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Reigning men: where Latino heterocentrism comes from and why we need to get rid of it

11/17/2011 By 4 Comments

A recent comment posted to my article on fatherlessness has prompted me to discuss the issue of heterocentrism and its effect on the Latino community.

Before I begin, let me define what I mean by heterocentrism. Heterocentrism is a set of prejudices and discriminatory practices which posit heterosexuality as the norm and non-heterosexuality as abnormal and, thus, inferior. It is implied by the term heterosexism, and vice versa – just as white supremacy is implied by the term racism, and vice versa. Heterocentrists believe the only proper, working relationships are those based on heterosexual pairings and view any form of non-heteronormative relationship as an aberration. Such a perception then leads heterocentrists to oppose gay marriage rights, gay adoption rights, or any kind of civil rights that would place non-heterosexuality on par with heterosexuality.

That said, it’s clear that heterocentrism is a cornerstone of traditional Latino culture, as much as Catholicism and family values are. In fact, that heterocentrism, Catholicism and the importance of family are key characteristics of Latino society is no coincidence, since all three tend to feed into one another. Catholicism, for example, is unabashedly heterocentric and family based; it’s even unabashedly male-centric and patriarchal. The three persons embodying the Holy Trinity – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost – are all perceived to be masculine, and good Catholics seek guidance by their father behind the pulpit while they pray to their father in heaven. Plus, that the Catholic Church condemns all forms of non-heteronormativity and non-monogamy should go without saying.

Yet, I would not go so far as to blame Catholicism for Latino heterocentrism, because a disconcerting majority of Latinos, Catholic or not, subscribe to heterocentrism in all its ignorant glory. Heterocentrism is the primary cause behind our community’s rampant homophobia, which makes the macho man an idol in any household and labels the less-than-macho man as persona non grata. Gay brothers and sisters, gay mothers and fathers, gay relatives, gay friends, gay members of the community: anyone who falls outside the heterocentric model is marginalized, ignored, and forgotten.

Fortunately, heterocentrism is losing its once solid grip on the Latino community. As newer generations of Latinos begin self-identifying as non-heteronormative and many more begin identifying with the LGBT community’s struggle for gay rights, the main opponent to Latino heterocentrism seems to be time. It’s to be expected, then, that successive generations of Latinos are also less religious and less family-oriented – or at least less in a rush to marry and have children – than their parents were. (In an effort to avoid applying a Whig history model to changing patterns in the Latino community, I’ll admit that I don’t know what accounts for the community’s progression toward enlightenment ideals. But this progression seems to be occurring outside the Latino community, as well.)

Still, those of us who know better can’t afford to sit idly by and wait for the Latino community to completely snap out of its heterocentrism. Time can only do so much. It’s up to those so appalled by heterocentrism, machismo and homophobia to see that they are erased from our collective mind.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyIrPFntrqM]

Filed Under: Cultura
About Hector Luis Alamo, Jr.

Hector Luis Alamo, Jr., is the associate editor at Being Latino and a native son of Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood. He received a B.A. in history at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where his concentration was on ethnic relations in the United States. While at UIC, he worked first as a staff writer for the Chicago Flame and later became the newspaper's Opinions editor. He contributes to various Chicago-area publications, most notably, the RedEye and Gozamos. He's also a cultural critic for 'LLERO magazine. He has maintained a personal blog since 2007, YoungObservers.blogspot.com, where he discusses topics ranging from political history and philosophy to culture and music.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and should not be understood to be shared by Being Latino, Inc.

Comments

  1. Jennifer Larancuent says:
    11/17/2011 at 9:23 am

    thank you for writing this important article!

  2. gg says:
    11/19/2011 at 1:30 am

    I enjoyed reading this. Thanks for the great piece.

Trackbacks

  1. Being Latino, among other things | Being Latino Online Magazine says:
    12/21/2011 at 8:30 am

    [...] There is also the plight of the countless Latino Americans who demand nothing more than the rights afforded to all Americans, namely, the right to love and marry the persons of their choosing without reproach from their neighbors and their government. I’m talking, of course, about the millions of Latinos who are, by their natural and inalienable right, non-heteronormative. As is well-documented, members of the LGBT community across the country are regularly derided and shunned by members of their family, members of their community and members of the national leadership. Many are driven toward hopeless despair and suicide. Sadly, the Latino community is one of the worst offenders. [...]

  2. The brighter colors of the rainbow: dating within your gender says:
    04/03/2012 at 8:00 am

    [...] We live in a heteronormative society. Most people assume and/or expect others to be straight, especially in our Latino Culture. Heterosexuals, as the majority of the population, have been calling the shots for a long [...]

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