Love And Intimacy

On Love and Intimacy
Short Paper 1
Riana Nigam
Due Friday, February 17th, 2017

What State Do We Live In?

“If repression has indeed been the fundamental link between power, knowledge, and sexuality since the classical age, it stands to reason that we will not be able to free ourselves from it except at a considerable cost.” This quotation by Michel Foucault, a French philosopher, suggests that a culture of oppression is embedded within fundamental constructs that are essential to an individual’s success in society. The link between repression and power, knowledge, and sexuality parallels the state’s regulation of race and its ability to control racial boundaries. Interracial intimacies that occur within the sexual realm are simultaneously

In Chandan Reddy’s Moving Beyond a Freedom with Violence, the 2008 presidential election of Barack Obama is manipulated to target black individuals for disrupting the social and cultural progress of the country. The election gave rise to the term “black homophobia,” which became a medium for society to “disavow [its] lack of knowledge of the actual social and political context, social meanings, and worldviews that determine blacks’ (or others’) electoral choices” (Reddy, 184). This concept exposed a widespread neglect by society to attempt to understand and confront the persecution that the black races encounters. The choice to “locate meaning exclusively in the numerical interpretation of aggregate results” (Reddy, 184) further silences the voices and concerns of black individuals and instead, diminishes their votes to a meaningless ballot count. Society’s acceptance of “black homophobia” as a valid and justifiable explanation for the Obama election indicates the power of the media and the formal political process to continually marginalize any differing, non-conventional beliefs or

“Social history from below repopulates political life with minoritized social actors and their collective efforts, which are left out of the normative accounts” (Reddy, 198). By observing social history from the perspective of the subordinate groups, the “efforts” of these individuals, which are frequently disregarded within the political sphere, can be recognized and honored. Additionally, this type of remembering transforms history into an exemplar for gays and lesbians and demonstrates how the confrontation of prevailing norms can provide hope for themselves as well as for future generations. This approach also significantly distinguishes the past from the present. Individuals should observe the past to understand society’s mistakes and avoid repetition of them; more importantly, though, they must honor the victims of the past who were once excluded from the society and norms that others may now be a part of. Further, the memory of these victims allows difference to be honored in the present, thus helping create a society of reduced marginalization and greater