Manasvi Singh week 4

Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence (1980)

-Rich, Adrienne Cecile

The author projects the image of two sections in the contemporary world, one being women in compulsory heterosexuality and the other lesbian women in feminist literature. The author condemns the unchanging patriarchy that completely disapproves individuality of women and sees them as ‘domestic’. The oppression is unhindered, and patriarchy is regressive towards women. Similarly, the feminist writers are writing but are disregarding a major section and those are still not represented. The “double bias” against lesbian women is ‘intersectionality’ which is a serious issue that is yet to be addressed by ‘feminists. To our surprise, the literature on lesbian women is erasing and the exploitation is uncontrollably increasing to those who are vocal about I, be it social or economic. People understand lesbian women as ones who either hate men or as a choice, they ignore the natural phenomenon and see it more as something unnatural. On the other hand, the women who are suppressed in compulsory heterosexuality is reminiscent of the ‘white slavery’ where women could be either submissive or suffer violence or are fanaticized since childhood through books and fairy tales. Some very triggering justifications to women who aren’t submissive are prostitution and male sex drive, for which the men are never deemed responsible. In conclusion, our society is regressive towards one sex and overwhelmed by the other. There is control over female sexuality that has been overlooked chiefly.