Aarushi Annapragada Week 4

In ‘Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence’, Adrienne Rich talks about how heterosexuality as a political institution, disempowers women. The enforcement of heterosexuality on women ensures physical, economic, and emotional access to men. Hence, any attempt of women to be independent or seek equality threatens social institutions.

According to Rich, one way in which heterosexuality is enforced, is the invalidation of lesbians. Lesbians are discriminated against and harassed, resulting in most resorting to keeping their choices a secret. This hinders the progress of women toward challenging social relations. Compulsory female heterosexuality has been describe as a multi-layered lie, on layer being that women are intrinsically heterosexual, and another being that women become lesbians because they hate men.

Rich describes how even in feminist literature, in addition to other literature, lesbian existence is ignored, and that this is not only anti-lesbian, but also anti-feminist. Additionally, lesbians should not be conveniently called the female versions of male homosexuals as it deprives women of a political existence.

She points at the fact that there has been female resistance throughout history. Hence, she uses the term lesbian existence as it implies the fact of the historical presence of lesbians and the continuing creation of the meaning of that existence.