Views on Women and LGBT Individuals

We have spent a fair amount of time in class discussing the treatment of members of the LGBT community. Our readings on the treatment of LGBT individuals were particularly graphic and spurred some of our most emotionally charged classroom discussions. Likewise, there has been good discussion on both this blog and the class's associated twitter account of the issue of rights for homosexuals and gender minorities. In my opinion, though, we have largely missed out on the opportunity to discuss the treatment of women in the context of human rights.

One reason that the issue of women's rights is overlooked by the general population is the mistaken belief that women have all the rights they need and that everything is fine and dandy. While there are plenty who hold this belief, I suspect they are less well represented among a group of people engaged in the study of human rights. It is more likely that we did not discuss the particular case of the treatment of women because the unique case of women is actually not all that unique. The human rights violations we have discussed have been perpetrated against various manifestations of the Other: racial minorities, recent immigrants, members of the LGBT community, prisoners and death row inmates. Women can very easily be considered the universal Other. Given the patriarchal nature of all human societies, women are constantly in the outgroup. Because human rights violations are generally perpetrated against those in the outgroup, by discussing one particular form of human rights violations, we are in effect discussing every other form of human rights violation.

I do feel, though, that there exists a special relationship between the treatment of members of the LGBT community and the treatment of women. Hostility toward gays, lesbians and gender minorities is rooted in misogyny. For example, men who adopt what is seen as a woman's sex role or who seem in some way effeminate are subject to particular scorn. Contempt for members of both groups largely springs from a traditional understanding of masculinity in particular and gender roles in general. Narrow, inflexible views of appropriate or acceptable appearance and behavior based on biological sex are the root issue of both forms of prejudice.

The solution to both misogyny and homophobia is not just acceptance of those who are different from oneself. More fundamentally, the strict policing of gender roles must end. We should see the world not so much in terms of women and men, but rather in terms of people. We should open our societies up to the full array of human potential. People should be free to dress and act however they like. Individuals should be free to choose any consenting partner.

Admittedly, such an approach will require a substantial shift in societal conceptions. However much I welcome this change, I do not expect that it will happen overnight. In the interim, measures must be taken to ensure that the rights of women and members of the LGBT community are protected. The issue of expanding rights to include LGBT individuals was the topic of both a recent blog post and past twitter and class discussions. In theory, I am of the opinion that we already have all the rights we need; we just need to apply them. In fact, the whole issue seems incredibly simple: These are human rights. These people are human. These people have human rights. To add to the canon of human rights seems especially unnecessary since we are still not applying existing rights, which the new rights would likely echo.

In practice, however, I do favor legislation in support of both women and members of the LGBT community. If nothing else, the act of codifying into law the rejection of prejudice and discrimination gives advocates something to point to in order to legitimize their claims to rights. Doing so would demonstrate our commitment to human rights. Enacting legislation in support of the rights of women and LGBT individuals would also obligate our government to act in defense of the rights of members of these groups. Although we should not need legislation on the rights of women and members of the LGBT community, the unwillingness of society to afford members of these groups the rights that are due to all human beings necessitates such action.

As a side note, in the event that anyone is still checking the blog, can we all agree to stop referring to adult women as girls? Despite how offensive it is, it remains strikingly commonplace.