PHILOSOPHY, GENDER AND CULTURE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

PHILOSOPHY, GENDER AND CULTURE - Essay Example Heterosexuals as such are justly given privileges that will offer them political power, religious sanction, sexual freedom, moral status, occupational and tax privileges, cultural validation, freedom to have and adopt children and raise families, recourse against unfair hiring practices psychiatric and juridical non-interference among others (Hopkins 95). Heterosexism does not have any emotional and rhetorical effect that is associated with homophobia. Heterosexism is the most appropriate term to be used in describing the reason as to why television couples are all straight. The reason as to why marriage and joint tax returns are only meant for heterosexuals, why lesbians and gays in the open cannot be elected to office? Why can heterosexuals be allowed to adopt children or be foster parents? On the contrary, heterosexism cannot be used to describe a case that happened in Texas where a group of ten teenagers stabbed a gay man to death. In respect to this, therefore, heterosexism are protected. The term c usually, the first term of binary is always good, but the second term is bad. Heterosexism builds concepts and behaviors to enable hierarchical heterosexist to react to binary hence becoming homophobic. It is not necessary that one should be white to be considered a racist same way heterosexists are perceived as homophobic (Hopkins 96). Heterosexism may be different because its direct and obvious personal threats to gays. It nonetheless puts the political arena in a way that homophobia can continue to exist. Heterosexism is culpable for the production of homophobic. He choose to use the term homophobia for cases like petitions for fascistic law, brutality, fanatic claims or arbitrarily firing gay employees, but it does not always mean to characterize homophobia as clinical or an irrational response because it would be inadequate. Homophobia has evolved as primarily a political term, not as a psychiatric one and does not contradicts claustrophobia or agoraphobia only if political arenas are the same. 2. Explain Hopkins’ concept of homophobia. Make sure to note the connection of the two in defining these terms though Hopkins Hopkins explains homophobia as a similar term as heterosexism. It is used to refer to economic, physical, and juridical abuse faced by gays. There is no clear boundary between heterosexism and homophobia. According to Hopkins, the two words are used, in political environments, to present political needs. Homophobia is somehow dysfunctional to an individual or a group. Homophobic activity has some powers that usually influence. In a homosexual case, the conflicts reaffirm the appearance of a man in heterosexuality hence gaining a sense of safety and stability and oneself. Basing on the childhood modeling, homophobic activity wins approval from peers and authority figure, pretests one from becoming the target of other homophobes, and reaffirms one’s place in a larger context of gender appropriate behavior th us protecting a person’s personal identity. In his hypotheses, Hopkins recognized the fact that there are rational and functional aspects of homophobia especially in a heteropatriarchal context leading to another explanation of homophobia that has reversed the second explanation. The theory explains that queers are a genuine political threat to heterosexuals and do intend to eliminate heterosexual privilege (Hopkins 99). Radical feminist lesbians and certain radical men gays directly challenge