The Detrimental Nature Of Covering Sexual Orientation

Zach Farley Professor Victoria Kill Uncovering Civil Rights 14 October 2014 The Detrimental Nature of Covering Sexual Orientation Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights, a book by a Professor of Constitutional Law at the NYU School of Law, Kenji Yoshino details a specific version of assimilation called covering. Yoshino defines covering as â€Å"[toning] down a disfavored identity to fit into the main stream† (Yoshino ix). As a gay man of Japanese descent living in the United States, Yoshino feels both internal and societal pressure to assimilate into â€Å"typical† American culture by covering himself along four primary axes: appearance, affiliation, activism and association. This societal expectation to cover one’s homosexuality†¦show more content†¦Yoshino states â€Å"[†¦] assimilation is not an escape from discrimination, but precisely its effect† (Yoshino, The Pressure to Cover). The incorrect notion that covering is an acceptable way to limit discrimination is one almost unique to the expression of o ne’s sexual orientation. This form of discrimination is one that is less pronounced than its counter parts but is equally harmful. The harm comes for the dilution and eventual destruction of gay culture caused by the societal pressure to act â€Å"straight†. Forcing the gay community to act straight should not be crowned as a solution to homophobia just as â€Å"When a Jew is forced to convert to Protestantism, for instance, we do not celebrate that as an evasion of anti-Semitism† (Yoshino, The Pressure to Cover). It is not a solution to homophobia because homophobia has not been dispelled; it merely limits the number of possible targets. The only solution is one through significant societal and political change. To Yoshino the stigma against flaunting falls within the same category as the stigma against covering, and views both as, â€Å"as much an assault on a gay individual’s civil rights as the 1981 case in which an African-American woman was fired by American Airlines for wearing her hair in cornrows† (Frey, â€Å"Introducing Kenji Yoshino†). This more specific form of forced assimilation only helps to further the idea that the majority is able to dictate â€Å"how gay† someone is able to act or