Early childhood education has historically been an atmosphere conducive to heterosexism. As a result, gay and lesbian students find themselves ostracized by their peers. Such animosity is learned from family, teachers, and peers and is assimilated by th ese young and impressionable minds. Patriarchy is the driving force behind this type of oppression. America, as a male dominated society, has created a system whereby all expected to be heterosexual. Society rarely creates support systems for gay and lesb ian children because of the dominant male perspectives entrenched into the minds of our citizenry. The main point in this article is that through omissions and distortions, educators are failing to produce an atmosphere conducive to the well being of homosexuals. It proceeds to state that since gays and lesbians are not a part of the dominant culture, they will be ignored because of patriarchal controls. The article states that since there is "heterosexual privilege," all people who are not heterosexual are second class and are not given the same educational advocacy. A problem exists because men are attempting to suppress homosexuality due to the fact that homophobia is a vital component of maintaining the status-quo of patriarchy.

There are several key variables in the article being brought into the equation. One states that heterosexism pervades academia resulting in gay students being oppressed. This variable supports the theory that without homophobia, the patriarchal basis for our society would be lost. It implies that one can not co-exist without the other. Another variable states that society supports the patriarchal definitions of male and female behavior. Since gays and lesbians violate the patriarc hal definition, homophobia is used to counter this movement. The final variable is that education is an institution based on democracy. Since society is largely heterosexual, maintaining said structure is of utmost importance to the majority. In a democr acy, the majority rules which leaves the minority without support. Since America is based on patriarchy, the author says that gay citizens are unable to get fair treatment because they are part of an under represented minority who violate the basic premi ses of our societal base.

When dealing with patriarchy and homophobia, one usually finds a complex relationship exists between these variables. One relationships is using homophobia to bolster support for a patriarchal based society. Homosexuality i s seen as a threat to the stability of the patriarchy. Behavior viewed as threatening the statability of a culture will be met with resistance. This type of resistance is present when faculty refuse to teach gay sexuality in a positive light because th e faculty member's "values system" is being violated. The value system being used stresses the importance of patriarchy. When gays and lesbians have intimacy with people of the same sex, this violates the the norms of patriarchal sex appropriate behavi or. The data which supports the aforementioned finding is based in the knowledge that educational institutions treat gay and lesbian students as second class because of the ignorance and lack of motivation to correct the problem. Motivation is lacking bec ause society has firmly entrenched the ideals of a patriarchal societal structure. Anything deemed as contrary to patriarchy will be suppressed to the best of the majority's ability. In the article, this type of suppression is mentioned repeatedly as a wa y to ensure that homosexuality does not threaten the patriarchal value system we have learned to operate within.

Using the research and findings, I find the data and findings valid and reliable. This opinion is based on the fact that society always t ries to maintain dominant cultural beliefs. When people feel threatened by something antithetical to their beliefs, hostility will result as correction for the perceived problem. Homophobia is used to maintain patriar chal dominance. Society has demonstrated its ability to suppress homosexuals and initiatives to protect against discrimination. Such a bitter fight would not be warranted without the public perceiving a threat to existing value systems. Since our society is based on patriarchal ideals, to keep society inherently heterosexual, the patriarchy must scare people into compliance. This association can be deemed reliable because of the evidence presented in the article stating that "[t]he daily worlds of elemen tary school teach sexual scripts for appropriate gender arrangements during adolescence and adulthood." The word in question is "appropriate." Since heterosexuality is deemed to be the "appropriate" arrangement, homosexuality must be deemed inappropriate. When patriarchy is being "threatened," curriculum must be adapted to discourage activities which are not mainstream. Omission and neglect are tools used in the classroom to discourage students from behaving in ways which are against popular beliefs. A positive relationship exists between homophobia and patriarchy being reliant on each other for the survival of patriarchy.

The theoretical basis occurring in this instance is that since a majority of people disapprove of homosexuality, they have a s trong basis for promoting homophobia which will, in turn, address the concern of society that all citizens view heterosexuality as the norm. Associated to homophobia would be to look at the basis of what our society holds as valuable -- our established patriarchy. When I look at homophobia and why it still exists regardless of medical research indicating that sexual orientation is generically based, I conclude that one reason homophobia continues is due to the value society puts on its patriarchal foun dation. When homophobia is tied to the beliefs of American society, it is obvious that the patriarchal aspects of our society is continues to fuel homophobia and the current debate over sexual orientation.

My personal reaction to the article is that the author was correct in assuming that homophobia and patriarchy are intertwined and necessary to the continuance of patriarchy. Educators have suppressed gay students to the point of making educational institutions ones which can be hostile and danger ous. In educational curriculum, most faculty make heterosexuality the norm and don't include acceptable alternatives. The patriarchy which is incorporated into society has created people who are denying gays access to support structures automatically give n to heterosexuals. When patriarchal society perpetuates homophobia, it demonstrates that homosexuality is viewed as a threat to the unstated policies dictating that men are supreme. If students are educated with gay positive materials, many of these inst ances of bias would be reduced because increased understanding would occur as a result of open interaction. The article does an excellent job at showing how homophobia is a method of assuring that patriarchal goals are advanced by the utilization of homop hobia.

Looking at the evidence and the research findings, I conclude that the article contains some bias. The basis for this opinion lies in the fact that all the evidence linking patriarchy to homophobia is speculation. Although the evidence is st rong, I am unable to find researched connections linking the pair. Most educators will admit that homophobia is a result of patriarchy, but evidence is lacking in the article to draw a firm conclusion. I find the research fascinating and probably correc t but have trouble drawing the same conclusions. Evidence is lacking in substance which leads me to believe that bias is being injected into the research. Incidents of bias are prevalent in research projects. Without injecting the researchers opinions, a hypothesis would be difficult to establish. The article was well written and contained great research which resulted in a fine piece of literature uncovering an educational dilemma.


Hill, R. J. (1995). Gay discourse in adult education: A critical review. Adult Education Quarterly, 45, (3), 142-158.