HETERONORMATIVITY
Heteronormativity refers the lifestyle held by the hegemonic norm which places people into the dichotomous categories of gender (men and women) and of sexual orientation (straight or not) which holds that what is considered ‘normal’ is a man and woman engaged in a heterosexual relationship and adheres to socialized gender appropriated roles in patriarchal society. Anything outside this hegemonic lifestyle is considered deviant and unacceptable. The intersections of race, gender and class are apparent within the concept of heteronormativity because this view is held by the center of the norm; white, male, heterosexuals of middle-class rankings. People outside this center are oppressed and negatively affected when they do not conform to this norm.
Adrienne Rich coined the term “compulsory heterosexuality” to describe the presence of heteronormativity along with absence of lesbians’ existence within society. In the foreword Rich (2003) summarizes heterosexuality to be a political institution which subordinates women, making them powerless and thus controlling them through traditional institutions such as patriarchal motherhood, the nuclear family, and compulsory heterosexuality. (11) This ideology is seen to not only affect non-heterosexuals but all women, especially women of color who experience a double biased oppression through race and sexual orientation.
Adrienne Rich coined the term “compulsory heterosexuality” to describe the presence of heteronormativity along with absence of lesbians’ existence within society. In the foreword Rich (2003) summarizes heterosexuality to be a political institution which subordinates women, making them powerless and thus controlling them through traditional institutions such as patriarchal motherhood, the nuclear family, and compulsory heterosexuality. (11) This ideology is seen to not only affect non-heterosexuals but all women, especially women of color who experience a double biased oppression through race and sexual orientation.
Heteronormativity & Media
Here is a video ad for a brand of Bourbon, Jim Beam. The video depicts this ‘beautiful’, brunette of Australian descent who talks about how she ‘just never liked guys’ and seems to ramble, almost as if you are not supposed to be listening to what she is actually saying. Then it depicts her lesbian girlfriend as this ‘beautiful’, blonde haired woman and they go on to begin touching and flirting with each other. The video then displays this in large letters as, “The Tragedy” and then showcases Jim Beam as “THE Bourbon”. The negative stigma attached to terming the lesbians as a tragedy insinuates that all men are in fact heterosexual and consider the ‘beautiful’ lesbians as a ‘loss’ for the straight male. This goes on to suggest that this video showcases heteronormativity as a prevalent notion of thinking. Also, I place beautiful in quotations because this is what society has made us believe what is ‘beautiful or sexy’ for a woman; skinny body, long hair, make-up, provocative clothing, etc. Interestingly, the makers of the video do not choose to show a woman of color as one of these lesbians.
This is a commercial for KY INTENSE which is a lubricant to be used during sexual intercourse. The marketing technique is gender-specific for ‘his’ and ‘her’ pleasuring incentives only achievable through the INTENSE lube. The commercials for these different lubes have typically shown bland, boring heterosexual couples with ‘dry’ sex lives (no pun intended) and the usage of the lube made their sexual relationship much more 'INTENSE'. Just recently, KY decided to showcase a lesbian couple who bought the ‘her’ lube which gives their orgasms the wow factor. Although the lesbian couple depicted was that of two white women, KY did a good job attempting to showcase the LGBT community by showing the lube is not just for straight couples.
Both of these commercials showcase the presence of heteronormativity within our society through representations within the media. The socializing nature of the Bourbon commercial suggests that heterosexuality is the ‘natural’ sexual orientation and 'beautiful' women are typically not lesbians and if they are it is a tragic loss to the straight male population. The KY commercial, before representing a lesbian couple to market their merchandise, typically presented their products within a heteronormative ideal through which only heterosexual couples who engaged in sexual intercourse could use the lubricant. Both of these commercials neglected to include any sort of representation of people of color.
INTERSECTIONALITY
The intersections of race, class and gender inextricably affect one another systematically, not in any specific order, but altogether and in order to change this ideology we need to make coalitions to serve the community as a whole and erase this heteronormative ideal which is primarily held by the hegemonic norm as a whole. Heteronormativity is seen throughout the media; because of the presence of the separation of gender is it difficult for these differences to go unnoticed within the media specifically.
The intersectionality of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and age as systems of power and inequality which are perpetuated by the hegemonic norm are starkly present in society as it is represented within the media. Mass media is used for mass communication through television, film/video, internet and newspapers which hold power in our society serving as sources for which many people learn, read and understand what is going on in the world around us. If the media surrounding the hegemonic norm only represents their world as they see it, how can we address the lives and issues facing all the ‘others’ in this world? The ‘others’ are those who are not male, not white, not heterosexual, and of anything less than middle-class; whom all are oppressed in this society and the media proves it.
The intersectionality of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and age as systems of power and inequality which are perpetuated by the hegemonic norm are starkly present in society as it is represented within the media. Mass media is used for mass communication through television, film/video, internet and newspapers which hold power in our society serving as sources for which many people learn, read and understand what is going on in the world around us. If the media surrounding the hegemonic norm only represents their world as they see it, how can we address the lives and issues facing all the ‘others’ in this world? The ‘others’ are those who are not male, not white, not heterosexual, and of anything less than middle-class; whom all are oppressed in this society and the media proves it.