Читать книгу Asian America - Pawan Dhingra - Страница 39

Heteronormativity is the idea that male–female attraction and relationships are inevitable and normal. This idea becomes so normative that same-sex attraction becomes difficult to imagine for individuals and society at large. Hence, even if someone might be biologically predisposed to be attracted to a member of the same sex, societal influences may prevent that individual from even thinking that it is possible. In order to gain acceptance for their sexual preferences, gays and lesbians have targeted large-scale institutions that promote traditional-gendered roles: the military and marriage. A debate within queer circles has developed as to whether gays should pursue marriage as a civil rights issue (Brandzel 2005). While few supporters of gay rights would question the legitimacy of gay marriage, some question the pursuit of traditional institutions that have long prescribed strict sexual as well as gender roles (e.g. monogamy, one domestic partner and one “working” partner). To the extent that the state becomes more open to same-sex couples, it does so in a manner that preserves the ideal of the nuclear family (i.e. two married parents and their children) and of strict sexual and gender boundaries. For this reason, queer relations and other nonnormative sexualities are criticized (indeed, even non-married heterosexual couples or divorced parents are still subject to societal disdain), but same-sex marriage or civil unions mimicking the nuclear family model are increasingly tolerated. Heteronormative assumptions continue to define how other social institutions operate, such as workplace and government policies on what kinds of relationships can qualify for “family leave.” For instance, it can be allowed for a domestic partner (straight or gay) to access company leave time to take care of their ill partner, but again the assumption is of a static, monogamous relationship based on conservative heteronormative assumptions. Media has become more accepting of gay and lesbian couples but less so of trans individuals who do not conform to binary conceptions of sexuality.