Sexuality and identity

Heteronormative

The concept that heterosexuality is the preferred or normal sexual orientation

Quinn (2001) – same-sex relationships of tribal people

• many Native American tribes celebrated same-sex marriage between 2 males, with the ‘wife’ being a feminine acting ‘berdache’ who dressed in female clothing, and between two females, where the ‘husband’ was a dominant ‘Amazon’ who participated in my activities and was often a female warrior

• some sub-Sahara African people have man-boy marriage ceremonies. These African ‘boy-wives’ are between 12 and 20 years of age and the boy-wife is treated in the same way as a female wife. When he becomes a man, he becomes a warrior, and takes a boy-wife of his own

the Kinsey reports (1948, 1953)

(USA) found that homosexual encounters amongst both men and women were much more common than many people would have imagined, at a time when homosexuality was still classified as a mental illness in the USA. 37% of men had had a homosexual experience to the point of an orgasm.Less than 4% were exclusively a homosexual

weeks (1987)

Coming out as gay/lesbian makes a statement about belonging

weeks (1991)

sexual identification is a strange thing and is more complex than other aspects of identities

Reiss (1961) - young male prostitutes or ‘rent boys’

• many young male prostitutes identified as heterosexual, even though they had sex with men for money

• sexual behaviour does not represent sexual identity

• neutralisation techniques – the boys often distanced themselves psychologically from the acts

McIntosh (1996) - ‘the homosexual role’

• homosexuality is a social role created by society

• once labelled individuals are expected to behave in certain stereotypical ways, this creates a role

• people might begin to see themselves through this level, this links to the labelling theory (Becker)

• helps maintain social order – contains and regulates non-heterosexual behaviour

Plummer (1996) - ‘homosexual career’

• becoming gay or lesbian is not a single moment, but a process that unfolds over time, similar to a career

plummer’s stages of the homosexual career

Sensitisation, Significance, coming out, stabilisation

sensitisation

The individual begins to feel different or aware of same-sex attraction

significance

These feelings become more important, The person starts to interpret them as meaningful

coming out

The individual accepts and expresses this identity, this may involve telling others and seeking out similar people

stabilisation

identity becomes integrated into their everyday life, the person builds relationships and a sense of belonging within a community

guy left collective (1980)

‘becoming a homosexual’ is difficult process of ‘becoming the other’, or ‘becoming what one has learned to despise’

Rich (1980) - women sexuality is oppressed by men in patriarchal society

• ‘compulsory heterosexuality’ - society pressures women into relationships with men

• man as the dominant group benefit from women being heterosexual; emotional labour, domestic work, sexual access

same-sex marriage statistics

• in March 2014, a change in the law meant that same-sex couples could legally marry for the first time

• some survey suggests that around 1/5 of people would refuse an invitation to a same-sex wedding and some religious groups remain deeply opposed, though the church of England has dropped its opposition since the change in law

• prior to the change in law, over 60,000 civil partnerships had taken place in the UK since these were legalised in December 2005, and more than 1400 same-sex marriages took place in the first three months after they made legal, with government predictions that approximately 6000 civil partnerships and same-sex marriages will take place each year

the 2014 Commonwealth Games

• the opening ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth games in Glasgow was led by two men who are both openly gay

• one man then kissed his male ‘bride’ in a mock up marriage ceremony

• this has been seen by some as a deliberate statement aimed at the 42 countries who attend the games in which homosexuality is still illegal