The Is The Romantic And / Or Sexual Attraction For More Than One Gender

In her article, Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence, Rich argues that a feminist critique of compulsory heterosexual orientation for women is long over-due. Throughout history the lesbian experience has been diminished to “friendly friendships” “phases” or as sexual objects for men. In opposition to the belief that all women are attracted to men, and lesbian relationships are acts of spite towards men. She is concerned with how and why women’s choice of women as passionate comrades, life partners co-workers, lovers, tribe, has been crushed, invalidated, forced into hiding and disguise; and the virtual or total neglect of lesbian existence in a wide range of writings, including feminist scholarship. (Rich, 632) Throughout the article,

Now I intend to turn my attention to concrete examples from Walt Whitman's poetry to provide some evidence of that sexuality played an important role in his poetry, and there are possible readings to find traces for that. Of course, we cannot only rely on selected

A true libertine of the Restoration Era, John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester – better known as his literary persona Rochester – is recognized for his poetry that often breaks barriers and social conventions in obscene ways. One such poem that is particularly explicit, some might even say pornographic, is entitled “A Ramble in St. James’s Park.” Including the sex, alcohol, and debauchery that is so characteristic of Rochester, this poem creates a unique balance between depravity of content and elegance of literary form. While there is much evidence that Rochester represents sex explicitly with obscene and shocking language in “A Ramble in St. James’s Park” for the purpose of satirizing both himself and contemporary love poems, I will argue that in doing so, he also makes a broader statement regarding the tension between the public and private spheres of sexuality, specifically representing female sexuality in the public sphere and erotic female bodies as communal property; finally, the lewd language hints at an anxiety about the power of the feminine over men, thus queering gender roles by becoming the abject feminine.

·         What is the most accurate way to define bisexuality?  (Page 222) Having romantic or sexual

Connor Manning addresses some of the more common stereotypes bisexuals experience such as people not accepting your sexuality unless you have had sexual experiences with multiple genders, that bisexuals are more likely to cheat on a partner, bisexuals are greedy, that sexuality is black and white between homosexuality and heterosexuality (Manning). Within media representation of bisexuals is scarce. When there are bisexuals in media, writers often either rely heavily on stereotypes instead of developing an interesting and complex character, like Alice in The L Word (Schrag and Dabis), or they use bisexuality as a plot point and gloss over it for the rest of the show, like Reagan in New Girl (Meriwether). If bisexuals were portrayed more

It also contains some strange ideas concerning the psyches of women. The idea in the poem that a woman should be pleased to awake from a slumber where she thought she was losing her virginity to awake to a pig between her legs and still be "innocent and pleased" seems like a peculiar idea. It perhaps begins to explain some of the feelings Rochester has towards women. The idea of the woman not being in need of a man could have been a point of insult to Rochester, which could be why he describes her independence of men in such a perverse way:

Bisexuality is often is disregarded by America 's monosexual society. There is an underlying layer of bierasure that has been happening for decades, and no one, but those affected, notices because that is the point. Bierasure is the removal of bisexual representation throughout all platforms. When information and awareness is removed, misrepresentation beings to arise. For bisexuality, the myths made up about it are endless and only add to the generally biphobic nation that is America. Biphobia is the hate or discrimination against bisexuals or bisexuality in general. Much like homophobia, hate and

Consider the frustrations of bisexual and/or transgender individuals when the LGBTQ community’s experiences are defined largely by the experiences of gay and lesbian individuals (LGBT Advisory Committee, 2011). Self-identified bisexuals make up the largest single population within the LGBTQ community in the U.S. (Egan, Edelman, & Sherrill, 2008; Herbenick et al., 2010; Mosher, Chandra, & Jones, 2005). However, both research on the LGBTQ community and funding for LGBTQ organizations tend to focus exclusively on gay and lesbian individuals, rendering bisexual individuals invisible and sidelining or eclipsing their particular needs (Miller, André, Ebin, & Bessonova, 2007). This invisibility has serious consequences for bisexual individuals’ sense of belonging within the LGBTQ community (LGBT Advisory Committee,

Within modern-day America, there are certain societal standards based on sexual relationships. Within the poem, the narrator, a young woman, questions why she has to “wear the brand of shame; /whilst he amid the gay and proud/still bears an honored name” (Harper 26-28). Within her poem, Harper exposes the hypocrisy of the

Sexual orientationism is best described as discrimination or prejudice against homosexuals on the assumption that heterosexuality is the dominant, or normal, sexual orientation. Within society there are many barriers, assumptions, and stigmas placed upon the queer community, numerous of which steam from this heterosexist stance that has become the dominant ideology. This stance has historical significance in trauma, and oppression of those within the sexual minority, and how this can play on representation.

Seeing that these are the only two moments that actually seemed to tackle conversations outside of heterosexualism, I am still trying to understand how readers are meant to think of sexuality in “My Beautiful Enemy.” I have since tried to apply Sara Ahmed’s work, specifically her reading titled “Queer Feelings” and Adrienne Rich’s work on Compulsory Heterosexuality. Both authors note moments of manipulation for women, in such a way that these moments cannot afford to be diluted from a larger scope. They are undeniable parts of a whole, and at their most dangerous, they are seen in conjunction with the mask of progressiveness. For Ahmed this manipulation is framed as “repetitive strain injuries” (RSIs) “Through repeating some gestures and not others, or through being orientated in some directions and not others, bodies become contorted; they get twisted into shapes that enable some action only insofar as they restrict capacity for other kinds of action.” (145). For Rich this manipulation is the general way all bodies are conditioned to expect an innate heterosexuality and the specific violence this allows women to be subjected to during every phase of their lives. “One of many means of enforcement is, of course, the rendering invisible of the lesbian possibility, an engulfed continent which rises

For this paper I will be reviewing pieces of literature; a blog amplifying the voices of queer and trans people of color, Being Queer and Dating Straight by Kristen Rogers published on January 12, 2016. A magazine article entitled Dating While Bi, by Katy Harrad. As well as a scholarly article journal, Attitudes Toward Casual Sex, Dating, and Committed Relationships With Bisexual Partners by Meridee Wilson.

In the United States we often associate the decade of the 1960’s with “free love” and radically liberated notions of gender and sexuality. Yet fascinating discussions around gender and sexuality were also happening in the early- and mid-1970’s, ones that illuminate not only the evolution of movements and ideas during these decades but also our own historical moment. This paper, which relies on primary sources, situates questions of sexual object choice, gender non-conformity, racialization, and “bisexuality” in the historical moment(s) of the 70’s. I intentionally write in relation to the contemporary moment of LGBT identities in which I would argue that both bisexuality and transgender, while certainly acknowledged as labels that fit with

Bisexuality is the romantic sexual attraction to males and females or sexually attracted by both men and women.It is a behavior towards sexual attraction involving physical and or romantic to both of his same sex orientation.There is no definite explanation why individuals developed bisexual orientation. Some reasons say that it includes both environmental factors and genetic factors.Environmental factors can be exposure to the people around who are gay or bisexual.Bisexuality is the understanding that you can be attracted physically and emotionally to either gender at some point. It does not equate that you will be involved with two person at a time either to have sex with both gender at the same to be happy or satisfied. The “b” word

I am bisexual.  Are you paying attention now?  Bisexuality holds an interesting position when it comes to sexual minorities.  On one hand, it's seen as the ultimate liberation: "They'll do it with anyone...how hot!".  But when it comes to seeking mainstream social acceptance, we can be seen as the worst in sexual perversion: "They'll do it with anyone...how shameful!".  There are many theories and opinions on bisexuals, some I agree with, others do not fit my definition of being bisexual.  The important thing is that bisexuality is real, it's not a "transition period" to being gay, a homosexual in denial, or a person who just can't make up their mind.  Being bisexual is a huge part of my identity, something that no one can take away from