Is Kink Oppressed? Is it Oppressed like ____?

Serious discussion! First, some definitions. It’s useful to be on the same page so to speak… Kaya got me going.

Oppression and Discrimination. Normative.

Kink. Subculture and Passing.

Main stream (US) culture can be described as hetero-normative and Christian. This means people are assumed to be heterosexual and anything else is abnormal. This means that people are assumed to be some part of the Christian religion and anything else is different, abnormal, or not accepted. The main stream culture is also the dominant culture. Subcultures are not dominant cultures and might be countercultures. Left to my own devices I cannot come up with any subcultures which are countercultures. I’m also not sure I completely agree with Wikipedia’s definition of subculture.

To further build upon main stream culture ideals, people are expected to marry someone of the opposite sex and then raise children and provide for these children. (This goes along with Christian values as well, and why I mentioned religion above.) If the couple cannot have children, for medical reasons, then they should feel guilt for not being able to have child/children. People ascribing to main stream culture will also place importance in hard work, financial success and individuality/independence. Depending on your argument, anyone who is a part of mainstream culture is also white, or a WASP.

Therefore, anyone how is not white, not Protestant (no Catholics), not heterosexual and actually interested in sex for other reasons besides children (or improving his or her marriage?) then he or she is not part of main stream culture.

Ok. So, moving on to kink. Oppression is more than just a people at large oppressing a group of people. There are different levels of oppression just as there are different levels of discrimination. Oppression is all about power, anyone can be oppressed. Society is full of tales of oppression. Blacks enslaved. Native Indians enslaved. Japanese-Americans put in interment camps around WWII. Women not able to vote. Gays not able to marry. Catholics not able to practice their religion.

Because of oppression, discrimination, and overall negative social consequence people have learned the skill known as passing. To simplify it, passing is anything that actually goes against an individual’s identity but makes it easier for that individual to be accepted by any specific social group. Since that’s probably not that simple how about some examples? If someone is black, but light skinned and does nothing to enforce their racial identity of black then he or she is passing as white. Or, an example more on topic, I identity myself as bisexual, but I pass as heterosexual. I am assumed to be heterosexual since I am married (to a man). I am assumed to be heterosexual because that’s normal. I do nothing to correct any assumptions and implications made by other people. Same goes for not being married. Anything that isn’t true that makes it easier to go/get through a social situation.

I think the problem here is actually using the word oppressed and comparing the differing degrees of oppression in society. The word oppressed has connotations of the Jews being oppressed by the Nazis or blacks being oppressed by the white man. It’s a big nasty, scary word. But, by definition, kink is oppressed. What I disagree with is comparing each subculture, social group, racial group, gender, or ethnic group and its experience to other experiences of other groups. That cannot be done.

The oppression of kink cannot be compared to the oppression of human rights. However, that does not mean “kink” is not oppressed.

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I left this sit for a few days so I could go back to it. Revise it, etc. Originally I was thinking I was going to add more. But I don’t remember what that was.. and it seems ok like it is so I’ll just go with it.