In the Adrienne Rich's essay, "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence", she starts off by discussing how there is a common assumption in today's society that women are innately sexually oriented only toward men and that the lesbian is simply showing her hatred of men. She emphasizes that feminists can no longer avoid this issue by simply tolerating "lesbianism" as an alternative lifestyle. She goes so far as to describe how heterosexuality needs to be studied as a "political institution- even, or especially, by those individuals who feel they are, in their personal experience, the precursors of a new social relation between the sexes." (313). She continues by raising the question of whether the search for love and affection by both sexes doesn't actually originally lead toward women. She cites Kathleen Gough's eight characteristics of male power in contemporary societies. She explains that "characteristics of male power include the power of men 1) to deny women [their own] sexuality 2)or to force it [male sexuality] upon them 3) to command or exploit their labor to control their produce 4) to control or rob them of their children 5) to confine them physically and prevent their movement 6) to use them as objects in male transaction 7) to cramp their creativeness 8) to withhold from them large areas of the society's knowledge and cultural attainments. Rich suggests that it is actually the enforcement and continuation of heterosexuality that is the real problem, not gender equality. It is this heterosexuality that is used as a means of ensuring male power in today's society. Rich believes that we should all exist on a "lesbian continuum": that we should not view ourselves as simply lesbian or heterosexual but instead moving in and out of this continuum. She points to historical traditions, such as the Western tradition, that asserts that women are tragically drawn to men and that women need men as social and economic protectors. She also references the lie that is frequently spread that women only turn to lesbians out of pure hatred for men. By unearthing lesbian existence, Rich argues that the results can be potentially liberating for all women, not just lesbians.
Gilbert's essay "You're Not the Type" describes her teenage pregnancy and her battle through constantly being judged and pitied for her teenage decisions. She is told she does not appear to be "the type" to get pregnant in high school; however she has actually made a success story out of herself by finishing her education. She describes how growing up, she could not truly identify with any real group of women because of her strong feelings of love and attraction toward her female friend Kris. It wasn't until she read Rich's essay (as outlined above) that she realized her so-called abnomality was shared by other women. She finishes by describing how she realized she is doing things she never thought were possible before. Not only was she able to become a student, teacher and a writer, she also able to see that it was possible to love both women and men. As she ends her essay she is "just the type" (83).
Chernik's account of her battle with anorexia, "the Body Politic" pointed out many of the serious issues that surround eating disorders today. She describes how the control of her body size and food intake was the only aspect of her life she thought she was able to maintain power over. By starving herself, she actually received the acceptance and compliments from people in society that she craved. Although she looked emaciated and sickly-thin, she recounts how a body fat testing employee weighed her and actually congratulated her on having only 10% body fat. Society actually preferred her as hungry, fragile and crazy; however she knew she was really only killing herself slowly. What I found most interesting about this article was how she noticed that friends will plead their anorexic friends to go and eat; however these same friends are starting dieting themselves at the time as well. The prevalence of eating disorders in today's society is a vicious circle that makes all women feel inadequate. Instead of embracing and loving your body for the way it is meant to be (beautiful the way it is), women "go hungry emotionally, psychologically, spiritually and politically" (110).
The final article we had to read today was called "Toward a Global History of Same-Sex Sexuality" by Leila J. Rupp. Rupp begins by pointing out that there are actually many examples of age differences structuring sexual acts as opposed to gender. In ancient Greece, the age difference between older and younger men determined the ways they engaged in sexual acts. In 17th century Japan, men were expected to engage in sexual acts with both women and boys and there were actually two different words that described the love of women and the love of boys. In some societies, transgenerational same-sex relations are completely common and accepted. Rupp argues that "our construction of these interactions as same-sex may be totally foreign to the people involved" (291). Our two gender society is also not commonplace in the rest of the world. Third-gender roles also excited in multiple Polynesian societies in the 18th century. In Brazil, the travestis are transgendered prostitutes who take female names and wear women's clothing to attract men. This connection between women's cross dressing and same-sex desire, Rupp argues, becomes tighter over time. "Same-sex sexuality" is simply the Western idea of sexual relations between individuals who are undifferentiated by age, gender, class or other factors. Rupp questions how we determine what is sexuality and what is "something else in these different interactions" (295). The question persists of what a sexual act even is. Were romantic friendships of the 18th and 19th century western world sexual relationships due to their passionate, intense, loving and physically affectionate relationships. It is possible that these relationships did involve sex (it is a commonly argued debate). After giving multiple examples of same-sex intimate relationships, Rupp questions which of the descriptions actually qualify as "sex". Rupp focuses on the problems that result from the term "same-sex sexuality" because the term allows us to raise many important questions about global and historical patterns of love and desire. She ends by emphasizing that "we would do well to remember that we need to consider carefully the ways that love, desire, and relationships are structured by differences or similarities, and the meaning of sex acts in their historical contexts" (302).
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