Heteronormativity
Heteronormativity is a concept used in the discussion of gender and society, mostly, but not exclusively within the field of critical theory. It is used to describe how many social institutions and social policies are seen to reinforce the belief that human beings fall into two distinct and complementary categories, male and female, and the subsequent belief that those sexes ought to fulfill complementary roles - that is, among others, that sexual relationships ought to exist between males and females. Furthermore, heteronormativity causes all of these things - sex, gender identity, gender roles, and sexual orientation - to be considered equivalent. To describe a social institution as heteronormative is to claim that it has visible or hidden norms pertaining to behaviors that are interpreted as being normal only for males and about complementary behaviors that are seen as normal only for females. Its purpose, as with many critical terms, is to help identify voices that have "fallen through the cracks" and that do not feel that they have an adequate means of expressing themselves within the current social worldview.
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2 Heteronormativity and patriarchy 3 Groups Challenging Traditional Gender Structure 4 See also |
This concept was formulated for use in the exploration and critique of the traditional norms of sex, gender identity, gender roles and sexuality, and of the social implications of those institutions. It is descriptive of a dichotomous system of categorization that directly links social behavior and self identity with one's genitalia. That is (among other) to say that, because there are strictly defined concepts of maleness and femaleness, there are similarly expected behaviors for both males and females. (See Gender roles)
Originally conceived to describe the norms against which non-heterosexuals struggle, it quickly became incorporated into both the gender and the transgender debate. It is also often used in postmodernist and feminist debates. Those who use this concept frequently point to the difficulty posed to those who hold a dichotomous view of sexuality by the presence of clear exceptions -- from freemartins in the bovine world to intersexual human beings with the sexual characteristics of both sexes. These exceptions are taken as direct evidence that neither sex nor gender are concepts that can be reduced to an either/or proposition.
In a heteronormative society, the binary choice of male and female for one's gender identity is viewed as leading to a lack of possible choice about one's gender role and sexual identity. Also, as part of the norms established by society for both genders, is the requirement that the individuals should feel and/or express desire only for partners of the opposite sex. In other critiques, such as the work of Eve Sedgwick, this heteronormative pairing is viewed as defining sexual identity exclusively in terms of the gender of the object one chooses to have sex with - despite the fact that there are a wealth of other preferences about sex beyond mere gender.
In the end, in a heteronormative society, men and women are interpreted to be natural complements, socially as well as biologically, and especially when it comes to reproduction. Woman and men are necessary for procreation, therefore male/female coupling is assumed to be the norm.
The concept of heteronormativity helps making visible the underlying norms or "normal" society. It questions the often found position that only what is statistically normal should be normative, which, to some degree, is the reason why some people react very sharply to this concept. (In ethics it is a truism that "is does not imply ought.")
The source of heteronormativity is a matter of some debate. Conservative voices will frequently argue that the reason society is heteronormative is because of some absolute reason - sometimes God's will, other times biological or social necessity. Within critical theory, the focus is typically less on the origins of heteronormativity, and more on its effects on how people conceive of themselves. As with much of critical theory, the focus is less on reasons for the norm, and more on trying to figure out what voices and groups are not given a voice or an identity within the terms of the norm. The question of the rightness of the norm is viewed as falling outside the domain of critical theory, although in practice most academics who are interested in critical theory are also sympathetic to these voices.
Heteronormativity is often strongly associated with, and sometimes even confused with patriarchy. However, a patriarchal system does not necessarily have a binary gender system - it merely privileges the masculine gender over all others - regardless of the number of others.
Still, heteronormativity is often seen as one of the pillars of a patriarchal society: The traditional role of men is reinforced and perpetuated through heteronormative mores, rules, and even laws that distinguish between individuals based upon their apparent sex, or based on their refusal to conform to the roles that are normal to their society. Consequently, feminism is often directly concerned with fighting heteronormativity and its prescriptions for women.
People making the case for heteronormativity point to a number of examples of people who, for various reasons, do not fit into traditional categories of sex and gender:
An important piece of thought about the concept of heteronormativity is intersexuality. Intersexual people are those whose biological characteristics are not unambigously either male or female. If such a condition is detected, intersexual people are almost always assigned a gender at birth; and if deemed necessary for producing a body that appears unambiguously male or female, medical procedures, often drastic ones, are often performed on them as soon as possible in order to make their body conform to one of the two sexes. Following the original surgical intervention, every attempt is made to enculturate the individual in such a way that social behavior will match the chosen sexual status. The individuals who have been subjected to these interventions have, in recent years, objected that had they been consulted at an age when they were able to give informed consent then they would not have chosen to undergo the surgical procedures and the social interventions that they had in fact received. Gender theorists argue that this is a clear case of heteronormativity, in that a biological reality is denied in order to maintain a binary set of sexes and genders.
Lesbian, gay, and bisexual behaviour is strongly disapproved of in many societies, both socially and legally. Many argue that this is because it challenges the heteronormative position that sexual relations exist purely for reproductive means. If it cannot be suppressed so far as to at least disappear from the public view, then the notion is said to be encouraged that gay men are not really "men", but have a strong female component (and vice versa) and/or that in a lesbian or gay partnership there is always a "male" (active) and a "female" (passive) partner. This has in some cases gone so far that homosexuals were encouraged (in Europe and North America in the 1960s and 1970s) or even forced (in South Africa in the 1980s and 1990s) to undergo sexual reassignment procedures to "fix" their sex or gender.
Transgender people offer another challenge to the basic assumptions of heteronormativity, because transgendered people:
A special case of incorporating transgendered people into a heteronormative system is the medical diagnosis and the treatment of transsexualism. When this happens, if transgender or transsexual feelings and behaviour in a person cannot be suppressed, people are left with two choices: they may either conform to the norms for their births sex, meaning that no medical treatment is given, and legal change of name and/or gender is not permitted, or they may comply with very strict rules for their "new" sex; any deviation from these is not permitted. Failure to select either of these choices can lead to refusal of necessary treatments for gender reassignment.
Gender reassignment is allowed on the condition that the person becomes entirely a member of "the other" sex, so that s/he thereby reinforces the binary gender system. Gender reassignment includes medical procedures to produce a body that is as unambigously male or female as possible, a gender identity that is clearly male or female, the adoption of a "proper" gender role, which include things like choice of jobs and hobbies and so on, and a heterosexual sexual orientation. Even today, people are being refused treatment when they did not comply to these very stereotypical expectations. This practice is slowly changing. From the early 1990s on, the rules about "proper" gender roles began to be relaxed in some places, but in many places they are still in place. From the end of the 1990s or the beginning of the 2000s, in some places, transgendered peoples are given medical treatment as well, although their legal situation is still somewhat more difficult than that of people who can obtain a diagnosis of transsexualism.Concept
Heteronormativity and patriarchy
Groups Challenging Traditional Gender Structure
Intersexuals
Gays, lesbians, and bisexuals
Transgendered people
Transgender has been pathologised so far that transgendered people routinely were locked away in psychiatric wards, or they were killed. These extremes can occur either overtly, for instance, by formally punishing transgender behavior by death (in Saudi Arabia, and many other non-western nations), or covertly, for instance, by refusing to track down and/or prosecute murderers of transgendered people (currently, in parts of North America and Europe).
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