Institutionalized Oppression: Gender Relations In The United States

Institutionalized Oppression The dominant paradigm for gender relations in the United States has always been one of a heterosexual standpoint. “Measured against other Western democracies at the dawn of the twentieth century, the American state – slow to develop, small in size, and limited in capability – stood out as distinctive” (Canaday 1). Since the beginning of its establishment, the United States has taken a strong stance against homosexuality. One of the United States’ most evident characteristics that set it apart from other cultures was its harsh punishment on homosexual relationships. The harsh laws and regulations against homosexuals have not only continued to perpetuate the idea of a strictly heteronormative society, but
Although, America believes that we are a nation of equality and acceptance, we are in reality the exact opposite. Not only do major gender inequalities still exist, but society continues to be just as prejudice and discriminatory. With the establishment of the nuclear family, consisting of a heterosexual couple and children, the mentality that heterosexuality is the ideal standard has stayed the same. There have been many criticisms on compulsory heterosexuality and the idea that heterosexuality is the only real natural relationship. In the article, “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence” by Adrienne Rich, she states that, “heterosexuality, like motherhood, needs to be recognized and studied as a political institution” (Rich 637). She argues that heterosexuality is politically institutionalized because it has been strategically and deliberately carried out by laws and regulations that restrains women and represses
Throughout history, the state has tried to suppress and contain homosexuality. Even “as early as 1656, the New Haven Colony prescribed the death penalty for lesbians” (Rich 634). This shows how severe the punishment was if found to be in a non-heteronormative relationship. The article, “The Straight State” by Margot Canaday states, “There was a policy against being homosexual, and it was federal in nature. States and localities generally policed homosexual acts, but […] it was the federal government that gradually developed the tools to target homosexual personhood or status, the condition of being a homosexual” (Canaday 6). Demonstrating how homosexuality was regulated and controlled, the state constructed the condition of being a homosexual. After creating this construct using characteristics, the state used it to oppress and discriminate those who were considered homosexual. The article continues, stating, “Those suspected of homosexuality were purged from the civil service and military in astounding numbers at midcentury. They were also barred from certain federal benefits, faced increased FBI and Post Office surveillance and explicit immigration and naturalization exclusions, as well as the stain of alleged political subversion” (Canaday 2). As homosexuality was considered to be an unnatural