A Tourist in Heteroland

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Abstract

Law and legal establishments, as norm creators and enforcers (McAdams and Rasmussen 2007), magnify and protect heteronormativity. Per Weeks (1998), sexual citizenship encompasses enfranchisement, inclusion, and belonging. Concomitantly when infused with heteronormativity, legal doctrine can push sexual minorities to the margins. Conversely, when law and its institutions include LGBT people, they may reveal the hidden assumptions underlying heteronormativity, and potentially transform societal norms and conventions. More negatively, however, inclusion can also provoke a counterattack and claim of oppression by those who wish to prevent the loss of heterosexual privilege. By examining four different instances of sexual minorities’ interactions with law and heteronormativity we can see examples of exclusion, loss of agency, backlash, and transformation.Law and legal establishments, as norm creators and enforcers (McAdams and Rasmussen 2007), magnify and protect heteronormativity. Per Weeks (1998), sexual citizenship encompasses enfranchisement, inclusion, and belonging. Concomitantly when infused with heteronormativity, legal doctrine can push sexual minorities to the margins. Conversely, when law and its institutions include LGBT people, they may reveal the hidden assumptions underlying heteronormativity, and potentially transform societal norms and conventions. More negatively, however, inclusion can also provoke a counterattack and claim of oppression by those who wish to prevent the loss of heterosexual privilege. By examining four different instances of sexual minorities’ interactions with law and heteronormativity we can see examples of exclusion, loss of agency, backlash, and transformation.