Binary Opposition in Reference to Sexual Identities - Essay Example

Societal Perceptions Societal Perceptions: Binary Opposition in Reference to Sexual Identities and Sexual Practices YOU ORGANIZATION Societal Perceptions 2 Abstract It has been offered that "society likes to put us into little boxes with everything existing as binary opposition, with no room for middle ground." In terms of sexual identity and sexual practices, especially regarding homosexual men and women, this societal labeling is often based on misconceptions or, simply, ignorance of the issues surrounding sexual identity. Western civilization promotes its own societal concepts of what is acceptable behavior and what sexual practices should remain behind proverbial "closed doors". This purpose of this work is to explore the nature of binary opposition and inflexibility on behalf of society to adopt a middle ground in terms of sexuality issues. Societal Perceptions 3 Societal Perceptions: Binary Opposition in Reference to Sexual Identities and Sexual Practices Introduction Using a broad explanation, binary opposition is often a hierarchical tool that is used to pit one social group against another. It is generally a pair of theoretical opposites (Wikipedia.org) that justifies human thought tendencies, such as heterosexual-homosexual opposition, which often allows one side to label the other using stereotypical guidelines. Whenever you have a binary opposition, one of the definitions is usually marked in a negative kind of way. In the case of the hetero-homosexual binarism, invariably homosexual is the one that is marked (Fairyington, 2004). Across the nation, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities are facing the challenge of advancing civil rights on the local and state levels (Otis, 2004), often finding small successes in legal battles while still plagued with societal binary opposition. For those individuals with a minority-based sexual identity, such as the homosexual, finding a middle ground within society poses more of a challenge. Sexuality research currently needs to reexamine critically its constructs of sexual orientation and identify for theoretical inconsistencies and simplistic assumptions about the nature of sexual desire continue to plague it (Paul, 1985). To highlight this statement, the "simplistic assumptions" are often driven by societys lack of education or exposure to the homosexual group and become markedly opposed to them based on conformity issues (peer to peer), misconstrued religious connotations, or falling victim to long-running, historical prejudices based on speculation rather than facts. Societal Perceptions 4 Sexual identity is defined as an organized set of perceptions that an individual maintains about the meaning of their sexual attractions and desires, directed toward forming a sense of self within existing social categories (Frankel, 2004). With this in mind, recognizing that society is the driving force that helps to shape sexual identity is quite important, because this factor becomes the foundation for binary opposition. In regards to individuals who have adopted homosexual lifestyles, loss of respect within the family and peers as well as fears of social ostracism are the main reasons why gays conceal their sexual preferences (Niti, 2002). In a Westernized culture, like the United States, the hierarchy of authority is largely made up of heterosexual white men who serve to illustrate that a person who exhibits a sexual identity different from that of the white authoritarian is an individual worthy of criticism, demoralization, and is subject to ridicule. Further, labeling the individual as strictly "homosexual" locks the individual into a proverbial "box" that no effort outside of sexual practices can undo. The individual may be an accomplished poet, architect, community leader, or any number of activities that would normally be heralded if exhibited by a typical heterosexual, but in the case of a gay person, their dominant characteristic is recognized by society as strictly homosexual; virtually obliterating any positive contributions to society. Contributions of Existing Literature Much of these "artifacts" of Westernized thinking are derived of long-standing religious teachings, however potentially misinterpreted, that have identified sexual identity and sexual practices (outside of traditional heterosexual) as immoral and sinful. Salt Lake City, Utah, home to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, drew Societal Perceptions 5 considerable attention earlier this year when a local theater refused to show the acclaimed Brokeback Mountain (Davis-Hudson, 2006). A picture, arguably, originally designed to educate society about the hetero-similar characteristics of male-male relationships, is often referred to as the "gay" cowboy love story. Though the movie was nominated for the Academy Awards Best Picture Oscar, it was still met with traditional binary opposition in many sections of the nation and, rather than be recognized simply as a love story, the labeling of its content as the "gay cowboy love story" points out that even a film-makers best attempt at a somewhat homo-educational production could not break traditional societal labeling habits. With Salt Lake City, a recognized traditionalist region of the United States, publicly condemning the film before reviewing its contents, illustrates that many Americans are not willing to accept a compromising position on homosexuality; to them, it is either right or wrong, period. Many individuals are so strictly homophobic that they equate same-sex copulation with devil worship. Further, many human beings have an innate fear of the unknown and homosexuality falls exactly into that category (Reyes, 2006). Americans have shown, too, that they arent so accepting of homosexuality as evidenced in the last presidential election when President Bush, intentionally used the issue of gay marriage as a scare tactic and wedge in the African-American community (Cannick, 2005). As a conservative Republican citing traditionalist Christian values, Bush played on his understanding of this unjustified fear in order to demoralize efforts of happily partnered homosexuals who have been battling civil liberties principals to have their unions recognized by the nation. With such binary opposition in place, passed down from the highest levels of government, it is no significant surprise that many individuals, who Societal Perceptions 6 turn to leadership for moral guidance, maintain that gays are gays and dismiss their positive contributions to culture. Many individuals argue that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice, if this were true and sexual identity was not a biological process, then those who consider that lifestyle to be immoral will use this as the primary basis for excluding homosexuals from full social participation (Henslin, 2003). In this case, instead of recognizing same sex unions as a marriage, it is demoralized with the label of gay marriage, therefore becoming abnormal in comparison to heterosexual unions. The concept of "normality" is inherently relational, set up in opposition to the category of "abnormal." But the abnormal includes more than homosexuality (Adams & Simmons, 2000), however, in society, the term heterosexuality represents cultural normalcy giving primacy to this type of binary opposition. The Church, supporting this opposition, teaches that respect for homosexual persons cannot lead, in any way, to approval of homosexual behavior. It suggests that legal recognition of homosexual unions would mean not only the approval of deviant behavior, but would also obscure basic values which belong to the common inheritance of humanity (Williams, 2003). Even the faction which believes that society has a stake in upholding traditional marriage maintains serious divisions (Wall Street Journal, 2004) suggesting that "gay" represents complete abnormalities in sexual identity and would be a disruptive factor to society if allowed to be even somewhat tolerated. Though this is a largely unjustified opinion, but it serves to illustrate the vice-like grip of hetero vs. homo binary opposition and explains why gays and lesbians cannot seem to find a middle ground within the American culture. Societal Perceptions 7 Although socialization is powerful, within the limitations of the framework laid down by our social location, we can change even the self. And that self, along with the options available within society, is the key to our behavior (Henslin, 2003). However, the desire for self-change is motivated by personal desire to do so, but many choose simple conformity for the sake of social acceptance. Psychologists have demonstrated that under conditions of ambiguous stimuli, individuals adapt their individual opinions so as to conform to peer opinions (Spencer & Huston, 1993). Few issues are more vague than that of homosexuality and the human propensity to conform to social viewpoints is a major indicator for the continuing binary opposition to gay sexuality. From a somewhat differing psychological standpoint, when we recategorize, we try to expand our schema for a particular group, say by viewing people from different races or sexual identities as sharing similar qualities (Morris & Maisto, 2005). However, the social tendency to conform to others opinions regarding sexual identity acceptability tends to negate heterosexual recategorization efforts, and these conformists do not even attempt to locate similarities between themselves and the gay community; though many exist. What this accomplishes is that the heterosexual community finds commonalities amongst themselves, denying the realism of normalcy in homosexual relationships, such as career ambitions, family-related desires, and basic human sexuality, and typifies gay living as awkward and detrimental to societal perceptive norms. In Asian communities, social ideas towards homosexuality can be thought of as tolerant as long as homosexuality remains invisible (Laurent, 2005). In the United States, binary opposition towards gay sexuality is quite different, from a conformist point of view, as the very idea of sexual identity that differs from heterosexual Societal Perceptions 8 supremacist norms (Spindelman, 2004) stands little opportunity for a middle ground. In a somewhat dilapidated suburb of Los Angeles, currently being revamped with urban renewal projects, one gay resident, "Kevin", moved to the suburb to renovate a 1905 Victorian home. Traditional same-sex couples have been praised for their renewal efforts while "Kevin", who flies the rainbow flag and hosts an annual gay pride party for the neighborhood, has been subject to ongoing antigay harassment by local teens. He has even had rocks thrown through his windows and garage door. "Ive invested too much time and money on my house," he says. "I will not be run out of my own neighborhood." (Kuhr, 2004). With all of "Kevins" efforts to revitalize the community, his visibility as a gay man within the community serves to undermine his efforts due to youth perceptions of homosexuality brought on by a simple display of harmless gay paraphernalia on his property. For many in the United States, the rainbow insignia has come to represent outward, visible representations of deviant sexual behavior and the antigay harassment being faced by people like "Kevin" shows that homosexual efforts towards breaking from deviancy labels is a long way off. Where gay men and women view the rainbow colors as a symbol of unity and pride (much like the American flag and its stripes), binary opposition looks on it as unjustifiably wretched and devoid of the same symbolism of traditional united values. When it comes to simple homosexual visibility, to many in society, "gay" is "gay" and can represent nothing more than that. The negative implications of the word gay, to many heterosexuals, calls up pictures of AIDS epidemics and immorality. Many contemporary film-makers present that AIDS outbreak of the 1980s as the inevitable result of the rampant male-male sex of the 70s and unwittingly perpetuate right-wing Societal Perceptions 9 morality pictures in the process (Downs, 2006). With the concept of traditionalist heterosexual authority as a significant factor driving binary opposition toward homosexuals, these films only achieve a broader misconception of the idea of "gayness" as being a risk factor to the health of the American heterosexual population. Bisexualism, a relatively new concept in human sexuality, has arguably been adopted by men and women who engage in sexual relations (and maintain an attraction to) with both sexes. Mostly to satisfy contemporary ideas about the acceptability of homosexuality, men and women label themselves bisexual to establish a rapport with traditionalist American citizens and avoid the label of "gay" that is attached with widespread negativity. However, conservatives argue that bisexualism only exposes more men and women to potentially deadly diseases due to their incongruent sexual desires and the social label of "bisexual" is meeting with more and more binary resistance. The outward proclamation of being bisexual appears to be an attempt to reach that proverbial "middle ground" within society, but the negative identity associated with the term fails to sidestep traditionalist values. Transgender citizens, those who ignore their biological gender in favor of living life simulating the opposite sex, face an even tougher battle when trying to escape negative public opinion. Legal cases in which courts affirm the enforcement of sex-differentiated dress requirements in employment reveal how little judges understand the harms of forced gender conformity for those individuals and the inelasticity of gender identity (Levi, 2006). The increasing transgender community is also pushing for assimilation into cultural acceptance, but the common heterosexual viewpoint towards transgender personalities is the term "drag queen" and a choice to live life outwardly as Societal Perceptions 10 a transgender person grants them the status of perverted or even mentally unstable. A logical assumption would be that most individuals have had virtually no experience in establishing camaraderie with someone in the transgender community so the label of drag queen contains widespread cultural negativity. Heterosexual, irrational misunderstandings about this group also label many of them as "obviously" gay, when in reality many of them are not homosexuals. However, the realities surrounding heterosexual viewpoints about gay men and women are the same. Sexual identity is often mistaken for sexual orientation (Frankel, 2004), but for transgender groups, the impact of the false perception allows for virtually no cultural acceptance of the lifestyle. When the presidential candidate George W. Bush asked Dick Cheney to become his running mate, Cheneys daughter Mary became the subject of a media frenzy. As the lesbian daughter of a conservative Republican running on a platform that vows opposition to any bills granting protections based on "sexual preference", Mary Cheney raises uncomfortable questions about the relationship between family and politics (Wildman, 2000). The outward visibility of the Bush daughters, who are both traditional heterosexual women, and the largely "invisible" aspects of Mary Cheneys sexuality and her existence, highlights the inability for the gay and lesbian community to find common ground outside of binary opposition. The message being sent to American society: Gay is immoral and deserves no public representation. Senior governmental leaderships opposing stand on gay rights initiatives illustrates that being gay cannot possibly equal the heterosexual agenda and by quietly "brushing aside" Marys contribution to the Cheney family demonstrates that homosexuality demands little attention, recognition, or respectful embrace. It would seem that once an individual is Societal Perceptions 11 exposed as a gay man or woman, they carry the heavy burden of societal pessimism attached with the label. Conclusion In the American post-9/11 era, the increasing emphasis on community involvement, neighborhood assistance, and overall fellowship have been continuously displayed by most citizens. However, in terms of sexual identity issues, these have fallen somewhat to the wayside of traditional values and are non-inclusive in societys "united" initiatives. Resocialization, the process of learning new norms and values, involves adopting new understandings as we are exposed to situations that are contrary to our previous awareness. For instance, socialization with a homosexual person might begin to deconstruct heterosexual opposition to the lifestyle due to an increasing knowledge of the social acceptance struggles facing a contemporary gay citizen. However, as previously indicated, resocialization, for the most part, is a desired motivation that comes from a personal want for increasing information about society. The current rigidity in style of thinking on behalf of many Americans today allow for a broad continuation of traditional, negative perceptions of "gayness" and what it means to lifestyle and sexual practices. In contemporary Western societies, such as the United States, children are viewed as innocent and in need of protection (Henslin, 2003), especially from situations where adults feel their children may be exposed to immorality; like with homosexuals. "Stay away from the neighbors because theyre gay" is likely a common phrase among typical households in an effort to decrease exposure to the lifestyle. Regardless of Societal Perceptions 12 whether the neighbors are well-to-do, successful businessmen or women, the categorization of gay represents an epidemic which, if left free to childhood exposure, might "rub off" on impressionable children. Though this may be considered, by some, to be a somewhat radical expression of societal perceptions, the reality of cultural misconceptions and, arguably, ignorance about the lifestyle are severe outcomes for those whose sexual practices differ from heterosexual relationships. Much existing literature suggests that gay, lesbian, and transgender individuals are attempting to make tremendous strides to find a common, middle ground about the issue and are lowering their proverbial defenses in their role in binary opposition. Rigid, biased, and prejudicial cultural norms in relation to perceptions about these individuals are keeping them trapped in their "boxes" and they shoulder outward heterosexual animosity and an overall feeling of exclusion in terms of community involvement. The term applying to a situation needing radical change that "it will take an act of Congress to correct" might well apply to social labeling for the practicing homosexual as well. Much the same as legislation forced social conformity around racial issues in the 20th Century, perhaps an end to hetero vs. homo opposition might well involve the same governmental process. Whatever the outcome, it is clear that binary opposition will continue to exist until monumental steps are taken to aid in freeing the homosexual from the tainted image of the term "gay". Societal Perceptions 13 Bibliography Adams, Mary L. & Simmons, Christina. (Winter 2000). The Trouble with Post-War Youth and the Making of Heterosexuality. Resources for Feminist Research: 27 (3/4), p.163. Cannick, Jasmyne. (Jul 21-28 2005). Stella Doesnt Want Her Groove Back. New York Beacon. New York, NY: 12 (29), p.9. Davis-Hudson, Eileen. (Jan 23 2006). Salt Lake City. Mediaweek. New York: 16 (4), p.9. Downs, Jim. (Mar/Apr 2006). How the 70s Became a Morality Play. The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide. Boston: 13 (2), p.38. Fairyington, Stephanie. (Nov/Dec 2004). The New Post-Straight. The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide. Boston: 11 (6), p.33. Frankel, Loren. (Dec 31 2004). An Appeal for Additional Research About the Development of Heterosexual Male Sexual Identity. 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(Aug 20 2003). Another Point; Is God Really Against Gays? Or Are the Pope and President Guilty of Hate Speech? Washington Informer. Washington D.C.: 49 (44), p.13. Read More