Froyum's article "At Least I'm Not Gay" exposes an aspect of forming sexual identity that I had been mildly exposed to but that I had not given much thought to. Given the circumstances in which most of these teens grow up in, they don't have good examples of how to form their identity while growing up. Because of this, they turn to their sexuality, which is something that everyone, independent of socio-economic standing or racial background can express however one chooses. These kids, through forming their identities with their sexualities, reinforce the heterosexual dominance structure created by society.
What I kept thinking about throughout this article is the similarities between these poor black teens and the poor Latin youth. Latin teens who grow up in poor conditions are also marginalized for their socio-economic standing and their racial background, providing them with similar experiences to those of the poor black teens in this study. Rarely is there a Latin teen that is homosexual. In terms of Latin culture however, religion definitely plays a larger role because it is so pertinent in Latin culture. However, as I think this article shows, allocating religious view to justify heterosexuality being "right" and homosexuality being "wrong" goes beyond religious belief or culture.
The act of these teens so strongly proclaiming that they are not gay and confirming it to themselves and others through their performances and verbally is their effort in fighting back a system in which otherwise they are seen as subordinate. They are searching for a sense of self in their sexuality that gives them an upper hand. Being heterosexual is the dominant, normal way of being. Deviating from that would be going back to being marginalized, which is what they already are in terms of their socio-economic and racial backgrounds. What's funny though is that once one of their friends or loved ones comes out, they are put between a rock and a hard place because they think homosexuality is wrong and nasty, but how could they further marginalize those they love? This is reminiscent of most coming out stories I've heard from my friends, whether or not they come from a minority or different socio-eonomic backgrounds. The teens in this article just further show how dominant identities for sexuality, gender, or race established by society effect how teens create their own identities.
Melissa brought up the word deviant in her last paragraph and I thought that this was a great point. The kids in UYN are labeled social deviants because of their economic class and skin color, to the point where they cannot even go to the library. I can speculate, given the article, that the kids are so terrified of deviating from their specific social norms because of the risk of further societal persecution that they just want to stick to the safe side of issues. I not only find this disturbing but also incredibly sad. The article talks of the power side of gender, how the UYN kids are marginalized in many ways and their physicality is one of the only outlets of power expression they have access to. The other side of the argument is that sees the kids are using the only resource society makes available to them, their physicality, to feel secure. The article states that the UYN kids “construct esteem through being straight,” and that staying on the path of heterosexuality is important because “It is about creating access to symbolic and material resources that are unique to heterosexuals.” I think it is important to realize that the kids are not vilifying homosexuality purely out of hate or fear, but out of a necessity placed on them by society.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that is most upsetting to me is that kids, like the UYN kids, are learning at such a young age the script they must follow to avoid hate and violence that will be thrown their way if they don't conform to the heterosexual and masculine ideals of society. The easiest way for young black males to protect themselves is to declare their masculinity and an easy way to do this is to tease others by using homophobic slurs. I completely agree with Gracie's comment in which she says, "I think it is important to realize that the kids are not vilifying homosexuality purely out of hate or fear, but out of a necessity placed on them by society". Like Melissa says in her response, poor miniorites, like the UYN teens are already labeled as deviant in society. Being homosexual would only further label them as deviants and cause them even more shun from their own families and society.
ReplyDeleteOne reason I think sexuality is so hard for teens to cope with is because it is the one thing that society can't change. What I mean by this is society can tell you based on your sex what sexuality and gender you should be but they can't change who you really are. If you are gay society cannot make you straight. Teens growing up in a world where society has laid out everything for them in terms of how they should act according to their sex when they realize that they are different than how society has made them to be it scares them. They don't know how to act and they know that in most cases they will be ostracized for being outside of the social norm. This leads to some teens believing that they are deviant and that they are unnatural and this can lead to suicide among LGBT youth. Sexuality is a social construction but also a social reality and when it comes down to it nobody really wants to be different they just want to fit in.
ReplyDelete-Jae responding to Melissa