Friday 13 April 2012 at 15:15 - 16:45


SOCIAL DIVISIONS / SOCIAL IDENTITIES 2 Cole, M., Stewart, K., Williams, M.


ROGER STEVENS 10 The Open University


Heteronormativity and the Co-constitution of Homophobic and Speciesist Oppression


This paper expands on a conceptual model of oppressive hierarchical relations (Stewart & Cole, 2009) which focuses on the foundational role played by two inter-related social processes: the differential ascription of levels of subjectivity on the one hand, and the invisibilisation of the experiences of oppressed groups on the other. The model has been primarily applied to speciesist human-nonhuman animal relations in Western societies (see for instance Stewart and Cole, 2009), but has also been used in the context of hierarchies of 'race' and gender (Cole and Morgan, forthcoming 2011). In this paper we explore the relevance of this model to the co-constitution of speciesism and homophobia, by examining the enforcing of heteronormativity on both human and nonhuman animals.


This analysis includes a consideration of how 'deviant' sexualities are both invisibilised and objectified in both material and discursive terms, with violent consequences for non-normative humans and other animals. The paper therefore analyses how speciesist and homophobic hierarchies both recall and reinforce each other, for instance through the heteronormative control of the reproductive processes of 'farmed' animals on the one hand, and 'animalizing' discourses of homosexuality on the other. These processes normalise violence against oppressed Others and habituate 'toleration' of differential levels of harm. The paper therefore makes a novel contribution to forging intersectional analyses of hitherto isolated topics of social science investigation.


Pai, E-Y. Lesbian's Negotiation of Heteronormativity in Taiwan


Drawing on individual sexual stories, this paper considers how Taiwanese women acknowledge same-sex attractions whether or not they had previous heterosexual experiences. Heteronormativity made some women question their female identity when realising the feeling towards same-sex. Participants who did not have previous hetero-experiences frequently talked about 'feeling different' in an early age, while those who had such experiences developed varied strategies for struggling with heteronormativity when 'changing sexuality'. This paper discusses three strategies through which present lesbian identified women make sense of their sexualities and their discontinuous pasts and pre-lesbian (or bisexual) selves and embrace a change in identity. Strategies used by those who had previous heterosexual experiences are: Making this particular woman an exception, rather than generalising same-sex attraction, often involving a denial of lesbianism in the first place; Claiming that they have chosen an unconventional lifestyle when entering their first same-sex relationships also helps to ease the gap between their current lesbianism and heteronormative norms they might have adopted before; Looking for self- justifications (a comfortable understanding of oneself) and adolescent symptoms follows a period of time of emotional conflicts and self-questioning.


Knight, R., Shoveller, J., Robert, R., Cunnigham-Burley, S. University of British Columbia


Targeting the Essentialized 'Other'': A Critique of Sexuality Interventions and the Uniformity of Risk-based Social Divisions


Policy and programming interventions frequently target populations based on socially defined characteristics (e.g., ethnicity; gender; sexual identity). This approach is a cornerstone within public health – whereby particular groups are deemed vulnerable to illness because they share social characteristics that render them 'at risk'. We use a Foucauldian approach to reveal how power relations and the contingent nature of 'rationality' unfold under this rubric. We explore the assumptions that are explicit (and implicit) within policy discourses related to sexuality interventions (e.g., HIV/STI control) in the UK, US and Canada to identify how essentializing the 'other' and assuming a uniformity of risk within social groups can be used to justify targeting as a taken-for-granted action. Our analysis details the processes through which profiling and targeting socially defined groups essentializes 'risky' identities as the targeted 'Other' - distinguishing them from those assumed to be at 'low risk'. Thus, a hegemony within public health is (re)produced, privileging actions that identify, monitor and 'correct' risky behaviour among social 'others' (e.g., the gay community). Assuming that risk is distributed uniformly within social groups dampens considerations of agentic practices and perpetuates stereotypes (e.g., that all gay men are at high risk and that monogamy is a rarity in gay communities; that married heterosexual couples are at low risk for HIV/STIs). We explore how conditions of austerity may enhance the likelihood that interventions are targeted toward 'high-risk' social groups in an effort to enhance efficiency, thereby stifling nuanced approaches and ignoring the socially divisive impacts of these approaches.


311 University of York


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