Covering Part 1

An Uncovered Self

Yoshino uses a poetic tone in his memoir about his experiences, in order to define his sexuality and how he came to terms with who he is. He mentions his college life and his feelings being a Japanese American and being a closeted homosexual.  Yoshino discusses his internal conflicts with identification and how he struggled to embrace the many different aspects of himself. Yoshino states “Until then, I had been splendidly noncommittal; neither Japanese nor American, neither poet nor pragmatist, neither straight nor gay” (7). This is the beginning of the “covering” process, which Yoshino describes as identifying and accepting a stigma, but keeping that stigma contained within one’s self (18). Yoshino goes on to describe his professional life, and how he had to “cover” himself in that because it was okay to be a homosexual, but he couldn’t necessarily talk about things relating to that, as that would be deemed as negative. In this chapter, Yoshino introduces the concept of covering and sets the tone for the rest of the book as he raises the question of covering being a civil rights issue and the negative effects of assimilation.

Part 1

1) Gay Conversion

In this part, Yoshino mention a brief history of Gay, and how in the past, it was diagnosed as a mental illness, and people would attempt to convert homosexuals into heterosexuals. Surgeries were performed on homosexuals as a method for them overcoming their feelings towards other men, which is completely absurd and mind boggling. In the early 1900s, homosexuals were given shock therapy to “convert” them to the “normal standard”, which is heterosexual. Yoshino goes on to question these tactics of “converting an individual”, and how these forms of therapy were ineffective and that it is not something that can be changed by physical treatment, it is something innate. The literal mental illness model states that, heterosexuals spread homosexuality through bad parenting, and the Contagion model states that gays pass on homosexuality through their interactions. Yoshino mentions how after gay rights activism became more prominent, they seeked to “convert” the view of traditional psychologists and doctors, that homosexuality is not a disease or a mental illness. An interesting argument is when Yoshino writes “Although the idea of homosexuality as a literal disease (a mental illness) has faded, the idea of homosexuality as a figurative disease (a disfavored contagious condition) has endured” (45). I believe this is the main argument of this whole chapter, as it mentions that despite homosexuality being undeclared as a mental illness, it is still stigmatized into a behavior and a culture that seeks for conversion of an individual. Yoshino goes on to state that “Conversion is the ultimate demand for assimilation-while passing and covering leave the underlying identity relatively intact, conversion destroys it” (49). He concludes this chapter by stating that conversion destroys the identity because the ultimate goal is to assimilate within society and leave yourself behind.

2) Gay Passing

This is sort of the next phase in the covering theory, and Yoshino uses his experience of falling in love and coming out to his parents to describe and summarize it. His coming out to his parents was a rather profound experience in which they were supportive and expressed their love for their child, though they weren’t been necessarily happy with the choice. He mentions the concept of an “open secret”, kind of like an elephant in the room, that people were aware of his sexual orientation but no one seemed to acknowledge it or even mention it. He mentions how many times being gay just passes through conversation and people would rather ignore the fact than face the idea head on. Thus he introduces the concept of “passing”, in which though homosexuals are allowed to be gay, they can’t really acknowledge it or everyone stays silent, and thus they “pass” through life. Yoshino mentions the “Dont Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in which homosexuals cannot be discriminated in the army for being homosexual, but they can be excluded for coming out. His argument in this chapter, is that if someone has a right to be a certain kind of person, then they have the right to verbally and physically express who they are without any repercussions (70). He also states the First Amendment should protect anyone who identifies as gay, and that it is a civil rights violation for people to have to hide who they are.

3) Gay Covering

In this chapter, Yoshino introduces the third phase, which is the “covering”. Basically, despite coming out to most of his friends and family, Yoshino still was constricted as he couldn’t be expressive of his relationship, as a heterosexual couple would be and that would be deemed as acceptable. The covering stage, deals with how much an individual assimilates into the mainstream and how they have to “act straight” in order to fit in. Yoshino mentions how gays acting in a normal relationship such as public displays of affection is seen as questionable, even though it is accepted in a heterosexual relationship. Yoshino states in his main argument “Covering is a strategy of assimilation available to all groups, including but not limited to the classic civil rights groups of racial minorities, women, religious minorities, and people with disabilities. These four axes are the fundamental dimensions along which we all mute or flaunt our identities” (79). Yoshino argues that in the “covering” process, it is okay to identify as gay and be publicly known as that, but you cannot reveal personal aspects of yourself, so essentially you are covering yourself from the outside world. He mentions his first relationship, as an example of this. He basically states  that homosexuality is a form of selective uptake, and that people pick and choose what aspects to be accepted and reject notions that seem contradictory to them. For example, gays in fashion is something that is not only accepted but praised, but any gay relationship is rather silenced and secluded. Covering is another form of the “Dont ask, Don’t tell” policy because you cannot really discuss your personal life, as a heterosexual would. He relates “gay” as being a performance, and that people judge the authenticity of yourself if you do not adhere to those stigmatized norms restricted by society. Yoshino ends this part with calling for change and reform, and calling for a resistance to assimilation, by mentioning the harms of it.

Overall, I really enjoyed the reading. I like how Yoshino broke down the process of covering by referencing his personal memoir and instances in the law, to show how homosexuals are constrained by society despite being somewhat accepted. I do believe that his covering theory can be applied to all “minority groups”, because to a certain extent there is a degree of selective uptake, in which people pick and choose what aspects of the culture or the people they like, and silence the other ones. What do you guys think about part one? Do you agree with Yoshino’s arguments?

Rethinking Transphobia and Power- Beyond a Rights Framework

In this chapter of Normal Life, Spade defines power as a methods of overcoming discrimination and relates power to the functioning of society and as to why certain laws and policies are more effective than others. Using the framework of Michael Foucault, Spade identifies three modes of power relative to specific contexts including trans vulnerability and promotes reform through the definition of power. According to Spade, one must understand the idea of power in order to have a progressive society and combat discrimination (Spade 108).

The three modes of power are as follows:

1) Perpetrator/Victim Power: Exclusion and Subtraction

In this first category, power is seen as “violation requiring remediation” (Spade 102). In this instance, power functions as a form of “subtraction” because things such as property, health, etc are taken away from people because of the perpetrators themselves or their actions (Spade 103). However, this mode brings up lots of criticisms because it doesn’t seem to account for the inequality of the entire population. Foucault brings up the idea that power is just more than deduction, it is the ability to establish and enforce certain forces and make them stronger (Spade 103). Relating this back to trans, Spade asserts that certain bureaucracies give life chances and opportunities at the expense of others, but this is tolerable because it is under a legal standpoint that supposedly promote equality. In order for us to understands transphobia and other forms of discrimination, we must understand power.

2) Disciplinary Power: Norms of Good Behavior and Ways of Being

This mode of power constitutes how certain practices such as racism and transphobia formulate the “norms” within a society and how a person should act. These norms are enforced through laws and policy making strategies which in turn influence thinking and socialization of an individual. Through disciplinary power, individuals are taught as to what makes a person a “good” person and individuals acquire characteristics that are functional in society. This is also used to explain labeling and how people are labelled as certain types of people, based on their actions. For example, having labels such as gay, straight, and lesbian which seem to dictate a person, even though they just someone’s personal preference. According to Spade, these labels are what constitute the norms within a society and further enforced through the law and bureaucracies (Spade 106). Foucault also mentioned violence as a means of social control and formation of norms. Resistance to these concrete norms such as feminists, gay rights activists, etc promote alternative ways of being just as legitimate as a “standard norm” (Spade 108). Spade concludes this mode of power through criticism and states that law reform is ineffective in altering these established norms and it leaves these stigmatized standards prevalent.

3) Population-Management Power: The Distribution of Life Chances

This form of power is based on the idea of security and insecurity (Spade 110).Certain laws and policies are enacted that supposedly promote the well-being of the nation but according to Spade they just define the terms of normality and constitute who is is a normal person and who is a threat to society (Spade 110). Basic ideals such as social security, identity documentation, migration policies, property ownership, etc dictate social control and how a “normal” person is identified and how a possible “other” is seen. These concrete ideas are what set the framework for a “moral panic”, because the norm for a citizen is identified and anyone who defies that is seen as a threat which will cause moral uproar in society. This is specifically used in the cases of racialization of the law and how racial and gender exclusion is used as a method of targeting a certain group through legal operations. For example, reducing public assistance and welfare programs, as a way of targeting the black single mothers who “cheat” the system (Spade 112). The legality in this instance is just used as a means of expressing power, and controlling the population into what those who hold power want. Life chances are distributed to populations that display the ideal characteristics of those who have power (Spade 113). This method of power is used to explain the racial wealth divide, as life chances are offered to a small population of white people and the colored race is left with little opportunity for economic mobility, which leaves everyone in a limbo (Spade 114). Population control is one step above disciplinary power because it dictates what is normal for a whole population, rather than the individual. Population control is specifically seen in the cases of poor and colored populations as an exemplification of what is deemed as normal and what is seen as defying or challenging the system. Major criticisms of this model are the fact that this is not specific to the individual and it does not address how certain populations are disadvantaged because of these set laws and dictations.

Relating these methods of power to Trans 

Trans activists have studied how the formulation of disciplinary norms leaves trans people disadvantaged because it forces them to conform to certain gender standards and without that they are deficient in rights such as employment, social services, and medical needs. Spade also analyzes the trans issues in terms of population control. Spade states that altering the law such as decriminalizing sodomy, and making hate crime laws inclusive to sexual orientation, will not alter people’s mindset (Spade 125). Spade states that explicitly changing the law will cause a further race/class divide amongst lesbians and gays which is a negative effect of “reform” (Spade 125). Spade enforces the idea that power, control, and population distribution are essential for reform of trans politics, not just issuing anti-discrimination laws and inclusion laws. Law must be studied in the terms of power and what repercussions it has on the greater population, and this is the way that specific practices can be targeted, and better yet, improved.

I believe that though this was a heavy and complex reading, it provided a lot of insight for reform and change. By using the framework of Foucault, Spade successfully established the guidelines for progression and gaining a sense of stability.