LAW 122 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Adrienne Rich, Heteronormativity, Heterosexuality
30 Mar 2016
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Document Summary
Social construction of normal requires social construction of deviance: example: whiteness can only be normal if non-whiteness is considered deviance. Two main points: only socially accepted place you can have sex, only legitimate place for women to be guaranteed (nuclear family) Summarizes all the social, political, legal and cultural imperatives that close off sexual options for women except for marriage. You aren"t born heterosexual, society makes you believe it"s the right way and that it is natural. Emphasis on homosexuality produces homosexuality as the problem . Normative assumption: two sexes, two genders, two sexualities: but sex, gender, sexuality are political (not natural) Heterosexuality/homosexuality dichotomy: approx 150 years of homosexuality constructed as a problem , homosexual as an offensive term. If you commit this crime, could be punished by death. Missing lesbians b/c understood to be non-existent or classified as women"s friendship. 1948 criminal sexual psychopaths. 1961 dangerous sexual offenders .
