The Heterosexual Community

[poliphilo]

Some Diddy-biddy on the BBC News channel just asked an interviewee how something or other would affect the heterosexual community.  The what? 

I'm a heterosexual. How come I never heard of this community before? Why don't they send me the newsletter? Why don't I get invited to meetings? Where's my club badge? 

Who's our convenor? Peter Stringfellow?  Katie Price?

I want to get out and meet my fellow-heterosexuals. I want to take tea with them. I want to discuss all the pressing concerns we have in common.

What lazy, nonsenical stuff all this talk of "community" is.  The Muslim community, the Chinese community, the gay community, the black community: none of these really exists.

Comments

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

I think polphilo's argument is that they're not communities. If there is a Muslim community, does that make me a member of the Buddhist community or the female community?

Perhaps the meaning of the word is changing, but I still prefer the original meaning of, "a group of interacting people living in a common location."

[ex-redrain.livejournal.com]

I understand his point about the communities, but I do think they exist, at least to a degree, in our imaginations (pulling from Benedict Anderson, there).

Membership in communities is fluid, so to answer your question, I would say "yes" to all three, though that would depend on your choosing to be parts of those communities and those communities' acceptance of your membership.

I'm also thinking about this idea from a U.S. perspective; cultural theory in the U.K. differs from cultural theory here.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Interesting point. If the word "community" means something different in the States then the argument disappears.

[sculptruth.livejournal.com]

I would agree with this but I have to add that in the U.S., these ideas of community are also closely tied to minority; in which case heterosexuality and Caucasian are not exactly rewarded "community" in such a way, as it's a given that the majority are either or both. (whatever that means) Is this what's going on in the U.K.?

The problem for me is what does that idea mean on the surface? You can't always tell who's white, who's not, who's queer. I admit community is necessary for those looking for companionship in a world where signifiers start to blur or disappear; or worse, aren't allowed. But what if those communities start to exclude based on their own set of preconceived ideas?

Community in the U.S. is a complicated mess. You can't just knock on the door and borrow a cup of sugar. There's a lot of paperwork to be done.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

If the Americans start using a word in a certain way the Brits generally follow suit. I object in this case because I think (a) it washes the meaning out of a useful word and (b) it's mendacious. We don't form communities according to skin colour or sexual proclivity, not really. What we do form is alliances- often temporary- aimed at a particular political end. There may be some sense in talking about the black community (say) rejoicing at the election of Barack Obama, but it remains a huge generalisation that- rather insultingly- reduces individuals to units in a vast, undifferentiated mass.

[kutsuwamushi.livejournal.com]

We don't form communities according to skin colour or sexual proclivity

This is different than my experience in the United States.

For example, the Korean immigrants in my town know each other to a much greater extent than the white majority. I can point to local businesses that are popular among Koreans, where they can mingle and speak their own language. There is also a Korean-language church in a nearby town. (The community spans both towns. It began in the other one, but there are more employment and education opportunities here.) Not all of the Koreans are part of this community, I assume, but it's still true that they're much more socially connected to each other than random chance.

At what point does something become a community? Does membership in one community preclude membership in another one?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

In my view communities are small, intimate things. I reckon most of us belong to several.

[kutsuwamushi.livejournal.com]

Reading your other comments, I think I understand better what you mean.

I would still say that we do tend to form communities based on skin color and other attributes, like religion or sexuality. However, there's not one, over-arching community containing all blacks and all queer people, but many smaller ones that have things (and people!) in common.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I think "community" is the wrong word for a large group of people. Maybe I'm being over-fastidious here, but I hate anything that denies people their individuality.

[sculptruth.livejournal.com]

That is unfortunate. Language has huge cultural contexts, and buzzwords sometimes fail because of this. I can understand some crossover, as you've pointed out -- I imagine the black community in the U.K. would rejoice at the election of a black PM and therefore take joy in our election's success. LGBT communities might also make sense, as these issues also cross cultural barriers. I think it would be interesting to see the comparisons culturally, especially since the UK is smaller than the US and the idea of community might be a different thing just by default (and of course, proximity to other countries being closer and changing the idea of community). I think I might be wavering in my opinions, now that I've thought on it some more. I will be coming back to see what other people have to say.

One thing is certain, I'm not sure the idea of a "heterosexual community" would hold much sway in the US either, but I could be wrong.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The fact that we have a language in common misleads us. The USA and Great Britain are as foreign to one another as any other two countries.

The biggest difference is size. The whole of the UK would fit into one of the smaller states. I think this conditions the way we theorize about society.

[sculptruth.livejournal.com]

I would definitely agree with this!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The word community implies intimacy. Yes, and interaction. I'n not sure- in the age of the internet- that we need insist on a shared location- though perhaps cyberspace counts as one. The more people belong to it, the less like a community it becomes.