Gay Signs, Transgressive Sexuality, And Homoeffective Bonding Essay

As a society, we feed off of each other for what a proper response to something may be. As children, we first look to see our mother’s reaction after falling down; if she is calm, I should also be. We look to each other for what a definition of things should be, as well. In the 1950’s, it was generally obscene for a woman on television to show her belly button, whereas today we will show nude breasts on primetime programming. This follows the sociological theory of symbolic interactionism, where society and individual social interaction provides a subjective meaning to deviant behavior. Many social definitions change for the better, however some change for the worse. One such example was once viewed as normal, with no second thoughts given to it, but now is seen as an actual social problem affecting some groups aversely. This is the topic of homosexuality, a subject that has been on the receiving end of both accepting and discriminating cultures for thousands of years.

It was not until the twelfth century that homosexuality started to be condemned. This condemnation proved to live through then until now. Due to the fact that America incorporated these early views into its early laws, even the most bland of today's sex acts were seen as unlawful (“Homosexuality and Mental Health”). Since then, these laws have changed, however, there is still a primarily negative connotation on homosexuals when coming from a church or legal standpoint concerning the masses of America.

Margery Kempe’s struggle was not talked about in those times. Kempe showed the struggle of a woman who was alive in a time where they had to live with a hindered sexuality. Kempe uses coding, compulsory heterosexuality, and separatist ideas to show the projection of her feelings for women into her feelings for Jesus. Although she did not express her sexuality in a way that nearly all people would, Margery Kempe did what she could. She wanted women to follow in her footsteps so she tried to influence them into leaving their husbands.

In Pepper Schwartz article titled “ The Social Construction of Heterosexuality”, Schwartz writes about what she believe Americans define as Heterosexuality. Schwartz writes about the so-called body standard that movies and television show set for us about how we should look and dress. Schwartz writes about what she believes straight men have to look like in order to define their masculinity. Schwartz’s main argument is about all the gender stereotypes we have in our society. Stereotypes like in order to be straight or even gay you have to look, dress, and talk a certain way. Schwartz is trying to say that you do not have to meet the so-called standards we have set for sexuality. Schwartz does make some valid

Back in the late 1400’s it was extremely uncommon to ever see a female going against social norms, many women did not dare to do anything that could be looked upon as breaking away from the conventional ways of society, or better yet weren’t caught dead without listening to a man’s ideologies. Margery Kempe on the other hand, she wanted out of the identity that molded her into society and to defy any expectations given to her by the culture of the life in which she lived. In The Book of Margery Kemp, Margery establishes a sense of pride within her gender to present her faith to the world, through her feminist beliefs and escaping of

While most homosexuals have horror stories to tell about their childhood and early teen years about growing up in a straight world, others grew up as average all American children. In Andrew Sullivan’s book “Virtually Normal: An Argument about Homosexuality” (Sullivan), he describes to us the feelings he had growing up homosexual in England, and his different experiences and perspectives on homosexuality. I can say that I agree with most of his experiences about how he felt as a young homosexual. Growing up homosexual, I was often ridiculed for the choices I made in a very gender assigned world, I wanted to participate in gymnastics, while most other boys my age wanted to play in dirt or play football with other neighborhood boys.

I am very proud to say that I have helped to reintroduce our school's Gay Straight Alliance club. My freshman year our club shut down due to lack of interest and most LGBT students at Evansville High were uncomfortable coming out since there was not a lot of them. By my sophomore year, I thought it would be appreciable to reintroduce this club. I wanted to create a fun safe place where students to join as one. I worked hard finding information so I could relate to all, since we had all types of people. A large challenge at my school, which is awful, is students making fun of other people for simply being different.

Kempe writes her autobiography in the third-person perspective, which is indicative of society's influence on her writing. Referring to herself as "this creature," Kempe puts the reader in a situation where she/he more likely associates with the "creature" as a character than a real person. Also, the focus chapters 3, 4, and 11 is primarily on Kempe's spirituality, illustrated best by her diction: 'God,' 'Heaven,' 'sin,' 'temptation,' and an array of other religious jargon characterize her speech, as opposed to 'sexual' or 'spiritual' 'liberation' or 'subjective truth.' Because of the time in which she wrote this, Kempe's work must have been of religious significance, not an example of feminist or existentialist theory. Furthermore, Kempe seems to have internalized the condemning voice of the church, as she chastises and demonizes herself. For example, "She thought she was worthy of no mercy, for her consent was so willfully done, nor ever worthy to do Him service, because she was so false to Him" (22). Even if she really felt this way about herself, Kempe seems to be stating readers' reactions, especially when she quotes her husband, who told her, "Ye are no good wife" (23).

    Baron Richard Von Krafft-Ebing, a 19th century German psychiatrist, was quoted as having said, "We find that the sexual instinct, when disappointed and unappeased, frequently seeks and finds a substitute in religion." This may have been the condition of Margery Kempe when she desired to cease all sexual activity with her spouse because of her devotion to God. Instead of performing her duties as a wife, she chose instead to spread her knowledge of God to her community and did so not only in speech, but also in literature. Whatever her motivation for creating such descriptive language, it is evident that her faith in God conquered both her fear of public opinion and the

In a much different way, Margery Kempe gained her power by separating herself from her role as mother. Despite having many children, she gained authority after she began her pilgrimage and left her family. Though she uses many of her “feminine” characteristics asa way to show God’s power and usage of her, she distanced herself from her role as mother in order to pursue her goals. In response to the Biblical command “Crescite et multiplicamini” (Kempe 2), meaning “increase and multiply”, she said that it applied, not only to the “begetting of children physically, but also to the gaining of virtue” (Kempe 2). This shows that, though she understood the God-given command to have children, she also valued improving her own person and “giving a good example” as ways of increasing the number of followers of Christ. Though she did not gain authority through her motherhood, in a sense the fact that she was a mother and wife, and decided to live a celibate life and journey without her husband or children, gave her authority. The stark contrast between how she choose to live her life and the way women were expected to life made people notice her and listen to what she had to say about God. This goal was also accomplished by her fits of tears and hysteria that drew attention to her perceived weakness. By being different she established herself as lesser to show that through God’s great power, she was able to work for God.

Margery Kempe’s autobiography embodies a life of sorrow, struggles with temptation, and a search for fulfillment, ultimately found in God. Following the birth of her first child, Kempe’s journey begins with madness and a lack of spiritual identity; however, she eventually sought to devote her life to Christ. Kempe’s autobiography reflects the term contemptus mundi: defined as contempt of the world. Kempe’s life was representative of the lives of those who lived in the Middle Ages because similar to them, she trusted God’s will despite the challenges she faced. Both Kempe and those who lived in the Middle Ages found meaning and order in religion and believed that they would one day die and go to heaven.

Impastor is a comedy show that is broadcasted on TV land, which depicts the life of a man that has a less than reputable past, including drug use and all sorts of other illegal activity, as he tricks the town that he is living in into believing that he is a gay man that is a priest. He is the pastor of a church and all sorts of antics take place as he attempts to keep his shady life hidden in plain sight, although he has a very hard time trying to do this.

In my teaching I privileged the "ethical voice," neglecting undoubtedly a "wanton voice, dissolving the other into lust by its delicacy and splendor" (Paglia 190). But now that I have read Sexual Personae I can no longer absolve myself of guilt for the pornographic "eye in Spenser always wins" (192).

Kempe by Margery Kempe is a tail of a woman’s struggle with Jesus’s love on the exterior.

Homosexuality is not a 20th century situation but has been in history from the age of ancient Rome, Greece, Egypt, and even China. The attitude toward homosexuality always has been a variable, depending on the social, cultural and morality, or even the political development (Barnecka et al., 2005). Back in Greek history the concept of relations between two men was seen as the highest form of love, whereas the Judaic view always was against and frowned upon these relations considering it immoral and illegal. However, when the Roman rule was destroyed and the Christians took over Europe, homosexuality was seen as perverse (Woodward, 1997).