Identity, Subjectivity, Sexuality
The main argument Richard Dyer makes in his article, Stereotypes, is that not many homosexual stereotypes are or are not true, but rather that some are so commonly known that many believe them to be true and feel that they’re obligated to withhold that stereotype. I’m aware that many gay men are flamboyant and feminine, however it’s not mandatory to be flamboyant and feminine in order to be a homosexual male. Dyer focuses on stereotypes potentially becoming the world’s standards and norms of those people being stereotyped. He writes, “What we should be attacking in stereotypes is the attempt of heterosexual society to define us for ourselves, in terms that inevitably fall short of the “ideal” of heterosexuality (that is, taken to be the norm of being human), and to pass this definition off as necessary and natural. Both these simply bolster heterosexual hegemony, and the task is to develop our own alternative and challenging definitions ourselves” (Durham 357). Examples I have from my own life are my girlfriend’s mother and her partner. My girlfriend’s mother came to the realization that she was a lesbian about fifteen years ago. After living her life as a straight, married woman for so many years, and after living the life of a feminine woman for her entire life, she remains the same person. The only difference now is her newfound attraction to women. Someone stereotyping her would call her a “lipstick” lesbian, for how she portrays herself; however she is just a woman who’s made alternative decisions in her life. Her partner on the other hand is a very casual, athletic, and masculine woman. She grew up straight, played a lot of sports, and never cared much for make-up and other feminine products, even as a straight woman. Now, however, she is considered a “butch” lesbian. These two women were the same people they were when they were heterosexuals as they are now as a homosexual couple, but if anyone were to ever see them out in public, those stereotypical lesbian partner titles would quickly surface to their hegemonic minds.
Durham, Meenakshi G., and Douglas Kellner. Media and cultural studies keyworks. 2nd ed. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2006.
