Revisiting the gender concept through the perspective of heteronormativity: the inescapable mark of lesbian feminism

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/2965-1557.036.e202431354

Abstract

The aim of this essay is to revisit the concept of gender based on the lesbian feminist critique of the hegemonic feminism of the so-called second wave, which disregarded heterosexuality as a problem, reflecting precisely its strength and compulsory nature. Considering it means revisiting the concept of gender in close relation to the political character of a straight way of being. Faced with this disregard for the element of heterosexuality in thinking about the “female” gender and the erasing of lesbian existence, lesbian feminists of the 1980’s forced the feminism of their time to review itself based on the following question: is it necessary to become straight to became a woman? The affirmative answer to this question brings two innovative and unavoidable elements for lesbian feminism: (i) the determination of the “female” gender by compulsory heterosexuality, and (ii) lesbian existence as resistance to be valued as a strategy for the liberation of all women. To this end, I intend to put forward the central argument that heterosexuality is compulsory insofar as it exists not only as a mere sexual practice, but as a social, political and economic institution, according to Adrienne Rich, as a political regime that establishes a hegemonic way of thinking, according to Monique Wittig, as a sex/gender system for Gayle Rubin, and as a normative standard that determines gender binarism, according to Judith Butler. Finally, the question remains about the possibility of overcoming gender oppression: either we bet on a genderless society, as Wittig and Rubin have done, or a society with multiple genders, as Butler proposes.

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Author Biography

Juliana Aggio, UFBA

Possui graduação em Filosofia pela Universidade de São Paulo (2004), mestrado em Filosofia Antiga pela Universidade de São Paulo (2006) e doutorado também em Filosofia Antiga pela Universidade de São Paulo (2012), tendo realizado doutorado sanduíche no período de um ano na École Normale Supérieure - Paris, sob orientação de Francis Wolff (2009-2010).

Published

2024-12-05

How to Cite

Aggio, J. (2024). Revisiting the gender concept through the perspective of heteronormativity: the inescapable mark of lesbian feminism. Revista De Filosofia Aurora, 36. https://doi.org/10.1590/2965-1557.036.e202431354

Issue

Section

Rethinking violence in Philosophy: Gender, Politics, and Resignification