Heteronormativity

Olde Town Augusta

Historic Magnolia Cemetery

"Godfrey Lauterbach

Sept. 22, 1827- April 5, 1891"

Historic Magnolia Cemetery

"Catherine Lauterbach

Sept. 29, 1837- Nov. 25, 1925"

"Mitchell

Hogrefe Eluid Mitchell

Aug. 21, 1909- Aug. 8, 1960

His Wife

Ruth Eleanor Jordan

Mar. 15, 1910- Jan. 7, 2002"

These are pictures of a few gravesites in the Magnolia Cemetery on 3^rd Street in Olde Town. As one can see, they are graves of spouses. I was interested in cemeteries because graves usually show families and represent heteronormativity up until the current era.

“Heteronormativity structures social life so that heterosexuality is always assumed, expected, ordinary, and privileged,” (Martin 316) so most of the society that surrounds us promotes heterosexual relationships and romance as what is normal and expected. This leaves many groups of people out of representation in society, such as different genders, different sexual orientations, different races and different classes. Heteronormativity is common in magazine advertisements: thin, rich, white, young women or men appealing to the opposite sex. It is a very skewed outlook on society. In the Magnolia Cemetery, Catherine and Godfrey are buried side by side indicating that they were very important to one another. Also, it represents that is was socially accepted and expected to be married and buried next to one’s spouse. Hogrefe and Ruth Mitchell were buried side by side and the tombstone reads, “his wife,” implying how important her role as wife was. These graves are examples of heteronormativity in our society: men and women are husband and wife and they are buried next to one another in death.  Isn't Ruth more than a wife?  Skip to "Intersectionality."