Sociology, Sexuality
When looking at inequalities within society we cannot just look at gender, race/ethnicty, socio-economic status, we have to look at other intersecting factors.
Women have been subjected to discrimination, specifically rooting from the fact that women were seen as inferior in comparison to men.
Womens anatomy were seen as an inversion to mens, women clitorious was seen as a equivalent to a mens penis.
Alfred kinsley and his colleagues used data from thousand of women who defined the clitirous as the centre if pleasure of an orgasm.
Sociology was studied in the 20th as a way of exploring how identity shapes social environements or affects it.
How our sexyal identities, desires, and behaviours are social and historical creations.
Sexual identity: an identity based on individuals object of desire or lack.
Many different ideas of sexuality can be comprised of sexual identities, practices, attractiveness and desires.
Sexual feelings
Does not ignore biological underpinnings, but it suggests how bodies become sexualized.
Sexuality: a broad term that refers to sexual identity, sexual practices, sexual attractivenesss and sexual desires.
Realtes to the body because people attach sexuality to gender.
Yet, our sexual identity and sexuality are categorized as:
Sexual orientation: the direction of a persons erotic and romantic attraction to a particular sex.
Typically thought of terms in sex.
Many different kinds of sexual orientations:
Bisexual: a person who is sexually attracted to both sexes
Heterosexual: a person who is sexually attracted to the opposite sex.
Homosxual: someone who is sexually attracted to the same sex
Most canadians resport they are heterosexual, 1.5% gay or lesbian, 1.7% bisexual
Yet measures of sexual oriention are based on experiences of sexuality.
Histroical ideas of homosexuals being marginalized as being unhealthy, psychologically unstable, ect.
Defintations of sexual orientation come from understanding sex, in the same and opposite. A person understanding of sexual romantic attraction is ariticulate from the body.
Pansexual: sexual and romantic attraction to people regardless of their sex
But on the opposite spectrum is the lack of sexual and romantic desire:
Asexual: little to no sexual attraction, including a limited intrest in sexual activity.
LGBTQ+ represents marginalzed sexual groups.
To uderstand sexuality, and why certain ones who more prone to discrimination sociologists come up with theories.
Anything outside of hertersosexuality was seen as abnormal
Sexology: focused on behavuours of sexuality creain scientfic descriptions of sexuality and which descions were normal or abnormal
Kinsey and collegues suggested ambiguity between these categoriesm, arguing sexuality existed on the continum.
Sociologists started to see normal and abnormal
Sodomy: term used to denote sexual acts that are not vaginal intersex, and oral sex.
Asscoaitions of sexuality to behavuour.
Ideas of sexuality varry across time, and place.
Homosexual women were not subject to the same laws as homo sexual men, more likely to be accused of chaste (suggests sexuality was problematic only insofar as notions of feminsity and morality).
Marginalized groups targested.
Ex: indigenous people and cultures were subject to surveillance and punishment, indeignous forced to look at sexuality and gender through european views.
Social context contributed to our understanding of sexuality and gender.
Sexual scripts: Culturally shapped mental structures that allow us to shape an understand past, current and future sexual behaviours
Ex: ideology that women are gatekeepers of sexual acts in North America.
But, there are not only ideas how heteorsexzuality is learnt
Queer theory: an approach to sexuality and gender that rejects stable categories.
Moves away from the idea that heterosexuality is the only sexuality.
Focuses on sexual identities (they are flexible and are based on experiences)
Queer stands for ideantites that are not herteosexual or cisegener
Isnatbility of identies in contrast to butler
To understand how sexuality is viewed sociologists use measurements:
Kinsley scale: a measurements of sexuality acording to or between homosexuality and heterosexuality.
Identity is flexible, and cannot be clearly measured.
Exists on a continumpeoples desires exist out of categories, they are unique.
Swexuality can be meassured in different ways . . .
Exuality is composed of identity, behaviour, and desires.
Sexual behaviour: sexual activities a person partakes in, with or without a partner.
Sexual desire: a persons intrest in engaging in sexual experiences
Ex: men are more likely to be heterosexual.
But ideas of sexuality can change depending in the time and place.
Ex: men in prison often exhcange in sexual actions
“Situtational homosexuality”
Sexuality is also affected by age:
Younger people have lower rates of sexual intercourse, and it increases in age.
The older you get the more likely you are to have sex.
These numbers also depend on religion, and other cultural beliefs.
Homosexual Men are more likely to hookup than heterosexual men
Yet there are still differing ideas in sexuality:
Heterosexuality: the idea that heterosexuality is a normal and natural sexaulity.
Subtle and difficult to notice
Ex: “Are you straight”
But with this comes consequences:
Heteronsexism: prejudice and discrimination against non-heterosexual behaviours and identities
Hertosexuality is normally publisized whale homosexuality is not. Cnaad has denied rights and pokices to homoseuxal people.
Ex: making mother day cards and father day cards
What we see as normal and abmormal are reinforced through hate:
Homophobia: irrational fear or contempt for gay people, sometimes leading to harrasment and violence
Discreet
Ex: mommy blogs crate an experience of motherhood and the growth of children
Transphobia: the irrational or contempt for transgender peole, sometimes leading to harrasment or violence.
Our ideas of what is right and wrong stem from other social constructions, such as how an image of gender is connected to sexuality:
Sexual Double standard: men and women are held to different standards for the same behavuour
Women more negative when they participate in activities men do.
Ex: maddona whore dicotamy, the idea that women should be chaste but also sexy. While men should be both but dont get negative expression.
These double standards affect how women are perceived, for instance. . .
Emmerink found that men are mor elikely to say “I tend to take initiative”
Men are painted as the leaders of sexual identities, and activtives, but this does not always match up.
Incel: “Involuntary celibacy” an idnviudal who wishes to have sexual encounters but cant find a partner
Most recently its referred to as a man who wishes to have sex with women but arent suucessful
Ex: “manosphere” an online foru where men allege victim hood, fefute feminsity and caim entitlements overt the things they lack.
Incels believe that women are shallow.
“Stacys.”
The supposed high-status men that these women are interested in “Chads.”
Incels may refer to themselves as “beta,” whom “Stacys” are likely to reject
They blame women for rejecting them and blame feminists
We can explore how women are discriminated against by looking at past and present views of feminist.
Historically women were looked at as being pure, and innocent.
This changed when sexual scripts for women encouraged marrige after puberty
Emphasized being pure until marriage, created modern ideas of women as being chaste
Ex: in hookups women feel less entitled to pleasure in comparison to relationships
These patterns connected to
emphasized femininity: practiced feminsity that conform to the needs and desires of men and thus subordinate women.
Prioritize mens needs to avoid being slut shamed
Women are seen as biologically difficult to please, and are less likely to experience an orgasm.
Orgasm gap: longer period of time requires for women (compared to men) to reach an orgasm
Closes the idea of sexualincrease and men investing more time in enuring female pleasure