I saw this rainbow wall somewhere along Kawaramachi..
At first, I felt really glad to see this wall, but then I realized that most people are probably unaware of what a rainbow symbolizes — the LGBT community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) pride and diversity.　

Most, though not all, societies today seem to maintain its highly patriarchal and heteronormative nature. Such societies have managed to dominate and survive throughout history, causing tremendous impacts on today’s social climate.

In patriarchal societies, people are made to believe that men are more capable than women regarding the many aspects of their lives. This eminent ideology allows the cyclical abuse and discrimination against women, expressed in a vast array of prejudice – may it be in the workplace, or in terms of education, healthcare, and finance, or even at home – such manifestations are evident.

Aside from living in patriarchal societies, most of us today also grew up in immensely heteronormative societies. Heteronormativity refers to the assumption that heterosexuality is universal; hence heterosexual practices must be the standard. Heteronormative societies expect everybody to follow such norms; otherwise one would be deviating from what is socially accepted. Such societies create a hierarchy among its citizens, wherein heterosexuals are above non-heterosexuals – the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals. Same-sex relationships are seen either as a taboo or as an act of immorality. It was only in 1973 when the American Psychiatric Association officially removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders; this was a big leap for the LGBT movement, however until today myriads of people still continue to have negative views regarding homosexuality. This is primarily due to the heteronormative society’s unawareness, misinformation, and skewed understanding of gender diversity and equality. These societies treat the LGBT community differently, hence causing a great disadvantage among LGBT individuals. These disadvantages are manifested in the forms of social stigma, inequality in terms of work opportunities, and even outright verbal, emotional, psychological, and physical abuse.

Patriarchy and heteronormativity, as individual social conditions, are equally problematic. But if you put both conditions together in one society, the problems born from this scenario can magnify and multiply by tenfold.

Patriarchal and heteronormative societies rank its citizens. It prioritizes heterosexual men above all. At the bottom of this social pyramid are non-heterosexual women – lesbian and bisexual women. For several reasons, I believe that non-heterosexual women are discriminated in multiple levels. First, they are discriminated for the simple reason that they are women. Women may find it difficult to live in societies wherein patriarchy and gender inequality are the norms. Women’s voices are often muted, their chances of learning are often halted, and their rights are often trampled over. Second, lesbian and bisexual women are discriminated for being outside the heterosexual norm. They are seen as people who are so different from the “straight“ people. Despite the dominance of such views among most of today’s societies, these socially constructed labels are meaningless. Some lesbian and bisexual women encounter problems with their employers once the issue of their sexuality is discussed, other problems include – difficulties in finding housing, and being victimized by social stigma and violence. Third, lesbian and bisexual women are discriminated based on other aspects such as class, race, ethnicity, religion, and culture. Since we live in the age of capitalism, lower-class lesbian and bisexual women are further buried deeper in the imagined social pyramid. In certain beliefs and cultures, homosexuality is also seen in a negative light, hence stirring even more disadvantages for lesbian and bisexual women.

For many centuries, such societies have continued to heave and force its highly sexist ideologies among its citizens. Perhaps this is one of the many plausible reasons on why some lesbian and bisexual women choose to stay inside the closet – to be protected from the harsh beatings of patriarchal and heteronormative societies.

by Fritz Rodriguez