Differences In Oppression

This blog post is in response to a reading by Elizabeth Grosz for my Gender & Sexuality course at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia with lecturer Margaret Mayhew.

Source: Grosz, E (1995), ‘Rethinking Queer Subjectivity’, Space, time, Perversion, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, pp 207-227 

In this reading, Grosz takes a look into the concepts of oppression and identity, in the politics and theory of lesbian and gay sexualities. The section of the reading that I will be discussing is titled, "Pleasure and Subversion." In this section Grosz addresses some of the questions she has inquired about oppression and the gay and lesbian communities.

One thing I found interesting about this, was Grosz's understanding of homosexual oppression. She mentioned that oppression of lesbians and gay men had formed differently than that of other oppressions. She further explained, that she thought oppression of others (usually minorities with different cultures, religions, appearances and languages other than that of white, Christian males) was done because of what a person is, not by what that person does. However, oppression by the lesbian and gay community was not directed at who the are, but instead it's directed at what they decide to do in the eyes of the public (queer acts out in the open).

The common "liberal" attitude (toward homosexuals) of those mentioned in Grosz's reading was aligned with that of most straight people I have encountered. One of the views said, "I don't care what they do, I just wish they would do it only in the privacy of their own homes!," which basically meant that as long as a person can leave the queer acts at home, and pass as a straight person out in public, they do not mind who you are and they can pretty much avoid oppression. 

Reading about Grosz's difference between oppression of the lesbian and gay community, and that of other oppressed groups, reminded me of a similar topic that's often discussed back at my home institution, Agnes Scott College. The topic can pretty much be summed up into one question, "Can homosexual oppression and rights be compared as equal to the oppression of Black people in America during the Civil Rights Era?" 

As an African American student who is from the South, I'd like to blatantly answer this question with a enormous, "NO!" I find it difficult to compare the rights of a race who's endured over 300 years of enslavement and inhumane treatment, to that of people who just want to express their sexuality publicly. Some people say rights are rights, and everyone has the right to love who they want. It is a form of oppression to do otherwise. And I agree with this idea completely. 

I'm just highlighting the fact that I also agree with Grosz theory that the gay and lesbian community are enduring a different type of oppression. To my understanding, this type of oppression is one that can be avoided by the simple act of not publicly displaying your sexuality (thought you have the right to do so). The oppression of Black people in America, however, was not a type of oppression that Black people could just decide not to endure. It was a type of oppression that was based on who they are/what they are/and how they appeared. For example, if I were a lesbian, I can honesty find it easier to pass as a straight lesbian, than of another race. Get it?

What do you think about Grosz's theory of the differences between oppression of the homosexual community and that of others--more specifically Black people in America? Are they similar more than they are different? Are my view skewed?