Sadie Inman
Nov 11, 2020
Critical Geography
Response Paper 9
The abundance of heterosexuality within public space has never occurred to me but compared with the same actions in a homosexual sphere it becomes clear what is the ruling idea currently. The political and social efforts to outcast all but heterosexuality and even only a small view of it can be seen throughout history. Richard Phillip’s essay “Sexuality” writes about the inherent sexualization of land and people in order to devalue them. How Christopher Columbus related his conquering of the indigenous people and land to the conquering of a woman is a grotesque picture. This tactic also reinforces the treatment of women as purely sexual creatures. Therefore the heterosexuality is moved out of the bedroom and into courts and governments. The current hegemony is tied very closely to heterosexuality and “hegemonies are nothing if not elastic alliances involving dispersed and contradictory strategies for self-maintenance and reproduction.” (Berlant and Warner, pg 553).
This hegemony is reinforced by the culture of discretion. The separation of personal and work worlds and the taboo of even raising the topic of conversation create a barrier for change. It is impossible to bring in new ideas and dispute the system if the general public refuses to talk about it. The social reinforcement of the “right” actions in these realms is extremely strong and throughout the world the social reinforcement has turned into government enforcement. Many US states still have laws against sodomy and other acts outside the sexual norm despite being done behind closed doors typically.
It is the “sense of rightness” that is what we call “heteronormativity” and this is the hardest thing to combat when attempting to bring acceptance to other aspects of sexuality. A collective sense of morals that are all abiding by and that help serve the ruling class’s ideology. That ideology is strongly based on reproduction and domination of marginal spaces.
Sadie, it really is surprising to see the depth of the efforts put in place to affirm heterosexuality and at the same time, demonize anything that deviates from it. This form of knowledge does circulate around shame, taboo, and separation, which only further seeks to alienate and stifle meaningful, collective change. I agree, the comparisons of conquering associated with indigenous people, land, and women that serves to make them available to be conquered is grotesque. This is a lasting production of knowledge about bodies that hopefully, through awareness, consistency, and responsibility, we can shift these dynamics for ourselves and future generations.
ReplyDeleteSadie, Important point here about the continual push for heterosexual normatively in society. Gramsci reminds us that hegemony has to be constantly won, and therefore, policies, institutions, spaces, etc of heteronormativity are an ongoing practice if it is to be "common sense." The culture of discretion is a powerful observation within the essay. We are seeing something like a counter-balance emerging in BLM, were silence on issues of racism are understood as condoning racism. The authors here are suggesting a similar position is absolutely necessary on the issue of sexuality.
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