California prof: Heterosexuality is ‘tragic’
A University of California-Riverside professor spoke out against heterosexuality, calling it a "tragedy."
She listed several reasons for her assertion, including that it encourages men to objectify women.
A professor at the University of California-Riverside called heterosexuality “tragic” and stated that men are often pulled into toxic masculinity because of it.
University of California-Riverside Gender and Sexuality Studies Professor Jane Ward was recently featured in an Insider article titled, “Why heterosexual relationships are so bad for us, according to a sex researcher” in which she told the outlet that heterosexuality “tragic.”
Ward has also authored a book called The Tragedy of Heterosexuality.
”It really looks like straight men and women don’t like each other very much, that women spend so much time complaining about men, and we still have so much evidence of misogyny,” or woman-hating behavior, Ward told Insider. “From an LGBT perspective, [being straight] looks actually very tragic.”
The article cites an uptick in divorces and relationship problems among straight couples since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
”I think in some ways the pandemic is revealing the tragedy of heterosexuality to people who might not have otherwise paid attention to it,” said Ward.
The article goes on to list Ward’s reasons for being outspoken against heterosexuality, which are also found in her book.
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One individual stated in Ward’s book that she finds it “depressing” that her friends “put up with” this from men.
”I find it depressing to see what my straight female friends put up with regarding treatment from men. I really sympathize with these women, but at the same time it makes me feel alienated from them,” she says in Ward’s book.
Ward then reasons that gender reveals and weddings are disasters in the heterosexual dynamic due to incidents like wildfires and coronavirus outbreaks. Ward insists that another “tragedy” of heterosexuality is that straight men are pushed to objectify women.
Ward describes a “misogyny paradox” that she claims leads straight men to struggle to respect women, says that men are seen as “more masculine’” when they objectify women.
”I think that if men could recognize that equity and feminism are actually really central to a healthy and happy relationship, if that’s something they want, then they might be able to move further in that direction,” Ward told Insider.
Campus Reform spoke briefly with Ward about her book. Ward says she wrote the book because she “loves straight couples” and wants better for them.
“I wrote this book because I love straight people, and because the research on heterosexual marital satisfaction over the life course shows that straight couples are struggling to balance work and family obligations and this leads to frustration and resentment for many straight women, in particular,” Ward told Campus Reform in an email.
Ward declined to respond to additional inquiries for her solution to the problems she raises in her book.
The University of California-Riverside did not respond to Campus Reform’s request for comment.
According to the University of California-Riverside’s website, Ward teaches courses focusing on feminist, queer, and heterosexuality studies.
The school sponsored an event promoting Ward’s book in November.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @_AddisonSmith1
