Topic > Homophobia and heteronormativity - 1639

Homophobia is a term defined as hatred and fear towards people attracted to members of the same sex. Homophobia is present in Western societies and also in other areas of the world where homosexual practices are punishable by law. While heterosexuality is accepted by society through public expressions such as romance, courtship, marriage and family, the life of homosexuals is reduced to something that is experienced as private. The effects of heteronoative practices can be witnessed through the use of social media where people, including teenagers, use the internet as an outlet to talk about their experiences of bullying and in some cases admit to wanting to complete suicide. Through the effects of bullying and stigma, resistance practices such as “Pink Day” have begun to occur where institutions and communities raise awareness about celebrating diversity against homophobia and all other forms of bullying. Using Foucault's theory of regimes of truth, normalization and discipline, shine a light on the normalization and disciplinary practices that occur in schools where the social order is reproduced through the socialization of controlled knowledges that naturalize heterosexuality through normalization practices . Heteronormativity is a term that defines the privileging of heterosexuality through its normalizing practices within society such as institutions and organizational cultures. Heteronormativity can circulate through everyday practices of the mundane, such as how teachers choose to organize classroom environments by implementing books, posters, and films that reflect heterosexual commonsense values. For Foucault, norms are concepts that constantly operate to evaluate and control people: ...... middle of paper ...... yes to the year the emphasis is not on the number of days celebrated but on the value and the meaning of the day and what it means for young people who are secretly gay or who have imperfections that are seen or hidden in schools and society. One day it may lead to transformations where society will not have to celebrate the event because it will be accepted as the status quo in place of the marginalized deviants. Through Foucault's understanding of regimes of truth, discipline and practices of normalization we can recognize that what society accepts as true through the status of those who say what is true is constantly evolving. Everyone can challenge resistance because the power that circulates through intersections is relational and therefore comparable. Pink Day is still a relatively new resistance strategy that can perhaps transform teachers acting as agents of socialization towards heteronormativity.