In a patriarchal society, heterosexuality operates as a system of power that is used to oppress women by enforcing the belief that women exist merely for male pleasure. It promotes sexual relationships between men and women exclusively. Heterosexuality profoundly affects the ways in which women live and come to understand themselves and their roles in society. Patriarchy encourages heterosexuality to the extent that it ostracizes those who do not conform to this category. Feminist theorists such as Adrienne Rich, Radicalesbians, Sandra Bartky and Talia Mae Bettcher challenge these narrow ways of thinking about sexuality and how they generate oppression by establishing a set of public norms to behavioral practices and dehumanizing those who do not follow …show more content…
Compulsory heterosexuality promotes the false notion women have an "innate" attraction to men (Rich, 118). This way of understanding sexuality promotes heterosexism and completely dismisses lesbian experience. Rich also presents the term lesbian continuum, in which she suggests that women can be lesbians at any time throughout their lives, but not simply by sharing sexual experiences with each other (Rich, 118). This echoes similar ideologies of the Radicalesbians put an emphasis on how women think of themselves in relation to one another. The relationships of women with each other are beyond sexual love, it can be one of solidarity, however, there must be the possibility of sexual love (Radicalesbians, 105). Both Rich and Radicalesbians focus on the existence of sexual love between women, Rich proposes that one does not have to act on these intentions. In order to resist the oppression created by heterosexuality, it is crucial to adopt women-centered ways of thinking which generate “primary attachments” and association among women (Radicalesbians,