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What is a lesbian? "To be a lesbian is to be perceived as someone who has stepped out of line, who has moved out of sexual/economic dependence on a male, who is woman-identified. A lesbian is perceived as someone who can live without a man, and who is therefore (however illogically) against men. A lesbian is perceived as being outside the acceptable, routinized order of things. She is seen as someone who has no societal institutions to protect her and who is not privileged to the protection of individual males….A lesbian is perceived as a threat to the nuclear family, to male dominance and control, to the very heart of sexism" (Pharr, 18). How many women fit this definition of a lesbian? Any woman who believes in herself, her independence, or her redefined role as a woman is a lesbian by societal definition. Any woman who identifies herself as a feminist faces discrimination. Lesbian baiting is a form of discrimination against woman with a sole purpose of discrediting them.
"Lesbians
look like all women and all women look like
lesbians" (Pharr, 20). Any woman can become a victim of lesbian baiting regardless of her sexual orientation. Lesbian baiting is a common tactic used by the military in order to keep women within their defined gender roles. Lesbian baiting "is an attempt to control women by labeling us as lesbians because our behavior is not acceptable, that is, when we are being independent, going our own way, living whole lives, fighting for our rights, demanding equal pay, saying no to violence, being self-assertive, bonding with and loving the company of women, assuming the right to our bodies, insisting upon our own authority, making changes that include us in society's decision-making; lesbian baiting occurs when women are called lesbians because we resist male dominance and control. And it has little or nothing to do with one's sexual identity" (Pharr, 19). As an example lesbian baiting has been used by the military when "accusing a woman of being a lesbian because she refuses another soldier's advances" (Wired Strategies). The military believes that homosexuality destroys camaraderie and morale in the barracks. According to the government's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy (a.k.a. the homosexual conduct policy) a homosexual person should be safe by omission, right? Wrong. The military has enacted its own policy, a form of witch hunting, called lesbian baiting to trap women into admitting, or by finding out, their sexual orientation. "Lesbian
baiting has always been used as a tool to discredit
women soldiers whose competence and professionalism
threaten their male counterparts in the service"
(Laurent, 1992). "Lesbian
baiting is a ready weapon of sexual harassment,"
states a former Army officer (Moss,
1997). In the magazine The Progressive, Ruth Conniff interviewed Patricia Ireland. Ireland refers to the lesbian baiting that was used against Attorney General Janet Reno, while she was running for office: "For a woman to be moving up into a position that was such a male-dominated position, she has to be a celibate, 'awkward old maid with affection for men,' as Reno put it. Having children, even having any sexuality at all, is just too much to ask" (Conniff, 1999). For a woman in Reno's position...a strong, powerful, woman...it can be only thought of by others that she must be a lesbian because she lacks "normal" femininity. Women like Janet Reno have fallen victim to countless acts of lesbian baiting because of their position of power. By labeling Reno a lesbian she has now become discredited and therefore less threatening to those for whom she works and with whom she serves.
What can women do in order to combat lesbian baiting? "Any woman who steps out of role risks being called a lesbian" (Pharr, 19). It is almost impossible for a woman to prove her sexual preference: "To understand how this is a threat to all women, one must understand that any woman can be called a lesbian and there is no real way she can defend herself: There is no way to credential one's sexuality" (Pharr, 19). So how is it that a woman can defend herself from lesbian baiting and heterosexism? We can only try to educate people with the belief that they will continue the process of teaching new behaviors and attitudes toward homosexuality to more people. The more people learn about their own preconceived beliefs and where they came from the easier it will be to break down the barriers that surround them.
"Homophobia is the irrational fear and hatred of those who love and sexually desire those of the same sex" (Pharr, 1). Where does this irrational fear stem from? "Homophobia works effectively as a weapon of sexism because it is joined with a powerful arm, heterosexism. Heterosexism creates the climate for homophobia with its assumption that the world is and must be heterosexual and its display of power and privilege as the norm. Heterosexism is the systemic display of homophobia in the institutions of society" (Pharr, 16). This culture enforces these heterosexual ideals through the media, education, religion and parenting practices. Heterosexism has become a disease that has affected the thoughts and actions of this society.
"It is not by chance that when children approach puberty and increased sexual awareness they begin to taunt each other by calling these names: "queer", "faggot", "pervert". It is at puberty that the full force of society's pressure to conform to heterosexuality and prepare for marriage is brought to bear. Children know what we have taught them, and we have given clear messages that those who deviate from standard expectations are to be made to get back in line. The best controlling tactic at puberty is to be treated as an outsider, to be ostracized at a time when it feels most vital to be accepted. Those who are different must be made to suffer loss" (Pharr, 17). Children are being shaped to believe that it is wrong to be a homosexual and that it is right to be heterosexual.
Why is it that this country is so concerned with a person's sexuality and not the job they can do? The military believes that homosexuality creates a barrier to productivity. The military does not stand alone in this belief. Through our research we have discovered that lesbian baiting not only occurs in the workplace, but within education institutions and throughout various media. Children, teenagers, and adults alike must face this discrimination. Research has demonstrated that the only viable source of combating heterosexism is through educational means such as workshops and literature. It is not knowledge alone that will fight discrimination, but rather through continued learning that a person will become empowered and begin to change their own thoughts as well as those of others.
Wired
Strategies Political Internet
Consulting Report
to the Secretary of Defense Conniff,
R. "The Progressive Interview: Patricia Ireland."
The Progressive August 1999. Laurent,
A. "Unfriendly fire." The Advocate November 1992:
50-52. Moss, J.
"Lesbian baiting in the barracks." The Advocate
February 1997: 36-39. Pharr,
S. (1988). Homophobia a Weapon of Sexism. Little
Rock: Chardon Press. |