The Color Line Race And The Invention Of Homosexuality...

In her book Queering the Color Line: Race and the Invention of Homosexuality in American Culture, Siobhan Somerville uses film and literature from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to demonstrate the ways in which early models of homosexuality were often embedded within discussions of race, specifically â€Å"the bifurcated constructions of ‘black’ and ‘white’ bodies† (175). Somerville notes that discussions of sexual orientations emerged at the same time Plessy v. Ferguson, the supreme court case that affirmed the government’s right to determine an individual’s racial identity, was settled. She contends that the development of sexual classifications alongside the U.S. governments â€Å"aggressive policing of the boundary between ‘black’ and ‘white’ bodies† was more than a coincidence in timing (3). Somerville argues that this new polarization of bodies and focus on sexual desires echoed a similar, simultaneous shift in racial thinking. During this shift, the cultural figure of the mulatto gave way to a new visualization of the races as natural opposites, and increasing numbers of legal and social devices were created to prevent people of different races from engaging in sexual activity with one another. Thus the materialization of new sexual categories paralleled, and was profoundly influenced by, the hardening of the color line, the division of Americans into racially segregated categories. I find Somerville’s analyses to be incredibly persuading due to herShow MoreRelatedSexuality is Socially Constructed Essay1885 Words   |  8 Pagesfirst use of the word at around the year 1800. Human beings experienced their own sexuality prior to 1800; however, it was not until the late nineteenth century when the ideas heterosexuality and homosexuality were initially formulated. As sexuality is the result of social interactions, one’s sex, class, and race all play large roles in defining sexuality, whether it be to others or simply on a personal level. The human tendency to associate males with power and females with weakness is so inbred withinRead MoreRace in America2248 Words   |  9 Pagesand presence. As the colonies formed and Africans began their slave-bound voyages to America, many colonists perceived them as inferior. Eurocentrism allowed for a foundation on which the race concept was built and flourished. As research shows, there is only one species of human beings, Homo sapiens. â€Å"Race,† used as a construct to stratify societies, is not a reference to biological variation. Many controversies have focused on the concept of racial variations. One debate questioned the differencesRead MoreEssay about A Mercy Notes4980 Words   |  20 PagesDate   Chapters   Old numbers   New Numbers   Day 30, Weds. 11/14/12   1-4   1-66   3-78   Day 31, Fri., 11/16/12   5-8   67-134   79-158   Day 32, Mon 11/19/12   9-12   135-167   159-196      Part 2: Chronology of Events   Before the story begins, the Blacksmith’s male line has passed down from father to son the art of smelting ore into iron in Africa in termite mines.   The Blacksmith may have been captured in pirate raids upon slave ships, and sold in the Americas as an indentured servant. His demeanor in the novel suggestsRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesgenerations to be among the processes that distinguish that era, not only from those proceeding it but from the rest of human history altogether. The essay by Gabrielle Hecht and Paul Edwards provides a nuanced interweaving of analyses of the nuclear arms race, debates over nuclear power as a major energy source, and the communications revolution made possible by computer technologies that did so much to shape the cold war standoff between the Soviet and American superpowers and the transition to a newRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pagesso you are open to adding new beliefs to your old beliefs. There are logical—that is, appropriate—ways of doing this, as well as illogical ones. The goal is to add truths, not falsehoods. For example, you are waiting in the grocery store checkout line and notice a magazine’s front-page headline, World War II Bomber Discovered Intact on Surface of Moon. You didnt know that, did you? Well, it wouldnt be logical to believe it. Why not? Here are three reasons: (1) Bombers cant fly to the