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Compulsory (Hetero) Sexuality Within Homosexual Desire And The Despoilment Of Inner-Self (By-Srishti Gupta)
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Compulsory (Hetero)
Sexuality Within Homosexual Desire And The Despoilment Of
Inner-Self
‘Stereotypes
that devoured Our Society’
Authored
By-Srishti Gupta
I.
Introduction
“Gender is neither
with what we’re born, nor-something
we have, but is something that we perform”[1].
A small boy, who-proudly
reveres his father, performing everything he can to bear a resemblance – to be
a ‘man’, the boy is-personifying-his adult male
role-model. Likewise small girls, they endeavours their mothers by putting on
makeup, her dresses-shoes etc. Expressly, gendered-performances-are accessible to everyone, but with them
run constraints on who can conduct-which-personae or-to perform what
individuality with impunity. This is where gender and sex stands together, hence
the society strives to match the-ways
of an individual’s comportments with its biologically based sex. Not
surprisingly, heterosexual-coupling
and privileging-any-resulting children,
while disapproving the homosexual-desires-are-firmly-intertwined-with-society’s-gender-perseverance, where gendered-identity
is delineated with ‘labels’ designated to respective-genders (e.g., male, female, genderqueer,
bi, femme).
Gender-role
orientation, a related conception, evinces the degree through which
psychological and behavioural-attributes-corresponds-with-societally-regulated norms-for masculinity and
femininity. These behavioural patterns are acknowledged as ‘sex-roles’[2] more-recently as ‘gender-roles’. Sex and Gender are both pertinent to sexual
orientation as an individual’s characteristics are directed towards their
sexual-identities, which may accentuate upon physical (sex) and-communal (gender) based self-perceptions. Additionally,
this way individuals can be oriented towards biological sex-traits,
socially-influenced gender identity, or both, irrespective-of-one-being-male, female, or ‘other’[3].
A highly-evident-activity-of pairing up girls-boys
as couples commands the situation altogether. Heterosexuality is a construction
around which the social associations organises itself, and the
‘heterosexual market’[4]
forms the core to it. Rigidly, neither everyone desires to engage themselves in
heterosexual market, nor-every-participant-is-hetero. This-market-enables-social-order to assume heterosexuality-as-condescending,-while-marginalizing-the-deviants (homosexuals). Further the
market instigates dichotomous thinking “opposite attracts” which unfolds the
conscious element of desire[5].
The phrase “compulsory-heterosexuality[6]”
initially-accentuates an assumption of a male dominant society, normalising the
sexual-relationship-between a man-woman. The phrase infers heterosexuality as
something which is neither inborn nor a choice per se, but an enforcement of
customary, natural and socially-admissible choices.
II.
Stereotyping And
Self-Stereotyping Homosexuals
Gender-stereotyping-is-delineated-as-overgeneralization-of-attributes-and-peculiarities-of-definite-groups-as-established-upon-their-gender-(usually-male-female).-But,-now-as-our-society-progresses-towards-broader-construct-of-“gender”, individuals clinging with
binary idea to it encounters everyday perplexities around those with
gender-atypicality, who do not fit within strict gender dichotomy. For
instance, assertive women are cited as “whores”, while men who don’t emerge
masculine are referred as “sissies” or assumed to be gays, which is conceded as
an offensive stereotype among LGBTQ community. Each-day gender non-conforming people endure the brunt of
economic and societal marginalization owing to prejudices based upon their
gender-specifications[7].
Components contributing in stereotypic behaviour against lesbian/gays/bisexuals
includes – sexist attitudes, their minority-status, belief about environmental
causes of homosexuality, gender-role
expectations-etc.[8] Some-are-opinionated-that-being-homosexual-is-an-extreme-gender-role-violation-(here,-stereotype-derives-from-sexism) while others
believe that sexual orientation is an individualistic based preconception
(here, homophobia). Others view sexual orientation and gender-role to be
intertwined.
The interaction
of gender-role with sexual orientation embodies two rudimentary assumptions
which are both based upon cultural belief and are repeatedly unrecognized.
These assumptions are “cultural gender belief system”[9]
and “inversion theory of sexual-orientation”, which constitutes an essentialist
rather than socially fabricated prospect of gender where traditional
gender-role conformity i.e., heterosexuality as the “norm” is advocated. The
‘gender-belief-system’ proposes a set of opinions and belief circling
females/males and
their personated traits of masculinity and femininity, and suggests that
gender-roles, either distinctively or identically tied to biological sex[10].
This system expects a person with some traits of a specific gender-role shall
hold desirability of opposite sex (i.e. sexual attraction), otherwise, people
non-conforming to traditional role expectations (“sissies”, “tomboys”) are
assumed to be gays-lesbians-homosexuals. While, people in ‘inversion-theory[11]’
stereotype homosexuals as “inverted” because being incapable to meet the
expectation of opposite sex attraction.[12]
Mainstream
stereotypes focusing homosexuals repeatedly reveals them as violative of
gender-norms in multiple domains – interests, occupations, roles, mannerisms
and appearance. Facial properties accepts feminine male faces and masculine
female faces as gay/lesbians. Further, Gay men are stereotyped as emotional,
weak, submissive, while Lesbians are stereotyped as sex-atypical. Some perceive
the elevated masculinity among lesbians are contrasting to the heterosexual-women.
Social sex-role stereotypes and conventionalisation of homosexuals
usually appear to be confounded, such that gays are ascribed certain roles,
reactions and traits which are generally attributed to heterosexual-women,
while lesbians are likewise seen as conforming to stereotypical
heterosexual-male behaviours.
Consequently, Identity
development among homosexuals enables sociocultural stereotypes to unknowingly
play a significant role in the process, as it predicts the developed gay
identity to have faced the stereotypical and sex-atypical attitudes of society
before they even come-out as LGBTQs. Thus, making the identity development
process strenuous for ‘non-identified’ gays/lesbians etc., the non-identified
ones not only gets exposed to these biased perceptions and prejudices of LGBTQs
in society, but would be at high risk to acquire them as a notions of ‘homos’
being an out-group in the culture. Their earliest understanding of “what it
means to be homosexual” may thus be constructed purely on
sociocultural-stereotypes rather being based on appropriate role models. Most
gay people for instance resist living in homosexual families, owing to stigmas
and fear of sentient backlash which may discourage newly-identified ones from
networking or sustaining[13].
Research on
‘likings’ for gay men expresses greater fondness for masculine gay men rather
for feminine gays, because more or less they fulfil the societal expectations
of emerging like a ‘man’, similarly a feminine lesbian for preferential
resembling a ‘woman’ . These differential likings may demoralize homosexuals who’re
beginning to express their identity overtly and fearing the stereotypic fashion
towards being liked and accepted. Such patterns, revolving confirmed stereo-typicality
are not ethical and aversive for new-identifiers. This may culminate into an atrocious
failure of their advancement and development of identity, and ill-defined
self-concepts and negative experiences may develop internalised distress,
homophobia, and self-hatred.
III.
Social Construction Of Identities
Social-constructionism-can-be-comprehended-as-a-rambling-structure-defining-sexual-actors-and-sexual-activities-at-societal-and-individual-levels. And thus, it put
forth a manifesto that, human realities and prejudices that follows it are
socially ‘constructed’ through assessing one’s language and potential, and that
it can be revamped through means of questioning the assumed realities and
‘deconstructing’ them, or scrutinizing the ways in which these were created[14].
‘Gender-stereotyping
equality’ principles owns expressive insinuations. Here, Butler asserts that
gender utterly comprises through individual’s actions, bearing definite social
meanings. Society often assigns its interpretations to, and restrict parameters
of gendered-actions and performances[15].
And hence, genuine and essentialised gender-identities appears occluded form
the social constructions of gender. Example-the way we try to see someone
in a drag, the (female) drag is someone who’s performing and is constructed on
top of a pure underlying (male) body. Therefore, Butler’s perspective of
everyone being a constant gender performer in society, rightly fits. Gender,
can hence be understood by its performance, socially constructed, though cannot
be avoided or escaped.
Butler persuaded the society to fabricate
“gender trouble” by suspending the binary vision of sex, gender, and sexuality.
Crucially because, gender is neither an essential quality nor an inherent
identity, rather it’s performative, awfully, the entirety of which still is
based and regulated by societal norms. In other words, instead ‘being’ men or
women, individuals ‘act’ as men or women, moreover, fear of dismissive
consequences in their failure to do so, thereupon facilitates gender
categorization.
The prevalent view of biological sex is
binary, seemed to be natural and contemplated to be the cultural understanding
for sex and sexual desire. Society believes binary orientation as simple and
that sex should
be a spectrum and not a dichotomy, by
labelling individuals who perform otherwise as abnormal and “conditioned”.
Example – research[16]
shows babies born with intersex characteristics are forced under surgeries to
achieve “normal” sex characteristics (male-female) and to maintain binary
construction.
The pessimistic conservatism and binary
performance does not exist unintentionally, rather got proliferated due to
patriarchy and its power structures of compulsory heterosexuality, where women
sustains by fulfilling the means of reproduction to men. These power structures
are repressing distinct gender performances, and creating heteronormative
gender execution[17].
Later in 1980s, within the pop culture, an-interesting-idea-of-people holding a sixth sense to detect
‘who’s gay’, called “gaydar”[18]
became notable. Gaydar forms an alternative label for stereotyping myths of
homo-orientation i.e., fashionable men are gay. Along with, another account
expresses that people also generally deems facial structure and resulting
perceptions as an indicator to one’s sexual orientation.
This-is-where-the-society-and-its-millennials-are-leading-themselves-to;
to fear, hatred-and-prejudice against homosexuals. Further, let’s look upon how
homophobia consumed the culture.
IV.
Heterosexism, Homophobia And Heteronormativity
Homosexuality is not problematic, the
real issue is homophobia[19]
and the miscellaneous approaches across which people are maltreated, concerning,
the basis of affectional preference and thy sexual-orientation. Eventually,
Same-sex eroticism did received social-acceptance in many cultures as a
conventional conditioning in humans, but in our society, it’s still immoral and
stigmatic, whereby people are wanting to believe it either non-existent or
impracticable. Compulsory-heterosexuality is proliferating inequalities in the
lives of sexual-minorities, Gay-men and lesbians repeatedly are loosing custody
battles over children, owing to homophobia.
Homophobia-and-normative-masculinity-are-interconnected-conceptions,-one-way-several-men-“prove”-their-masculinity-to-other-men-by-demonstrating-their-heterosexuality,-together-with-homophobia. Men are
likely to divulge homophobic behaviour when they fear their masculinity is
threatened[20].
Therefore, one can presume the
sustenance of homophobia to get along with patriarchy. The patriarchy displays
itself as a “hypermasculine capital”[21]
which portrays an approach to masculinity not only as aggressive but also rigidly
heterosexual. Hence, compulsory heterosexuality becomes socially-dominant and
an oppressive form of sexuality for homosexuals effecting self-suffocation. The
SC’s verdict of decriminalizing section 377[22]
proved a blessing on Indian society as it unchained the manifestations of
patriarchy, earlier the acute unequal rights between a gay-man and a
straight-man, indicates the sexual relationship among a woman and man to be
legitimate, but with superiority of man being hypermasculine in this
relationship.
The-privileging-of-heterosexuality-emanates-societal-pressure-among individuals to
conform and to execute heterosexual roles, leading-them-to-envisage-their-individuality and their social
interactions in certain ways. Social institutions of marriage and everyday
activities, reproduces assumptions regarding heterosexuality as a norm and
extends prestige to those who ‘fit’ within the ordained mould of hetero-orientation.
However, “normative heterosexuality regulates the ones who fit-in, while
marginalizing and sanctioning the unacceptable ones. Kitzinger[23] discusses heterosexuality
as “the myriad-ways-which-manifests-it-as-a-natural,-uncomplicated,-taken-for-granted-phenomenon.” While, heteronormativity-fabricates assumptions
regarding heterosexuality as acceptable norm, and appraises-all-other-categories-of-sexual-orientations-as-bizarre.-Heteronormativity-precipitates variations in
mental health and well-being outcomes for certain groups, specifically, recent
studies divulges that sexual minorities are more adaptable to pessimistic
health outcomes, than the general population. Oftentimes, these outcomes are
accepted as “minority stress” induced by heteronormative social pressures,
prejudices and biases.
V. ‘Nothing-To-Cure’
People recklessly-are-fancying-to
“see straight” and are lacking to-acknowledge that these
discrete genders-within-contemporary-culture-forms
a part to what ‘humanizes’ individuals. Infact, these identities-are-believed-to-be-.depraved and are frequently punished. This-punishment-comprises
marginalization, oppression, and stigmatization-by-the
‘virtuous’ (heteros) either-by challenging-the binary-system
-(e.g.,-intersex/genderqueer/bisexuals)-or-by-obstructing-the-presumed-connection
between sex and sexuality (e.g. gay and lesbian individuals).
A 21-year-old-student-spotted dead after allegedly being compelled to
involuntarily undergo ‘conversion therapy’ by parents, after coming-out as
bisexual[24].
Such incidents are not unusual, indeed these are flashed as headlines every now
and then. Homos, especially when young, are coerced to ‘un-become’ who they are
by parents. Although, hon’ble SC decriminalised-consensual-homosexual-sex under section-377 and-the-Indian-psychiatric-society-promulgated homosexuality as not a mental disorder, yet s.377 has-serious-consequences-for India’s LGBTQ community. The law abandoned
millennials to open harassment, battering and blackmails. Some even got forced
into loveless marriages, or couples run-away, or commit joint-suicide.
These jarring realities further haunts
us over ridiculous outrages, as once, Baba Ramdev famously “claimed” to “cure”
homosexuality-via-yoga. Doctors-and-Psychiatrists-still-are “trying to cure” genetics of queerness. Shock therapies, genital
surgeries, antipsychotic medications are common in our society. besides Babas,
cosmic-healers assert to covert children heterosexual. Just because
constitution brought a change in its laws doesn’t means mentalities will too[25].
Exerting-rape as a-corrective-tool-to sexual-orientation
under an impression of bringing them back to ‘societal-norms’ is prevalent.
This might-sound-inhumane but 15 instances of ‘corrective-rapes’ are
registered[26]many-goes-unrecorded-as-perpetrators in usually
are family-members, resulting-refraining of victims, suffering trauma to speak of
their brothers/cousins turning rapists[27].
It’s an ardent need
for the society to heed upon homosexuality, bisexuality or any sexuality, that it’s
not-a-teenage “phase” or-any “aesthetic” and
neither it can be “cured”. Its natural, alongside various other-species-who’re-observing-sexuality-orientational-differences.
Article Information
Compulsory (Hetero) Sexuality Within Homosexual Desire And The Despoilment Of Inner-Self (By-Srishti Gupta)
Authors: Srishti Gupta
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2022/09/07
- Volume 2
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
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