In his article, “Privilege”, Devon Carabado discusses heterosexist privilege and the ways in which dominant members of society perpetuate a heterosexist culture. Collaborating that all forms of discrimination need a perpetrator, Carabado notes that homophobic members of society constitute heterosexism and identity privilege, arguing that their perceptions of what constitutes normalcy perpetuates a heterosexist culture. I don’t necessarily believe that homophobia is the sole reason why heterosexist privilege dominates our society, but I do believe we exist in a heterosexist-privileged culture, as the presumed orientation of a relationship is most often portrayed as a man and a women.
Carabado explains how in most cases where prejudice exists, discrimination is usually based upon how dominant members of society center their conceptions, values, and life choices and define ‘normalcy’ among the lines of growing up, attending school, getting married, then someday having children, and portrays a societal norm that affiliates so much to heterosexuality. Unaffected members of a heterosexist society usually pay no notice to how our normative societal practices contribute to a heterosexist lifestyle, hardly ever realizing the impact it has on the gay and lesbian community. I think we can all agree that children learn from a young age they ‘should’ have a mommy and a daddy and whether they are a little boy who likes trucks and legos or a little girl who plays with dolls and her kitchen set; heterosexual culture is generally the presumed signification. Society accentuates the ideologies that dominant members of society define what allocates these ‘normative significations’, in this case, a heterosexist society. Often leaving little room for difference. Carabado argues that the beliefs and values of society’s dominant members ultimately define the bi-directional effects of how those who fall outside societal norms and values will be discriminated against. (pg 393)
While discrimination is often defined as an intentional act that is meant to bring harm upon an individual, Carabado points out that this rarely applies to any of us in most occasions. While heterosexist privilege often carries on without knowing that we co-exist in a society where heterosexuality is affiliated with power or normaly. Going on to explaing that the perpetrators of discrimination are often those who are the most unaware of the many ways heterosexist conceptions are entrenched in a variety of our social practices that we run into each day, as the media and our culture in general portray the stereotypical ‘perfect family’ as a hard-working father and a home-making wife with lovely children, it is also that disrealizations that perpetuate the cylce of heterosexism and discrimination against the gay and lesbian community. Society exemplifies blatant heterosexist ideologies through mere perceptions of what a relationship ‘should be’,
I feel as if society often overlooks the way in which we perpetuate heterosexist ideologies and privilege. While enjoying the benefits of ‘identity privilege’ is easy to take advantage of when you are not being effected by discrimination, Carabado goes on to make the point that although we cannot ameliorate the societal outcome of our identities and privilege and how society defines its’ norms, as they are already deeply entrenched within our cultural practices. However, we should feel obligated to overcome these generalizations and ‘de-privilege’ our identities and its association to power and privilege. (pg 394) As I believe it’s ridiculous that we associate any judgement of one’s character upon their sexual orientation. I don’t see how any person could justify telling somebody who they can and can not fall in love with, love is love, right?
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