In a January 19th interview with the New York Times, Cynthia Nixon reflected on a speech she recently gave to a gay audience where she said, “I’ve been straight and I’ve been gay, and gay is better.” Nixon created a stir in the LGBTQ community as people interpreted her speech as saying gay is a choice. For many who live a homosexual lifestyle, gay is not a choice. No one would willingly choose to be ridiculed, bullied, disrespected, and at times fear for their own life. Nixon then clarified that she is bisexual; she has been with men and been with women, but she prefers having a same-sex partner.
Why is homosexuality so taboo? The idea of natural and unnatural sexual behavior has been explored by Gayle Rubin. Rubin explains a hierarchy with natural sexual behavior: heterosexual, monogamous, married couples at the top and unnatural sexual behavior: homosexual, promiscuous, “in sin” couples at the bottom. Rubin says, “Individuals whose behavior stands high in this hierarchy are rewarded with certified mental health, respectability, legality, and martial benefits” (Rubin, 12). Rubin creates the idea of a heteronormative society, in the sense that being heterosexual is the norm. Although there are more heterosexuals adults in the United States than homosexual adults, it is not fair to those who prefer same-sex partners to be categorized as “unnatural.” Although Nixon is attracted to both men and women, she felt safe enough in the public light to express that she prefers women; she prefers to be a lesbian. The article does not state the hardships Nixon may have faced as a lesbian over 40 years old, but she does express how proud she is of her sexual orientation.
In today’s American society, homosexuality is seen as something you are born with, but that has not always been the case. In the 1880s and 1890s, the first scientific literature was written about homosexuality. Doctors debated over whether homosexuality was “a vice indulged by weak-willed, depraved individuals, an acquired form of insanity, or a congenial defect that indicated evolutionary degeneracy” (D’Emilio, 15). Doctors believed the preference to same-sex partners was a psychological disorder that could be treated with electro shock therapy, a lobotomy, castration, or a lifetime commitment to the insane asylum (D’Emilio, 18). In the twentieth century, an intervention of the science of homosexuality reconceptualized the phenomenon (D’Emilio, 18). “By transforming same-sex eroticism into a clinical entity, doctors hastened the evolution of a new form of identity that was based upon sexual expression” (D’Emilio, 19).
Homosexuals may know their sexual orientation is what they are born with, but some heterosexuals still think it is a choice. Adrienne Rich explains this idea in her essay Compulsory Heterosexuality: “The assumption made by Rossi, that woman are ‘innately sexual oriented’ toward men, or by Lessing, that the lesbian choice is simply an acting-out if bitterness toward men, are by no means theirs alone; they are widely current in literature and in the social sciences” (Rich, 178). Nixon’s comment about being gay by choice only effected the LGBTQ community because they are the ones who live with same-sex attraction and no matter how hard they fight the urges to be “normal,” homosexuals will never be heterosexual.
Nixon raised eyebrows with her comments, but she did help get the conversation started again about gay not being a choice. Heterosexuals forget about the struggles homosexuals face on a daily basis. Homosexuals are in constant fear of others who are not accepting or understanding of them and must fight for the same rights and privileges as their heterosexual counterparts. As the years go on, gay rights change and so do the opinions of non accepting heterosexuals.
Bibliography:
Rubin, Gayle S. “Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality” from Social Perspectives in Gay and Lesbian Studies ed. Peter M Nardi and Beth Schneider.
D’Emilio, John. “Homosexuality and American Society: An Overview” from Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities in the United States 1940-1970. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1983.
Rich, Adrienne. “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence” from Professions of Desire: Lesbian and Gay Studies in Literature ed. George Haggerty and Bonnie Zimmermann. New York: Modern Language Association, 1995
"Cynthia Nixon: Bald and Gay by Choice, Bisexual by Birth - Latimes.com." Blogs - Latimes.com. Web. 08 Feb. 2012. <http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/gossip/2012/01/cynthia-nixon-bald-by-choice-gay-by-choice.html>.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your argument that homosexuality seems to be a very controversial topic. Many of the struggles faced by homosexuals are due to ignorance. People do not know enough about homosexuality so instead of learning about it they just try to ignore it, or worse try to prevent it. In modern day, we are learning much more about it and making progress toward accepting it. Nan Stein proposes an education plan to help diminish this ignorance at a young age in her article “Bullying, Harassment and Violence Among Students (2007)." She calls this education plan zero indifference. Zero indifference consists of instituting classroom education and curriculum long term, training staff, designating a variety of approachable people when an issue does occur, creating multiple strategies for resolution, and much more (Stein, 2007, 50-51). This plan of action is meant to educate students on homosexuality to hopefully prevent them from bullying others based on gender diversity. If this plan were successful hopefully the school would become a safe space for homosexual children. Children who are educated on the topic of homosexuality are also less likely to view it as a taboo topic, and more of something natural. With this education plan, hate and ignorance toward homosexuality would hopefully fade completely with the aging generations.
ReplyDeleteBibliography
Stein, Nan. "Bullying, Harassment and Violence Among Students" in The Radical Teacher, No. 80 “Teaching Beyond Tolerance” Winter 2007 30-35.