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Symbolic Interactionist Theory
Gender and sexuality that shapes a persons identity
The concept of Gender identity
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When learning about the erotic plasticity I for one agree with the term. Society loves to put labels on a lot of things. Whether it is deviant or not, they will define the act as either a negative or positive social stigma. When an act is considered negative, it will now be viewed as deviant. In the life course men and women will go through certain developments. As they get older the individual will be attracted to another person. The issues is it may be of the same sex, and through society’s standard it is wrong. Sexual identity is different for genders, and there are more restriction applied to certain sexes. My theoretical response for erotic plasticity will be Symbolic Interaction. I will go into detail on how the self is related to erotic plasticity.
Erotic Plasticity
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The community plays a key role when it comes to erotic plasticity, and the person’s sexual identity. Women’s sexual identity is seen as be adventures. Exploring ones sexual attitude, desire, decisions, and behavior. There sexual acts do not defined them, and can go through life without their high sex drive decreasing. However it is different for men when it comes to exploring their sex drive. Male sexuality is evolutionary and biological factor playing key roles in their life course. When a man experience sex with another man it is assumed they will always be gay. The so called deviant act, unlike to women defines their sexually identity. (McElwain, Grimes, & Melissa L. McVicker, 2009, p.
The Erotic is one thing that is always on all living human minds just like eating is when one is hungry or sleeping when one is tired. There are beliefs that some people agree with and some that don’t for example; men and women may not have the same opinion on how the erotic affects both of their genders. Many men believe that it makes them sit in a more powerful position, a position where women need them to fill this erotic feeling. Although, women needing men for such a thing is an argument worth fighting because, women are just as capable of taking care of themselves just as men do. Individualism is a trait that women all over the world have started to increasingly embrace, thriving with the amazing feeling that it allows them to feel. “Uses of the Erotic” encourages individualism.
By doing this research, I am hoping to fill a gap in current research and to show a relationship between an individual’s current activity and preference and their perception of other people’s to be similar to their own. It will also help to show that some previously atypical sexual behaviors may be more commonly practiced than previously thought which would allow some to breathe easier about not being “deviant.”
References to Kurt Freund’s studies to “assess sexual arousal in men and women” and Alfred Kinsey’s “sexual orientation” scale are made to further explain how sexuality and asexuality are not solid concepts with strict definitions of their own but rather more multifarious. For
...dual discovering their own sexuality, the degree of self-expression versus self-detention would vary greatly. As it seems, the general trend in the perception of sexuality becomes more accepting, those who do not believe in sexuality beyond procreation continue to exert influence, and to some degree, act as the superego, to the ever growing trend.
In order to further understand my experiences one must acknowledge the cultural background, which constructs my opinions towards sex, sexuality, and gender role. My opinions about sexuality shifted quickly as I moved from Israel, a middle-eastern society, to the United States. The sudden change of environment and culture occurred around when I began puberty, and as a result, my sexual identity shifted tremendously. Instead believing that a certain Jewish woman, whom I will marry, will satisfy all of my sexual needs, I began relating with my American peers and their sexual beliefs.
What is the first word that comes to your mind when I say the word “sex?” Sex for me is when two people have intercourse. You don’t necessarily have to be in love to have sex. Many people enjoy having sex with other people, because it feels good, or they just want to procreate. According to Auleb, in the class reader “Human Sexuality”, he states “Sex has more than one definition and can be used in many contexts.” Sex can mean multiple connotations to different people. People can think your asking them their gender when you ask them what the word sex means to them, or they can be talking about their vagina or penis. On the other hand, the word sexuality for me means that you have the power to feel sexual, and that is your sexuality. Many people don’t have a sexual side to them, because they don’t really like talking about the word sex, or the word sexuality. According to Auleb, Sexuality means “the quality of possessing a sexual character or potency, although some individuals’ sexuality may encompass little to no sexual behaviors”. Sexual identity is a very important word to understand. For me sexual identity means what gender you see yourself as, or who you are sexually attracted too. I believe sexual identity can be a
Despite the large collection of literature of sexuality that has been accumulating, human asexuality has been largely ignored. Asexuality is controversially considered to be a sexual orientation and people who identify as asexual are people who typically do not experience sexual attraction (Asexuality Visibility and Education Network, 2013). Though research on sex and sexual orientations has been done for centuries, the first real suggestion that there might be people who fall outside of the heterosexual – homosexual orientation spectrum came from Kinsey and colleagues in 1948. These individuals were put into a separate category and were identified as having no erotic response to hetero- or homosexual stimuli, but otherwise they were largely ignored by the researchers (Kinsey, 1953). Later, researchers linked asexuality with negative traits and pathologies, including depression and lower self-esteem (Masters, Johnson, & Kolodny, 1986; Nuius, 1983). An issue with these studies, however, is that the researchers defined asexuality in a way that most current asexuals do not agree with. For example, in a study done by Bell and Weinberg (1978), there were references made to asexual homosexuals who simply hid their homosexuality. Many asexuals, otherwise known as Aces, would struggle with this definition because homosexuality implies a type of sexual attraction: attraction to your same sex. Because Aces typically do not feel sexual attraction to anyone or anything, they should not be classified under the same label as a closeted homosexual. Another issue is that none of these studies actually focused on asexuality. Instead, they were added on the side and generally ignored.
There are several theorists that have presented models on sexual identity development. Many of the models have stages of sexual identity development suggesting that certain characteristics are present during a specific period. However, Anthony D’Augelli presents a model that suggests processes rather than stages. These processes take place over the span of one’s life and not necessarily in any specific order or fashion. D’Augelli’s (1994a) life span model of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) identity development takes into account “the complex factors that influence the development of people in context over historical time” (Evans et al, 2010). According to D’Augelli’s (1994) theory, identity formation includes three sets of interrelated variables that are involved in identity formation: personal actions and subjectivities, interactive intimacies, and sociohistorical connections. Personal subjectivities and actions include individuals’ perceptions and feelings about their sexual identities as well as actual sexual behaviors and the meanings attached to them. Interactive intimacies include the influences of family, peer group, and intimate partnerships and the meanings attached to experiences with significant others. Sociohistorical connections are defined as the social norms, policies and laws found in various geographical locations and cultures, as well as the values existing during particular historical periods (Evans et al, 2010).
The topic of sexual expression has always been a tough concept to define and the definition has changed drastically over time. The idea of sexual expression can be interpreted in terms of sexuality, ways of communication, or how people present themselves in this world as a sexual being. It can represent a sense of identity and help understand the orientation, gender, and role of a human being. It does not necessarily have to refer to an individual’s representation but it can be expressed within a group or community. Exploring sexual expression can be looked into different angle...
From birth, one's sexuality is shaped by society. Cultures institute behaviors that are to be seen as the societal norms, which work to constantly reinforce societal expectations of how genders should act in relation to one another. Although some may argue that one's sexuality is an innate characteristic resulting from genetic makeup, there is a large amount of evidence pointing to its social construction instead. Through the power differences between males and females, established gender roles, and drastic economic shifts, society establishes sexuality and reinforces the behaviors that are expected of its citizens.
From a Freudian perspective, human development is based on psychosexual theory (Wedding & Corsini, 2014). Psychosexual theory indicates that maturation of the sex drives underlies stages of personality development (Shaffer et al., 2010). It was Freud’s perspective that there are three components of personality (the id, ego, and superego) that become integrated into his five stage theoretical model. The id was the biological or drive component that is innate from birth. The sole purpose of the Id is satiate an individual’s internal drives (Wedding & Corsini, 2014). The ego is the conscious portion of our personality that mediates between our id and superego. Throughout development the ego reflects the child’s emerging ability to...
Gender has been around throughout history; however, within recent years, gender has separated itself from the traditional view of sex, e.i., male or female, and has become centered on ones masculinity or femininity. Of course gender is more than just ones masculinity or femininity, gender has become a way for one to describe, he or she, in a way in which they are different from everyone else. Gender has turned into a sense of identity, a way for one to feel different and fulfilled among all of those around them. Of course gender’s sense of freedom would seem outside of structure and only affected by one’s own agency, however, structure is a key component in establishing gender. We can look into both ethnic Mexican’s culture practices regarding sexuality, children songs and games, and see that cultural traditions still heavily influence gender, creating what is masculine and what is feminine and what is the role of each gender, as well as challenging the notions that gender is solely based on agency.
In order to discuss the biology of gender identity and sexual orientation, it is necessary to first examine the differences between multiple definitions that are often mistakenly interchanged: sex, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Sexual orientation is defined by LeVay (2011) as “the trait that predisposes us to experience sexual attraction to people of the same sex as ourselves, to persons of the other sex, or to both sexes” (p. 1). The typical categories of sexual orientation are homosexual, heterosexual and bisexual. Vrangalova and Savin-Williams (2012) found that most people identify as heterosexual, but there are also groups of people that identify as mostly heterosexual and mostly gay within the three traditional categories (p. 89). This is to say that there are not three concrete groups, but sexual orientation is a continuum and one can even fluctuate on it over time. LeVay (2011) also defines gender as “the ...
Gender and sexuality can be comprehended through social science. Social science is “the study of human society and of individual relationships in and to society” (free dictionary, 2009). The study of social science deals with different aspects of society such as politics, economics, and the social aspects of society. Gender identity is closely interlinked with social science as it is based on an identity of an individual in the society. Sexuality is “the condition of being characterized and distinguished by sex” (free dictionary, 2009). There are different gender identities such as male, female, gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual that exists all around the world. There is inequality in gender identities and dominance of a male regardless of which sexuality they fall under. The males are superior over the females and gays superior over the lesbians, however it different depending on the place and circumstances. This paper will look at the gender roles and stereotypes, social policy, and homosexuality from a modern and a traditional society perspective. The three different areas will be compared by the two different societies to understand how much changes has occurred and whether or not anything has really changed. In general a traditional society is more conservative where as a modern society is fundamentally liberal. This is to say that a traditional society lists certain roles depending on the gender and there are stereotypes that are connected with the genders. One must obey the one that is dominant and make decisions. On the other hand, a modern society is lenient, It accepts the individual’s identity and sexuality. There is no inequality and everyone in the society is to be seen as individuals not a part of a family unit...
The theory does a good job at delineating the stages of psychosexual development; our childhood has a great influence on our personalities. Referring to Freud’s ‘psychosexual stages’, it is very clear that parents’ role in an infant’s life is the foremost step to structure the personality. Not to forget, the oral and anal stages are focal fundamental to character traits in a person’s behavior. The inner ‘instincts’ of sexuality and aggression meeting with the socially acceptable norms creates a conflict zone, wherein it is decided what we are to do and what we would become.