July 25th: Compulsory Heterosexuality

Images of Gender vs. (normal) Behavior

It seems we live in binary worlds, the feminine and masculine, the gay and straight, the liberal and conservative, the red and the blue. While there are more complex arrangements in the "real world," our menus for gender and sexuality are usually dualistic. Those spheres (and their duality) are socially constructed--they are made up of what is considered normal, and any deviation is considered abnormal. Some say media influence our understanding of what it means to be a man or woman, but others point out that it merely reflects what is already considered normal, or, more importantly, ideal. That's fairly easily seen with images of men and women--we've discussed the limited standards of beauty that are simulated and repeated throughout media--but it's not as easily seen when we analyze behavioral patterns.

What are normal behaviors and where do they come from?

He-Man and She-Ra

Compare the two introductions to He-Man and She-Ra. Are they the same--meaning no difference in the portrayal of the masculine character vs. the feminine character?

• He-Man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7SjnG4Yr4Q

• She-Ra: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wR65P73X5GI

Are the representations congruent with your understanding of masculine and feminine roles? Don't forget you psychoanalytic hat either: What's going on with the ways the two hold their swords?

Poor Unfortunate Soul...

Watch this just-over-4-min clip from The Little Mermaid. In the first min or so, Ariel loses her voice and grows legs, so she can be with her man. What's going on in terms of gender, compulsory heterosexuality, and a girl's/woman's conditioning to be acceptable in patriarchal society. Before you answer that, watch the final scene where she's "given away." Think critically. How does she become part of his world?

While we’re on the subject of princesses, who was the audience for the last RoyalWedding? Why are so many American girls/women obsessed with princesses?

Remember, besides the prompts I ask you to respond to, I want you to respond to a post from another classmate from July 23rd's posts. You can respond to whomever you'd like (in at leas 250 words). Of course, you're supposed to be thoughtful and critically reflective. You aren't trying to necessarily go against (or be for) what your classmate wrote. Instead, you're trying to show you're reflecting on his or her post.

Head over to Moodle to post your responses for both of these sections--He-Man/She-Ra and The Little Mermaid.

Next Week

Tiffini will lead us into our class discussion on Butler. Also, I have notes for Monday's (7/29) readings up. Butler's piece is a difficult read, so be prepared.

I hope the comments and grades on your Critical Analysis of a Technology essay are up, but it might not be until tomorrow...sorry. Don't forget your Critical Media Analysis is due on Monday (7/29).

Terms for Discussion

• Compulsory Heterosexuality: (Adrienne Rich) "women may not have a preference toward heterosexuality, but may find it imposed, managed, organized, propagandized, and maintained by society."

• heterosexism: the belief that heterosexuality is the only valid relationship type--man and woman.

• Heteronormativity: a term that is used to describe situations wherein variations from heterosexual orientation are marginalized, ignored or persecuted by social practices, beliefs or policies.

• homophobia: fear or hatred of homosexuals; fear of one's own homosexual desires or the idea that one may be homosexual.

• Myth: Lillian Feder's definition--"Myth is a narrative structure of two basic areas of unconscious experience which, of course, are related....In other words, myth is a form of racial [national, social, regional, etc.] history--a narrative distillation of the wishes and fears both of ourselves and the human race" (Dick, p. 188).
  [myths] tap into our collective memory," our unconscious.
  "Myths are ultimate truths about life death, fate and nature, gods and humans" (Dick, p. 189).

• phallocentrism: male-dominated society holding power over the others (usually women) through the phallus, the symbol of male potency.

• phallus: any object that represents the figure of a penis.

Works Cited

Dick, Bernard F. Anatomy of Film. (5th ed.). Boston: Bedford, 2005.

Rich, Adrienne. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_Heterosexuality_and_Lesbian_Existence.

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