The heterosexual matrix explains an invisible norm which does not seem to be constructed but comes across as natural. Essentially, it is a norm that describes all people and entities as heterosexual unless proved otherwise. Heterosexual matrix is a policing mechanism since being a normal boy or girl entails actively following and investing in heterosexual relations and identities.
Examples of Heterosexual Matrix
The first example of heterosexual matrix is the perception that girls should play with dolls while boys should play with action figures. This tendency is an implied norm that boys and girls subscribe to ( Paechter, 2018) . Essentially, a girl who plays with action figures is seen as deviant. Likewise, a boy who plays with dolls is seen as queer. Therefore, the toys that children play with are an unstated rule that acts as a police mechanism for heterosexual identities.
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The second example pertains to sports. Typically men’s’ sports are perceived as better than women’s’ sports since men are naturally stronger and more aggressive than females. The fact that men sports are more popular than female sport’s demonstrates the policing effect of the heterosexual matrix (Patil, 2017). The poling effect castigates women as weaker; hence, there is no way that they can be better at sports than men. While men may be stronger and more aggressive, it does not mean that they are necessarily better at playing a sport than women. The idea is merely based on an invisible norm.
These two examples effectively demonstrate the heterosexual matrix. They lead to the inference that heterosexual matrix is a policing mechanism since being a normal boy or girl entails actively following and investing in heterosexual relations and identities. A person who contradicts the heterosexual matrix is seen as deviant as they are going against a dominant social ideology.
References
Patil, V. (2018). The heterosexual matrix as imperial effect. Sociological Theory , 36 (1), 1-26.
Paechter, C. (2017). Young children, gender and the heterosexual matrix. Discourse: studies in the cultural politics of education , 38 (2), 277-291.
