify it as “lesbian”, and that “lesbian” keeps the erotic and the friendship separate.

Rupp: Leila Rupp writes about the concept of same-sex sexuality. In most cases today, same-sex interactions are placed in a western mind frame. If they are sexual in nature, they are classified as homosexual, even though the ones in the acts do not deem them as such. The culture in which the act originates is ignored. She looks at some current cases as well as from the past. In many of these situations, the sexual act relates to power—because one party has it or to pass on power. She expands sexuality into a large power. The act that is occurring has a lot to deal with dominance, regardless of who it involves.

Gilbert: In “You’re Not the Type,” Laurel Gilbert explores some of the reactions that she has encountered to her having a daughter when she was sixteen. Most people are in disbelief, she just does not appear to be the “type.” By this they mean, she is highly education and has body piercings and has an attitude not associated in young mothers. She grew up in Utah. During her high school years, she had a relationship with a girl named Kris. She did not know at the time what she would classify it as. They had a friendship that was much different from the “normal” high school best friends. They imagined a future together when they were much older. Gilbert had a desire to be closer to her friend, so they both ended up sharing a boyfriend at one time. By both sleeping with the same person, they shared a bond. This is how Gilbert became pregnant. She fought against other’s notions of what she was and who she could become. Through this struggle, she came to terms with that she could be a lesbian/bisexual person, a notion that she did not have when she was a teenager in Utah. 

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