rick@uwmacc.UUCP (Rick Keir) (09/21/84)
[I'm saving myself till the right line-eater comes along]
Why do people speak as though "homosexual" is synonymous with males?
Simple. There are NO female homosexuals.
Ok, ok, I'm kidding. But historically, many people did not believe
that female homosexuality was possible (and if they did, they didn't
believe that there were anywhere near the same # as male motssers).
So homosexual implied maleness, simply because only males had such
"problems". (No flame, please -- I am speaking solely on the way that
Western society has tended in the last 100 years). A similar attitude
prevented most people from recognizing the female alcoholic or the
incestuous parent (look at how Freud insisted that his clients were
fantasizing sexual abuse, instead of admitting that such things
did happen in Viennese society).
In all these cases, "society" had a view of the correct "proper"
behavior and the correct IMPROPER (by their standards) behavior
for various groups. Lesbian activity was resolutely ignored by
one and all.
As an extreme example of such an attitude, consider what happened
when England first outlawed homosexuality. Queen Victoria was on
the throne. When the law came to her for review, she is reported to
have struck out the provision making female-female sex illegal, on
the grounds that such a thing was clearly impossible. The law
went on the books that way....
So that's why so many people think that homosexual implies male
gender -- subconsciously they don't believe lesbians exist.
(As an aside, one wonders if they clap their hands when Peter Pan
dies.... :-) ).
D
D
D
(In a
It is only recently that society has
--
Rick Keir -- MicroComputer Information Center, MACC
{allegra, ihnp4, seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!rick
1210 West Dayton St/U Wisconsin Madison/Mad WI 53706
"No, this is getting hit on the head lessons in here."
"What a stupid concept!"