On Fri, 24 Sep 2004, Charles Brown wrote:
> The first thing that always comes to mind is that sexual liberation
> includes heterosexual liberation from the long history of religious and
> other sexual repressions. So, when one uses a term - heterosexism - that
> stigmatizes heterosexual sex, even if indirectly, I put you in the same bag
> with the church. Different motive, but same result: contributing to sexual
> repression.
By this reasoning, we shouldn't use the term sexism because it stigmatizes men indirectly, and we shouldn't use the term racism because it stigmatizes whites indirectly. You're misconstruing the word "heterosexism" here: not even indirectly does it stigmatize heterosexual sex. Think of it this way: if your sexual orientation blocks or facilitates your access to valuable social resources in a society, you live in a heterosexist society.
--True, gays and lesbians in our society are not economically disadvantaged like many minority groups, but just the issue of gay marriage alone demonstrates the heterosexism of our society: straight couples can marry and enjoy over a thousand discrete politically sanctioned benefits and rights that a gay/lesbian couple cannot. (Again, note that none of this implies a stigmatization of "heterosexual sex"; it just emphasizes that you should not receive preferential treatment by the state because you're heterosexual.)
Miles