Sexual Orientation Chaoter 9

What is sexual orientation? 🧠❤

It's a biological, physical, and romantic attraction to others. It reflects how someone is wired from birth and is not a choice.

What is the only aspect of identity that is social, not biological? ⚖🧍‍♂🧍‍♀

GENDER It’s based on society’s expectations and roles assigned at birth. It involves how people are taught to behave as “masculine” or “feminine.”

How was same-sex attraction viewed socially in the past? ⚠📜

It was labeled as a crime or deviance. Some laws punished any sexual activity that couldn’t lead to childbirth. Society treated it as unnatural.

How did society treat homosexuality as a mental illness? 💊⚡🧠

It was believed to be curable. People were subjected to therapy, electric shock, medication, and even brain surgery in attempts to “fix” them.

What happened in 1978 regarding views on same-sex attraction? 🧬🌈

It became more widely accepted as something people are born with. It was no longer considered an illness but a natural, biological part of identity.

What’s the difference between sex and sexual orientation? 🚻❤

One is about physical biology, while the other is about who someone is attracted to. People can live lives that don’t match their attraction (ex: people attracted to the same sex may live with someone of the opposite sex).

How is sexuality shaped? 🌍📖

It's influenced by culture. What is seen as normal, acceptable, or deviant depends on society’s values and norms.

What did Michel Foucault say about the body and culture? 🧠⚖

He said our physical selves are shaped by society. There's no version of the body that exists without culture—everything about the body is socially constructed.

What limits a person's control over their body, according to Foucault? 🛑📜

The law and the government have the power to decide what people can or can’t do with their bodies. Individual freedom over the body is restricted by authority.

How is sex tied to power dynamics? ⚖💋

It's often about control—one group (usually men) has historically had dominance over another (usually women), shaping sexual expectations and roles.

What does Marxist Feminism say about the power of sex? 💪♀

It argues that sex is a source of power used by and against women in a system where men have long held authority.

Why is missionary position considered the 'accepted' form of sex? ✝🛐

Religious influence, particularly Christian values, taught that anything else was perverted or unnatural.

What is Compulsory Heterosexuality? 👩‍❤‍👨🔁

It's the assumption that everyone is straight, which supports a culture where heterosexuality is treated as the default or normal identity.

How is sexuality socially constructed through colonialism? 🌍⛪

Colonizers labeled anything outside Christian sexual norms as perverse, forcing their beliefs onto other cultures.

What did Alfred Kinsey do in 1948? 📘👀

He published a sexual survey that asked taboo questions, showing people they weren’t alone in their experiences and desires.

What happened during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s? 🦠🚨

The disease became unfairly linked with homosexuality, leading to increased homophobia and violence, even though it wasn't exclusive to one group.