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Isabella Ramos

Professor Jason Dew

ENGL 1302 280

23 March 2023

The effects of heteronormativity and religion on gender fluidity and LGBT

Even though gender fluidity and LGBTQ issues have been legalized in the western world,

they still appear to face many controversies concerning how they are accepted in society.

Different authors, through different researchers, have developed various hypotheses to show

varied perspectives on LGBTQ acceptance and diversity. Currently, there appear to be complex

conversations concerning how gender, religion, and heteronormativity tend to deal with LGBTQ

issues. In this case, most religious organizations tend to approve heteronormativity which has

deferred to us the idea that believes heterosexuality is the norm and that any other intention

should remain unconventional. As a result, religion has remained skeptical and continues to be

the source of conflict, particularly in the discussion of gender fluidity and LGBTQ rights.

According to Battle & Ashley (2013), heteronormativity is a powerful force frequently utilized to

marginalize LGBTQ identities and gender fluidity. It is an instrument of oppression that limits

people's ability to discover their gender identities. On a similar note, Schnabel, Abdelhadi,

Zaslavsky, Ho, & Torres-Beltran, (2022) try to show that when arguing for LGBTQ rights and

discussing gender fluidity, religion can be a source of contention. In the long run it has been

hypothesized that religion has been used to restrict people's freedom to explore their gender

identities and to excuse discrimination against LGBTQ and gender-nonconforming people.

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According to Rosati et al. (2020) it becomes evident that most people identifying with the

LGBTQ plus community tend to remain silent about their sexuality for fear of being bashed.

Religion has, in most cases, sanitized heteronormativity, leaving no room for other people to

identify with their sexual orientation, particularly those across the LGBTQ community. Most

religious people tend to discriminate against the LGBTQ community, making the social lifestyles

of those who openly identify with these communities very difficult. On a similar note, Ewing et

al. (2020) use the article to support this ideology by claiming that heteronormativity and religion

have exceptionally made it hard for LGBTQ-identifying individuals to come out. As per the

ideas of Ewing et al. (2020), heteronormativity and religion impact LGBT rights and gender

fluidity in African nations.

Male and heterosexual cisgender people reported higher levels of heteronormativity than females

and people who were classified as sexual and gender minorities, according to Giacomazzi et al.'s

(2020) research. This shows that heteronormativity contributes to marginalizing people who

identify as sexual or gender minorities from society. Spirituality is positively correlated with both

heteronormative attitudes and negative identity, according to Wright and Stern's (2016) theories.

This shows that internalized homophobia, a predictor of psychological suffering, may be directly

linked to traditional and affirming spiritual connections. This article sheds light on the

connection between spirituality and sexual minorities and draws attention to the problems with

the notion that spirituality serves as a barrier for such minorities. These articles prove that gender

fluidity and LGBTQ people are significantly impacted by heteronormativity and religion.

This essay highlights that various authors have developed different argumentative perspectives

concerning the impact of religion and heteronormativity on sexual minorities like the LGBTQ

community. Most of the highlighted sources claim that religion and heteronormativity have had a
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grossly negative impact on the well-being of the members of the LGBTQ community. Most

religions and heteronormative ideologies rely on traditional ideas that only approve of two

sexualities in society. However, with continued research and civilization, more people, including

religions, are continuing to accommodate sexual fluidity.

References

Battle, J., & Ashley, C. (2013). Intersectionality, Heteronormativity, and Black Lesbian, Gay,

Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Families. Encyclopedia of Social Work.

doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.158

Evenson, F. (2018). Heteronormativity and Its Impacts on the Identities and Life Experiences of

LGBQ Individuals. PsycEXTRA Dataset. doi:10.1037/e643212012-001

Ewing, D., Brown, A., Mkhize, N., & Msibi, T. (2020). Sexual and gender identities: Violating

norms. Agenda, 34(2), 1-6. doi:10.1080/10130950.2020.1756629

Pollitt, A. M., Mernitz, S. E., Russell, S. T., Curran, M. A., & Toomey, R. B. (2019).

Heteronormativity in the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer young people. Journal

of Homosexuality, 68(3), 522-544. doi:10.1080/00918369.2019.1656032

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Rosati, F., Pistella, J., Nappa, M. R., & Baiocco, R. (2020). The coming-out process in family,

social, and religious contexts among young, middle, and older Italian LGBQ+ adults.

Frontiers in Psychology, 11. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.617217

Scandurra, C., Monaco, S., Dolce, P., & Nothdurfter, U. (2020). Heteronormativity in Italy:

Psychometric characteristics of the Italian version of the Heteronormative attitudes and

beliefs scale. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 18(3), 637-652.

doi:10.1007/s13178-020-00487-1

Schnabel, L., Abdelhadi, E., Zaslavsky, K. A., Ho, J., & Torres-Beltran, A. (2022). Gender,

sexuality, and religion: A critical integrative review and agenda for future research.

doi:10.31235/osf.io/gn8sp

van der Toorn, J., Pliskin, R., & Morgenroth, T. (2020). Not quite over the rainbow: The

unrelenting and insidious nature of heteronormative ideology. Current Opinion in

Behavioral Sciences, 34, 160-165. doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.03.001

Vincent, W., Parrott, D. J., & Peterson, J. L. (2011). Effects of traditional gender role norms and

religious fundamentalism on self-identified heterosexual men's attitudes, anger, and

aggression toward gay men and lesbians. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 12(4),

383-400. doi:10.1037/a0023807

Wright, A. J., & Stern, S. (2016). The role of spirituality in sexual minority identity. Psychology

of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 3(1), 71-79. doi:10.1037/sgd0000139