In an argumentative manner, would you agree or disagree with the following statement: "The age-old 'top/bottom' dichotomy reverberates from a heteronormative society, where men are supposed to assume a male role, and women likewise; such a society, due to a patriarchal groupthink tradition, where the male is placed in a position of privilege, and the female is marginalised as "less"—important, valuable, powerful—, the concept of a "top/bottom" denotes a hierarchy where "top" = "higher", "bottom" = "lower", which evidentiates a representation of such a patriarchical mentality." If you were to choose an alternative, which would you choose and why (argument)? (a) Strongly agree; (b) Agree; (c) Disagree; (d) Strongly disagree. Thank you for your answers and have a nice day!
Um, this assumes that there's more to being a top or bottom than simply the sexual position one enjoys. We can overlay all sorts of unnecessary theory on top of it, but at the end of the day, many gay men enjoy what they enjoy because it feels good, not because of stigmas imposed on them by society. Further, I suspect that a pretty significant portion of gay men are at least somewhat vers, and that preferences, again, have more to do with what one enjoys than on a position imposed by society.
I'm a woman, not a gay man. But I think I'm still qualified to answer this question since I well versed with how women were oppressed long ago. So here goes; My answer is that I strongly disagree. To me, being top or bottom has nothing to do with being sexually dominant or submissive. They are neutral acts. The top can dominate the bottom by his attitude and behavior. He can show disrespect to the bottom, call him names, or stick it in forcefully. Sometimes this is perfectly consensual, such as through BDSM agreements. HOWEVER, the bottom can also dominate the TOP. He can do this by calling the top awful names, spanking him, fingering his ass, telling him how to fuck correctly, and then threatening him if he does wrong. He can control the penetration (cowboy position), or rock back and forth, moaning loudly, while the top stays passive the whole time. This is called being a power bottom. Penetration can also be neutral. It can be seen as an act of love, passion, or pleasure, that people just like because of personal preference. Men can also be vers with one another, and trade sides with penetration. Making it even more of an equal/giving act. There's nothing heteronormative about it, It's just how some people choose to have sex. That being said, you are correct that we lived in a society that being a bottom was a stigma. For both genders actually. Men because it made them "feminine/weak", women were forced to do it to be normal, but were still disrespected in that role. But that's just stuff society made up to oppress women and liken gay men to women. I also understand how penetrating can seem dominant because It's very vulnerable and the top is active. But I personally view it as situational by behavior (see above). The top can still stay passive, or kiss and be loving to the bottom, none of which is about male patriarchy. The patriarchy has hurt women and gay men for many years, including beliefs like this. But if you really want to get rid of it and be equal, the correct answer is to stop treating penetrating like a degrading, staining act rather than ridding of it all together.
I've never thought of it as a sign of privilege or repesentation of who's the male or female. I've always thought it was the sex position. I'm predominantly a top, but I want to bottom sometimes. I'm just not use to it yet. My position is clear: I strongly disagree.
