The Social Construction of Sexuality, Homophobia as a Weapon of Sexism, and Masculinity as Homophobia - Essay Example

1. Summarize “The Social Construction of Sexuality” (I, 6), Homophobia as a Weapon of Sexism (II, 7) and “Masculinity as Homophobia” (I, 8). Of whatimportance is it that sexuality is socially constructed? What is the connection between society’s current construction of sexuality as necessarily heterosexual (that is compulsory heterosexuality) and homophobia? How has compulsory heterosexuality helped define masculinity and femininity? What has been the impact of these definitions on heterosexual and homosexual men and women? What has been the impact of compulsory heterosexuality on sexual minorities? The post modern era is widely acknowledged as the age of liberalization. Liberalization in every aspect of human life, starting from economic to political, from social to psychological has received highest importance. Unfortunately, as we all know there is always a huge gap between theory and practice, even in this era of post modernity, maintaining such gap in certain aspects of human life is encouraged. Sexuality or the idea of sexuality is one such aspects, where maintaining the gap between theory and practice is encouraged, consciously or unconsciously, starting from common societal level to intellectual plain. Sexuality is essentially an idea that has been formed by the society. Notion of the Western World about sexuality is based over the ‘the Christian equation of sexuality with sin, which must be redeemed through making babies.’ (Hubbard, 2003, p.65) The prevalent social conception about sexuality is that it must be aimed at procreation. Sexual orientation must have only a single form and people are strictly discouraged by the society from being involved in any other form of sexual orientation or pleasure other than heterosexuality. A child is taught in a completely different way about sex and sexuality by his/her parents or people around him. But idea developed by him/her about sex and sexuality is completely in contradiction with the idea of sexuality that he develops in his mind. On one hand, a child is taught by his/her parents that sexuality is directed towards one goal and that is to become father and mother. But, when they step into their adolescence the entire society and its diverse cultural experience encourage their fantasy to enjoy sexual pleasure with their counterparts. Due to such consequences we are seeing, “Teenagers do not act “responsibly” – teenage pregnancies and abortions are on the rise and teenage fathers do not acknowledge and support their partners and babies.” (Hubbard, 2003, p.66) It is for the benefit of the children the parents must understand at the first place that telling lies about sexuality does not solve any problem rather there is always a probability of accidents that can appear as great challenge for children in their personal lives. This fact needs to be realized at the first place that there is no connection between sexuality and procreation in the Western civilization. Sexuality is an idea and it is perceived in various ways by different people. It will be better if we respect such perceptions rather than restraining them. Every individual develops his/her sexual orientation according to their experiences at the societal plain. There is a common conception that the sexual orientation factor is determined in genetic or biological terms but actually people determine this aspect depending on their ‘diverse life situations’ that has also been narrowed down through our taught concepts as well as by social conceptions of right and wrong. All forms of sexual orientations ‘are part of the range of our social experiences.’ (Hubbard, 2003, p.67) There are certain similar situations or circumstances in which people belonging to a particular group find people, who have similar sexual orientation and finally they find the group similarities. It is tendency of the common people to make exaggeration as they try to find out the similarities or differences between such groups. It is most common to find out exaggeration of such dissimilarities when it comes to conflict between people having heterosexual and homosexual orientation. The society’s current construction of sexual orientation as essentially heterosexual is greatly related with patriarchy and male dominance over women. According to Suzanne Pharr, patriarchy is nothing but, “ – an enforced belief in male dominance and control – is the ideology and sexism the system that holds it in place.”(Pharr, 2003, p.168) Sexism, in feminist interpretation, is the system that compels a woman to remain as a male subordinate. It is the sexism that has encouraged the rise of violence against women in the society and restrained women from equal status with men in the society. Males not only control the women only through physical violence but the psychological threat of physical torture and verbal violence also play equally important part in the process. Most of the women say that verbal violence sometimes causes more damage in comparison with the physical violence as the previous form of violence causes great harm to the self esteem of a person. Homophobia is perhaps the strongest weapon in the hands sexism as it is fused with the heterosexism. ‘Heterosexism creates the climate for homophobia with its assumption that the world is and must be heterosexual and its display of power and privilege as the norm.” (Pharr, 2003, p.169) Homophobia and Heterosexism both cast join effect over the women psychology by conveying that the world is essentially heterosexual and male power will rule this world. The main focus of such conception is to reduce the process of women empowerment, women equality and women liberalization. To extent homophobia has affected the process of women liberalization process. In the modern society, heterosexism is often regarded as the determining factor between masculinity and femininity. People, who agree to the fact that the world is essentially heterosexual, they actually are in support of masculinity because due to their support they are actually celebrating the male supremacy over women in the world. On the other hand, who deny the process and assert their belief that in this world women also share equally important role like that of their male counterparts, actually celebrate the feminine power. Thus, she becomes a feminist or supporter of the feminism, which is widely regarded as a philosophy, directed against males. The traditional image and definition of masculinity forms an archetypical image of masculine power at the psychological level of most men. A perfect embodiment of such picture is known as the real man and such a figure, even in now days, is considered as an inspirational figure. Thus, a child, who has grown up with such images in his mind, will surely consider male to be supreme of all powers and somewhere he will develop an intention to ignore and torture the feminine figures that are traditionally considered as weaker part of the society. This is the main reason that a boy, whose appearance does not match with the common notion of masculinity, is often abused as a ‘female.’ Thus, cultural definition of manhood accumulates various stories in one place. Masculinity means, “…the individual man’s quest to accumulate those cultural symbols that denote manhood, sings that he has in fact achieved it.” (Kimmel, 2003, p.85) Contrary to this image, the definition of femininity becomes very simple. A feminine character symbolizes such a figure that it weak, vulnerable, obedient and meek. A feminine figure will always be ready to submit herself to the wishes of her male counterpart, to the violence that will be inflicted upon her and will be eternally dominated. These are the images and definitions that have actually been encouraged by the patriarchal society. Men will be rulers and women will be subjects to such ruling. Those, who will refuse to submit, have to suffer social alienation. Thus in the three essays, “The Social Construction of Sexuality”, Homophobia as a Weapon of Sexism and “Masculinity as Homophobia”, the dominance of masculinity of feminism has been focused and it has also been revealed how the males have dominated and still dominating their female counterparts. 2. Summarize “Racial Formations” (I,1) and “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow (I,2), “Constructing Race, Creating White Privilege” (I,3) and “How the Jews Became White Folks” (I,4). How do Wrights’ Buck’s and Brodkin’s pieces illustrate what Omi and Winant are writing about? Focus your essay on two or three aspects where each piece echoes the other. For example, how does Wright describe his process of “racialization” as boy living in Arkansas? What does Brodkin say about the linkages between whiteness and middle class standing? How does Wright describe his racial consciousness as a “sociohistorical concept” that Omi and Winant discuss? The First World War created huge impact over economic situation of Europe. It is due to such downfall of the European economy huge number of European citizens migrated to US in search of better fortune. It would be wrong to say that immigration to United States of America commenced only aftermath period of the World War I. European migration to America commenced much before that, since 1880 but the rate drastically increased since commencement of the First World War. A very famous novel of the modern age, the Bread Givers, by Anzia Yezierska represents true account of such migratory approach. Thematically, though, the novel has focused over an entirely different subject but a clear impression of the whole situation can be perceived from it. While tracing the reasons for such migration, it is not right to thrust entire responsibility over pre-Great War I economic condition. There were several other socio-cultural aspects that accelerated in the rate of migration. In the later 19th century there was a sudden cultural change in Europe from the perspective of social hierarchy. It is during this time Europe witnessed the racialization process, which commenced with the Irish people in the middle half of the nineteenth century and by the end of that century the whole continent was divided into superior and interior races. On one hand tremendous economic recession and on the other oppression of the inferior races by their superior counterparts stimulated the ‘great waves of immigration from southern and eastern Europe’. (Brodkin, 2003, p. 41) In this context, Brodkin represents true account of the scenario, “Before that time, European immigrants – including Jews – had been largely assimilated into the white population. However, the 23 million European immigrants who came to work in US cities in the waves of migration after 1880 were too many and too concentrated to absorb. Since immigrants and their children made up more than 70 percent of the population of most of the country’s largest cities, by the 1890s urban America had taken on a distinctly southern and eastern European immigrant flavor.” (Brodkin, 2003, p.40) United States of America is considered as the country of liberal approach from social, political and cultural aspects. At the same time, there are evidences of certain incidents that clearly convey to us that despite emphasis over cultural aspects for various races in the Constitution, such habits were not practiced in the real life. Racism has remained one of the most conspicuous social evils that rankles lives of those people, who have migrated to that country. The inhabitants have failed to accept the migrated people as part of their own culture. Looking back into the history the evidence becomes clear. Long time back slavery of black people was abolished from the US society, yet undercurrent of oppressive mentality against the black people ruled the minds of people for a long time quite explicitly. In the modern era expression of such antagonism against black people have reduced to a great extent but it is clear from the approach of government as well as of the inhabitants that they have not been able to accept those black people as well as people from other cultural traditions as part of their own society. In encouraging such anti-racist mentality the US media as well as so-called scholars have contributed to a great extent. For instance the ex- Harvard University President A. Lawrence Lowell clearly raised his voice against education of Jews in the prestigious US University. ‘Racism in general and anti-Semitism in particular flourished in higher education.’ (Brodkin, 2003, p.41) Through his narrative it becomes clear that how the Jewish immigrants to US faced such situation. Even though his father did really good in his academic career but he did not receive any recognition to his credibility. His parents were keen on providing him education according to the US system, especially the US way of speaking English. Both the authors, Wright and Brodkin have expressed that the consequences of racism used to affect lives of the immigrants even from their very childhood. Perhaps it is innocence only that remained unaffected by such racial discrimination, “Neither religion nor ethnicity separated us at school or in the neighborhood….” (Brodkin, 2003, p. 43) But at the same time the author provides the impression of how the purity of innocence is gradually corrupted by experience, “Hostilities didn’t last for more than a couple of hours and punctuated an otherwise friendly relationship. They ended by our junior high years, when other things became more important. Jews, Catholics, and Protestants, Italians, Irish, Poles…” (Brodkin, 2003, p.43) It has been a matter of racist pride for US citizens that they are the White. Yet, later on Jewish immigrants also received the permission to enter the circle of whiteness, slowly. Two question have been put forward by Brodkin as he talks about the links between whiteness and middle class standing, “Did Jews and other Euro-ethnics become white because they became middle-class? That is did money whiten? Or did being incorporated into an expanded version of whiteness open up the economic doors to middle-class status?”(Brodkin, 2003, p.43) Immediately, he provides answer to his questions that both these factors played crucial role in leading the Jewish immigrants to the middle class section of the US society. It is due to such recognition of Euro-ethnic races the democratic conception about US system of governance received a new boost and it is also considered by the whole US system of governance as victory against evils of racism. It is clear that the cosmopolitan US population not only comprised US citizens and people from Euro-ethnic groups. African America and Asian American people also comprise a major part of the total population. If an individual looks into the approach of the US government as well as the true Whites to them then he is sure to question about the abolition of racism from the US society. While concluding Brodkin’s observation of whole the situation sums up approach of the US society to racism, “Conventional wisdom has it that the United Sates has always been an affluent land of opportunity. But the truth is that affluence has been exception and that real upward mobility has required massive affirmative action programs….” (Brodkin, 2003, p.50) Reference Rothenberg, P.S. (2003) Race, Class, and Gender in the United States: An Integrated Study, Worth Publishers Read More