"The Sexualized Woman" by Donna Penn

This reading was by far one of the most interesting readings I've read throughout this semester. It was a bit surprising for me to see that lesbians came about in the 1950's. Prostitution and homosexuality were looked down upon from society. Lesbians were referred to as "sexual deviants," but they strayed away from society's norms. They were both grouped together because they were different from the norms of women in the 1950's. Lesbians and prostitutes were outcasts and that is why they were thought of together. As I kept on reading I understood why that was. Both lesbians and prostitutes did not have any attraction to males. Also, they lived a very promiscuous life. Both of these ways were not what was expected from women. These women did not want to get married or have children. Lesbians were also called "butch." These women changed their image to look more masculine for their feminine girlfriends. Everyone tried to figure out why it was these women were going against the norms including police, doctors, and psychoanalysts. Towards the end of the reading, it was interesting to know these women stood up for what they believed in and kept their freedom in a way. Homosexuality have come a long way and in almost every state now a law was passed for same sex marriage. There is still some improvement to be done, but legalizing same sex marriage is a start.