Why Lesbianism Is Widely Accepted
In recent years, the popularity of lesbian erotica in the mainstream media has been growing. From the Madonna-Britney kiss to the lesbian liaisons on mainstream shows like Ally McBeal and Buffy the Vampire Slayer to the popularity of The L Word, it's clear: Popular media has tapped into lesbianism to boost ratings.
Surveys reveal that the majority of men and women enjoy watching two women engage in a passionate interlude. But despite society's newfound fascination with females and homosexuality, the social climate towards homosexual males continues to be less than welcoming. What explains this discrepancy? AskMen.com has taken the time to outline the prominent arguments -- biological, evolutionary and social -- for why lesbianism has become the new "Macarena" and why male homosexuality continues to be welcomed with all the fervor of a new Pet Shop Boys album.
biological underpinnings
Our biology offers some insight into why lesbian behavior is more widely accepted than homosexual behavior. Apparently, female sexuality is much more likely to be fluid (i.e. bisexual) while male sexuality is more likely to be dichotomous and rigid (i.e. either gay or straight.)
Some studies have shown that there are anatomical differences in certain brain structures (the hypothalamus and anterior commissure) in homosexual and heterosexual males. No corresponding dichotomy was found in the brain structures of lesbian and straight women.
Another study suggests that homosexual orientation in men may be a genetically inherited trait. However, all of these studies have been criticized for their methodological biases that reflect the homophobic prejudices of the general public.
Studies using plethysmographs -- an instrument that measures physiological arousal -- also point to a biological answer for explaining the differences in male and female sexuality. Heterosexual women hooked up to a plethysmograph showed symptoms of physiological arousal in response to lesbian erotica; even those women who denied having interest in sex with another woman showed arousal in these tests.
Heterosexual men, on the other hand, were much less likely to experience physiological arousal while watching male homosexual acts. Thus, women appear to be more likely to be bi-curious. Other insights into the topic come from the differences in arousal experienced by the sexes.
Biologically, women require a longer period of time to reach arousal and thus need more foreplay than men do. Lesbian acts are often described as continuous foreplay or "all play," and, thus, may appeal to many women who crave longer foreplay and longer sexual interaction than they receive with their male partners. Of course, it is difficult to separate the biological predisposition from the social conditioning described below.
evolutionary underpinnings
Evolutionary answers to our question find their root in early human history. The argument reasons that since humans evolved out of packs of animals whose social structures featured a dominant male and a group of females; this male-female dynamic may have continued on into modern day life. Proponents of evolutionary theory argue that the dominant male had sexual access to females and usually fought any other male who sought access to supremacy. Thus, male-male relationships were characterized by hostility and competition for access to the females.
On the other hand, females in the pack were only intermittently serviced by the dominant male and, at other times, could assuage their sexual desires only with each other. Moreover, the sight of two females engaging in sexual activity may have triggered the dominant male's arousal, as it was a sign that one or both of the females were entering their fertile periods. The offspring that resulted from these unions would therefore be more likely to carry genes that favored bisexuality in women and a positive male response to that bisexuality.
Ultimately, evolutionary theory proposes that part of the reason female bisexuality is not only favored over homosexuality, but has the ability to arouse male lust even in the present day, may lie in our genes.
sociological underpinnings
Female bisexuality is clearly much more accepted in our society than male bisexuality. Even the Bible passage cited by Christians, Jews and Muslims who believe homosexuality is wrong (and not all of them do, believe me) only mentions men. Leviticus 18:22 says that a man going to bed with another man as he would with his wife is wrong, but says nothing about women sleeping together.
Within religions that condemn masturbation as a "wasting of the seed," stating that sex must always for procreation, male homosexuality is equally condemned, while female bisexuality involves no "waste" -- indeed, it arguably prepares a woman to receive the male seed. In addition, the repulsion of many towards male homosexuality may find root in the "unhygienic" aspects of anal sex; which lesbianism is rarely associated with.
Throughout the centuries, women have been expected to be caring and nurturing, and therefore have been permitted far more physical contact with each other than their male counterparts. Being affectionate with another woman does not threaten a woman's sense of femininity, whereas a male expression of affection toward another man is viewed as a direct threat to his masculinity.
Society has always bestowed greater shame and punishment on male homosexuals than upon lesbians. In fact, lesbian acts have been considered quite proper in harems and polygamous marriages -- which were common in many societies in ancient times and still exist in some cultures today.
Freud suggested that men frequently suffered from "castration anxiety" and that male homosexuality could well engender such fears, while female bisexuality would not. Thus, to some extent, the social antipathy to male homosexuality may be based on such primordial fears.
On the other hand, women are taught to be pleasing to men in order to attract a mate, and having been told that men get turned on by girl-girl erotica, they are more likely to engage in lesbian acts in order to please their men. The common male fantasy of a "threesome," i.e. one male and two females, is something that many women learn about and that gives them the impression that men enjoy watching women together. This desire to please may thus encourage women to develop their bisexual interests.
female bisexuality in the media
With the advent of media pornography, watching lesbian porn became widespread among heterosexual males. Men are more likely to be aroused by visual stimuli, and watching two women perform sexual acts on each other suggests that these women are lascivious and sexually receptive. It is also less threatening to them than watching a woman with another man who can be perceived as more virile than they are. In fact, men frequently view lesbian acts as an "appetizer," and imagine that lesbians secretly desire men for their "main meal."
Moreover, there is a myth among males that women cannot be truly satisfied unless they are penetrated with a penis, and in watching lesbian erotica, many men have the fantasy that they can "cure" the participants' homosexual urges with a good screw.
Women do not have similar fantasies about "curing" male homosexuality; thus, the sight of gay porn is not arousing for a woman, as the participants do not suggest any interest in or relevance to her sexual desires. Indeed, women cannot imagine themselves involved in a male-to-male sexual scene; thus, it lacks any power to arouse them.
Fewer primarily heterosexual men and women get aroused by watching male homosexual erotica. The reason men do not get turned on is because homosexual acts may threaten their sense of masculinity. Women almost never get turned on by gay erotica because it often lacks affectionate acts and may include acts women feel ambivalent about -- such as oral and anal sex. Because gay erotica is produced solely for gay men, there is no effort made in such media to portray women playing any role in the sexual activities depicted.
On the other hand, lesbian porn in most often produced for men! Its portrayal of girl-girl activities are frequently shown as preludes to heterosexual love-making; therefore, it is understood as being a stimulant to male passion as much as it is to female desires.
bisexuality and gay culture
While gays and lesbians have made great strides in gaining acceptance in society for their homosexual choices and lifestyles, even winning the right to marry in Spain, Canada, the Low Countries, and Massachusetts, there is still a strong undercurrent of opposition to such sexuality in most of the world. This opposition is fueled by a panoply of evolutionary, biological and sociological factors, and is not easily overcome.
However, the seeming acceptance of female bisexuality, and its growing prevalence in not only porn but in mainstream media, foreshadows a major change in social attitudes. Indeed, one can imagine that girl-girl erotica may be the key that wins the homosexual community its long-sought acceptance as a natural part of human sexuality.
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