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Wednesday, October 1, 2008

A Post About Sexuality. "Dont be scared, Im straight!"


Alright, I want to get straight to the point(-straight to the point- Ha. Pun not intended). Why is the worlds view of sexuality Homosexual Vs. Heterosexual? Why is it normal to be straight? Why are people offended by gay people? Why is it okay for girls to make out with each other but a man cant walk down the street holding another mans hand without being jumped and queerbashed? I dont really know the answers but this is what Ive realized. Heterosexual individuals tend to have divergent feelings about homosexuality when its involving people of their same gender versus the opposite gender. Whenever there are two women passionately kissing each other, seemingly for the attention of their male counterparts, at a bar or party, their actions tend to be met with the “woo-hoo’s” and deafening clapping of the excited straight men who are lucky enough to catch a glimpse. Essentially, girl-on-girl (often alcohol-induced) make out sessions are encouraged by straight men, which might explain why female bisexuality is now practically assumed these days. For a girl to be bisexual, it’s generally thought of as “hot,” considering many men obviously love it. And why wouldn’t they? It’s the best of both worlds to be able to watch the action and still have the prospect of being a part of it. According to Vanessa Burton of Askmen.com, men are into two women together because a) they don’t have to waste energy getting involved but are turned on, b) women are soft, and c) it’s “every man’s fantasy.” Basically, men are turned on by the same sex ideas, but are comforted by the heterosexual side of the woman.
And straight women are often reassured by the fact that these bi women can still talk to them about “boy problems” and are therefore able ignore the homosexual actions if they chose to do so. Perhaps that’s why female bisexuality is assumed to be more prevalent. In a recent survey from the Center for Disease Control, 11. 5 percent of women ages 18 to 44, said that had a least one sexual encounter with another woman, as reported by
MSNBC.com. “Researchers say it’s unclear whether the figure for men was lower because they’re are more likely to avoid same-sex experiences or whether they’re not reporting them,” the article asserted, which cited that only 6.2 percent of men in the same age bracket in the CDC study had same-sex experiences. Whether or not more bisexual females as opposed to males exist is still blurred by the fact that more people accept it and therefore, bi women might be more open about their orientation than bi men, who aren’t exactly welcomed with the open arms of society. “There’s a certain higher level of discrimination (for men),” Kat Fowler, an art student at the University of Florida explained to MSNBC. “It’s a lot easier for women to have these kinds of experiences and be open about it because it’s more accepted.”
Obviously, there is some inequality when it comes to the relationship between gender and sexual orientation and it all largely stems from the gender roles men and women have been struggling with for years now, whether we’re adhering to them or breaking them. But what we need to break out of is these assumptions in the first place—the assumptions of what it means to be a man or a woman, the assumptions that gay men all love shopping and that all gay women hate it. Besides, not all straight people are alike… so why would any other group of people who happen to share the same sexual orientation be?

1 comments:

lahana said...

Very interesting post. As you mentioned last year, I think you could do a great documentary film about this. One aspect you didn't mention is how media reinforces male homophobia (and how in some ways that's changing-- see Will and Grace and Brokeback Mountain). Even our language reinfoces homophobia (that's SO gay). But you're absolutely right, there's a double standard when it comes to man-on-man vs. woman-on-woman. I dare you to write my sister and ask her opinion on the matter-- she's an expert on this issue. www.lisettelahana.com