Sexuality & Society
Sex - distinction between men and women, boys and girls. It is biological
Gender - how we determine male, female, masculine, and feminine. It is social.
Sexuality - culture and attractiveness
What does culture do? - Sets standards for attractiveness
What does attractiveness do? - It underlines our choices about reproduction
Primary sex characteristics - organs used for reproduction
Secondary sex characteristics - bodily development that distinguishes mature males and females
Intersexual people - possessing some combination of female and male genitalia
Transsexuals - people who feel they are one sex even though they’re biologically the other. They often undergo gender reassignment surgery.
Transvestite - crossdressing
Transgender - presenting as the other gender
- Transvestite, 2. Transgender, 3. Transsexual
Gender dysphoria - a feeling of mismatch between a persons biological sex and gender identity
Cultural Variation - showing affections and sexual positions, notions of modesty, norms about sex or before of marriage in a culture
Incest Taboo - found in every society forbidding sexual relations between relatives. It is rooted in biology and is necessary an element of social organization in the human species.
The Sexual Revolution - profound changes in sexual attitudes and practice.
1920s: roaring twenties,
1948: Kinsey research
1960: a new openness toward sexuality
The Sexual Counterintervention - 1980, conservative call to “family values.” It didn’t greatly change idea about sexual relationships
Premartial Sex - widely condemned, actual behavior differs from cultural ideal
Teen Pregnancy - U.S. has the highest rate compared to other high income countries . It has become apart of mass media. Example: The 16 and pregnant show
Pornography - sexually explicit material intended to cause sexual arousal. It is a 10 billion a year industry in the U.S. though criticized for political and moral reasons
Prostitution - selling of sexual services. It is most common in poor countries where patriarchy is strong and opportunities are restricted.
Types of prostitution - “call girls”, controlled parlors, “Street walkers”
- Sex trade - subjects many women to kidnapping, emotional abuse and violence
Rape - violence act that uses sex to hurt, humiliate, or control another person. It an expression of power, not sex.
Myths - women provoke attackers, it is most likely done by strangers, rape is simply sex
Date Rape - sexual violence against victims by people they know. 80% of all rape. Higher danger on college campuses.