Sex, Politics, and the Ethics of Queer Life - Essay Example

Queer Queer is a word that is used to describe elements that are not normal or do not meet the expectations of what is considered to be normal. It can range from a physical abnormality in living things, their behavior and even lines of thought in humans. In the context of this paper, the word queer is going to be analyzed based on inferences and definitions by different authors who have written something that is linked to the said notion in relation to politics of sexuality and heteronormativity. When the term queer is mentioned in the same breath as sexuality, all manner of strange and horrible thoughts and emotions crop up in most people’s minds. The most common being those of homophobia because the word queer means deviant sexual practices that are frowned upon by the society. It can also mean strange sexual characteristics ranging from being a hamerphrodite to having abnormal genitalia. When an individual is not a heterosexual as the society dictates, then that person is referred to as a queer for being a lesbian or gay. Those people who have changed from being female to being males or vice versa are also regarded as queers by the society. The society we live in chooses to assign the word queer to this group of persons because they do not conform to the accepted gender roles assigned to them by the community. Gender has been divided since time in memorial into two groups. According to Bornstein, “choice between two of something is not a choice, but rather the opportunity to subscribe to the value system which holds the two presented choices as mutually exclusive alternatives and our choice puts us into the system that perpetuates the binary” (Bornstein 101). Different cultures assert that we belong to either one of the two chosen genders without question. If a person chooses not to belong to any of the two, then they are branded as outcasts. Bornstein wonders if the bi-polar gender system were a group and if its members were following rules that they can neither question nor be capable of challenging making group become more like a cult (Bornstein 103). In this context, gender is made up to look like a club for the privileged where the members, exhibit patterns both structural and behavioral that are common to cults (Bornstein 103). In his book “The Trouble with the Normal”, Warner says “even after fifty years of resistance, loathing for queer sex, like loathing for gender non conformity remains powerful”(Warner 48). This illustrates the society’s unwillingness to accept those who do not practice what their culture dictates as normal, especially if they are to be accepted under consideration of sex only. The lesbian and gay movement in America was expected to shed more light on sexuality, but it did not because according to Warner in his book it shows that even after these “queer” people declared their sexual orientation to the public, they did not get the reaction they expected from “straight” people as envisioned. The end to stigmatization that they were used to did not end, but it, in fact, escalated because the abuses and threats now had a defined target (Warner 50). In his book, Warner uses the term queer to stand for the sexual acts that gays and lesbians engage in, it is also used to represent those who are sexually oriented towards homosexuality. Queers are understood to be separate from the other part of the population, and their political rights activist movements advocate that they be considered under the minority or special group category. The society we live in makes it hard for these people to be assimilated into the community and be perceived as normal because it needs a group to dominate, have power over and control. Even if, the gays and lesbian movements did not arise, the culture we practice has always had a way of isolating an element in a society that is portrayed as queer so that there can be something for the society to frown upon and discriminate. The culture we live in, designed gender in such a way that it would comprise two entities and with any binary element, there can never be equality between the two. One group must have power over the other. This was and is still is the cardinal aim of basing sexuality on gender, to create power (Bornstein 108). Bornstein suggest that “the bipolar gender system continues to exist because it a venue for the playing out of a power game, which roughly half of the people in the world can have power over the other half. Without this system, the power dynamic between women and men collapses” (Bornstein 112). This clearly brings out the intentions behind the development of the gender system which was to give some portion of the human population power and control over the other portion especially women. This was a ploy by men to justify their dominance over women. According to Bornstein, gender is a form of a class system meant to oppress a certain group of people and what makes it scary is because people perceive gender as the natural order of things. This is proven by how men exercise their privilege given to them by the gender phenomena. It comes out clearly when we find a gap between the two groups in gender. Men are found to be the ones who have the greatest opportunities in life career wise and almost other sectors of our social life compared to women (Bornstein 118). The aspect of gender is purposely for selfish reasons so that some people can be at an advantage. Gender does not have a lot to do with the genitalia that a person has but it exists in mind, the notion of gender is more of a psychological thing than it is physical phenomena. Those who understand the power that gender has, will not allow there to be a transition gender because this will shift the balance and power will no longer be tilted towards one group but will be distributed equally among all people across the gender divide. Warner says the reason that the world has not been able to handle the homosexuality affair successfully is because there are no common structures through which the gay culture can be transmitted through generations (Warner 51). This is a good example that extrapolates on the idea that having “queer” sexual preferences is not a phenomenon, which passed down from one generation to another or from father to son or mother to daughter. It is something that someone comes to realize on their own. It is a process that is created in mind, and physiology does not dictate the direction of our desires, it just happens naturally. People who find themselves in this scenario are confused because there are no set cultural contingencies to guide them in their new found orientation instead they have to establish balance on their own without the support, which exists for straight people from the onset of life. They come to the reality that the only type of recognition, which they could get from society, is manifested through discrimination and prejudice (Warner 52). Warner uses the word queer as an identity tool. There are people who belong to an identity dubbed queer. Most of these people want to be normal even if their sexual orientation is not widely accepted as normal. Normalcy depends on what people think is normal, there is no set parameter that gauges what is normal and what is abnormal. Different cultures determine what we accept as normal and ethical. When society portrays lesbians and gays as abnormal, it is just another controlling system that dictates our thoughts. Heterosexuality should not be the only accepted sexual orientation that should be embraced, by society, just because it is what is found to be practiced at the time of birth. The question should be more based on whether there are other forms sexual behaviors, other than those that are commonly practiced and if they are they should not be frowned upon just because the majority of people do not practice it. Normality is relative to what we believe is right, and is comfortable with every person. It should not be dictated by the majority, but each variation in our characters should be accommodated into our society for a better co-existence. Bornstein argues that transgendered people in society mostly strive to appear normal to other members of society, but the truth is that they are not because they were once male or female then changed. This is a fact that cannot be ignored and accepting this fact makes it easier to live with one’s new gender status. Transsexuals are deemed queer or outcasts by society because they threaten the delicate balance of the binary gender system, because transsexualism exposes gender as a mind status rather than a physical state that is defined by being either a man or a woman. This would jeopardize the male privilege enjoyed by men because the society would yearn for a more equitable society, where every member, irrespective of whether they were male or female should have equal opportunities and the power that men had over women. The roles that we ought to play in life are those that have been put in place by gender classification, and these roles are restricting (Bornstein 131). Bornstein moves on to say that western culture does not accommodate transitional genders in their society because their existence threatens the bi-polar gender system. We should not wait for our roles to be assigned to us, by fate because there is no fate, but a well choreographed system meant to assign power to a group through role playing. We should choose the role we want to execute in life. The word queer in both texts has been used to address the issue of discrimination against expression of freedom of sexuality and freedom from gender constrictions. Both authors use the word to bring out the strong emotions that are involved in dealing with lesbians, gay and transsexuals. Works Cited Bornstein K. Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us. Illustrated Edition. Routledge, 1994. Print. Warner M. The Trouble With Normal: Sex, Politics, and the Ethics of Queer Life. Illustrated Edition, Reprint. Harvard University Press, 2000. Print. Read More