Almaguer brings intersectionality to a new level in his chapter about Chicano Men: A Cartography of Homosexual Identity and Behavior. He starts off the chapter with a brief discussion regarding the differences between American and Mexican societies. By pointing out that American culture has markedly greater emphasis on individuality while Mexican culture is strongly rooted in familial and social bonds, the author explains that homosexuality in the two nations are consequently different. First of all, simply in terms of accepting the notion of homosexual desire, Mexican men are less likely than their American counterparts to be open about homosexual feelings, for they do not wish to hurt their family's feelings. He goes further to bring class into the picture, explaining that in a society where the working class Mexicans are largely dependent on their families, it is too risky and impractical to disappoint them and the community in which they live. On the other hand, he explains that in the United States homosexuality is largely endorsed and promoted by the upper classes. Following this theory regarding cultural impact on homosexuality, it is easier to understand why homosexuality is far less visible (even though it's there) in Asian communities which are also rooted more strongly in familial and communal bonds rather than individuality.
The author also makes an interesting point regarding the prevalance of gender roles within homosexuality. The penetrator is revered and admired as masculine and dominant while the anal receptor is looked down upon as feminine and feeble. It is interesting to note that many of the penetrators do not even consider themselves as homosexual. Does this mean that masculinity is heterosexual and femininity is homosexual? Simply the prevalence of male and female gender roles in homosexuality speaks of how strong of an impact culture makes. At the same time, Mexican culture allows men to retain a heterosexual identity despite homosexual encounters, while in the United States, even implications of homosexuality gets one labeled permanently.
The interesting thing happens when all of these realms that constitute such intersectionality clash together. When Chicanos immigrate to the United States, they bring their ideology and perspectives on homosexuality with them into a culture that has relatively different views. It is even more interesting to compare gay Chicanos with lesbian chicanas. One lesbian claimed that her homosexual feelings arose from her passionate love for her mother. Such a notion forces us to think, what is love and why must it be channeled heterosexually? If love is based on passion and emotion, why should gender even matter?
Moraga's analysis of gays and lesbians enlighten us in regards to the prejudices entrenched in cultures across the world. One of her strongest points was about the idealization of masculinity in homosexual culture. Masculine homosexuals are respected. Feminine homosexuals are not. Despite the fact that homosexuality has been accepted by many of these people, it is striking to see that they are still holding onto their culturally conservative views in terms of gender roles.
This chapter was a great and very helpful read in that it pulls from various concepts we have been learning in lecture, that various aspects of life (be it race, culture, sexual orientation, class, and even age) can be examined to understand contemporary gender conflicts.
I agree that this exerpt was really interesting and helpful as it helped tie together a lot of the various things we have been learning in lecture, discussion, and even our writing class! The intersectionality and the relationships between forces such as race and gender present in this chapter are really insigtful and offer a nice example of how we too can do this in our own writing.
ReplyDeleteExcellent reading, as usual. But you do have a tendency to write a brilliant first paragraph in your posts that doesn't sustain itself throughout the rest of the post. For the exam/papers, make sure the brilliant way you craft your arguments sustains itself throughout the entire piece.
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