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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