Rich: Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence
Rich questions “whether in a different context or other things being equal, women would choose heterosexual coupling and marriage.” And she goes on to claim that women are drawn to relationships with other women because they care for each other emotionally and don’t objectify or demean each other. She also relates women’s attraction to other women as stemming from a child’s connection with its mother. She says that there is a spectrum of lesbianism with friendship on one end and sexual relationships on the other. However, I don’t think that this is truly a continuum of female relationships. I think that there is definitely a dividing line between friendship and closeness and sexual interactions. There is also a clear dividing line between loving a child or parent and loving a sexual partner.
I also think that most women who are straight would still choose heterosexual relationships if they were in the “different context” that Rich speaks of. Many women have a psychological sexual attraction to men that is not caused by society.
When Rich lists the ways that men control women, I found some areas that I didn’t quite understand or I didn’t agree with.
1. “To command or exploit their labor to control their produce-[by means of the institutions of marriage and motherhood as unpaid productions.]” What does she mean by “unpaid productions?” Does that mean childcare? Housework? Sexual interactions? She also includes in this section “male control of abortion, contraception, sterilization, and birthing.” If she means that men control these things because men typically make the laws around these things or men typically have economic control over women, then maybe I can see where she is coming from, but she doesn’t really explain her reasoning there. I think today, women have a lot of control over whether or not they want an abortion, what type of birth control to use, how they want to give birth, and I have never actually heard of a man forcing a woman to be sterilized.
2. “To confine them physically and prevent their movement-.by means of…high heels and “feminine” dress codes in fashion.” I know that high heels are a fashion item that were apparently created to make women’s’ legs look better but I don’t see how men are forcing women to wear high heels. And women have the choice to dress as they please. Many women consciously choose to wear feminine clothing, is that bad?
3. “To withhold from them large areas of society’s knowledge and cultural attainments-by means of noneducation of females:…sex-role tracking with deflects women from science, technology, and other “masculine” pursuits.” I guess when Rich wrote this in 1980 things were different for girls trying to get an education. But today I don’t see women being turned away from science and technology. As a biology major, I have never been deterred from pursuing a career in science and I see a lot of biology professors who are women. In fact, the head of the
I actually laughed out loud when I read Rich's second point brought up here. I don't think men force women to wear anything. My friends and I all like dressing up for ourselves and wearing heels for fun and fancy occasions. I think if you ask any girl why she wears heels, it will not be because a guy made them. It is an interesting point though, if you take into account Rich's point of view. It is true that a girl in a tight mini dress and six-inch heels will be less likely to run away from a guy faster than a girl in pants and flats. But I agree with Michele, in that Rich's argument is flawed since no one is making girls where these outfits. It is the girls' choice, and their choice alone.
ReplyDeleteIt is good to step back from over-thinking the role of society too much, I appreciate what both your critiques have done that. On the other hand, I think Rich's point is still valid. Certainly, men do not force women to wear heels. However, this goes back to Johnson's look at Patriarchy. Patriarchy is a system we all participate in. This system makes it easy for women to wear heels because this highlights their sexuality by forcing them to walk in a distinct manner. I like heels. By I also like that Rich makes me be critical of why I am encouraged to wear them and not my male friends. I grew up wearing heels because it was ladylike, delicate, and sexy; my male peers grew up wearing tennis shoes because it was athletic. Now, I know that heels are appropriate with formal or "going out" outfits, but did i chose this or did patriarchy chose it for me? I think the concept of choice itself, is much more limited.
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