Milind Malhar Sharma- week 4

The following is a comment on the piece written by Adrienne Rich titled ‘Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence’

Adrienne Rich has a frankly simple argument at the heart of her essay – ‘compusory heteresoxuality should be scrutinised as a structure for oppression and deserves a place in feminist scholarship and lesbian existence should be acknowledged not merely as an ‘alternative life style’ and that lesbian texts don’t existence merely for the purpose of feminist scholarship.’ She goes on to elaborate upon the same by critiquwing the works of several noted scholars including Barbara Ehrenreich, Jonathan Katz, Jean Baker Miller and Nancy Chodorow. For instance she criticizes Chodorow for her idea that most women are heterosexual and that lesbian relationships tend to create mother- daughter emotions. This implies the near denial of lesbian existence itself, which fails to comprehend the implications of compulsory heterosexuality as an ideology. She then further proceeds to bust certain myths about lesbianism like the idea that women turn to women out of hatred of men. Her examination of the lives of certain women who lived dual lives in heterosexual as well as homosexual relationships is profound. This enables the reader to understand the gravity of the argument she is trying to make and understand her understanding of the term ‘lesbian continuum.’