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Papers about history of sexuality
How media can influence an individual identity
Homophobia in today's society
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Recommended: Papers about history of sexuality
How is sexuality shaped by gender? What is meant by heteronormativity? Sexuality is shaped by gender because gender in itself is a social construct. Sex is based on genetics, on whether or not you have a XX chromosome or a XY chromosome. Gender on the other hand is socially constructed. It’s how we perceive each other. For example, girls have long hair and wear pink but boys have short hair and are to be tough. Sexuality is further shaped by this because with gender, the world has only really ever had two categories, female and male, when really there could be more or there could be less. Heteronormativity is a phenomenon in American culture where almost everything that has to deal with the people and their relationships are displayed as …show more content…
I think we should think of homophobia of a system social control. By having homophobia exist, we’re giving people an excuse to hate people for no apparent reason. Homophobia creates myths and stereotypes about people that are in turn picked up by the media and then distributed to the general public. So what are some of these homophobic myths? One is that lesbians are “butch” where they have a lot of male characteristics and tendencies and look like a man by having their hair cut. This is not true at all. Sure some lesbians may have more masculine personality characteristics than others, but that doesn’t mean that all are like that. Another homophobic myth that goes along with this is the idea that in gay relationships one partner is more feminine than the other. Hit TV show Modern Family does not help this myth either. One couple, Mitch and Cam, are gay. Mitch is seen as you’re kind of normal guy, but Cam is seen as the dramatic, over the top, blow everything out of proportion, drama queen type. Again, same with the lesbian counterpart, not all gay men are like this. Yes some are, but that doesn’t mean that all gay men in the world are like …show more content…
This is 100% not true. Just because a child grew up in a homosexual household does not mean that it’ll become a homosexual. This theory relates directly back to the idea of Compulsory Heterosexuality. What is queer theory, and how did it emerge? How has it added to our understanding of sexual identity? Queer theory is a idea that says that our identity does not determine who we are. This has added to our understanding of sexual identity by helping us understand that our sexual identity is not us. There are other parts of us that make us as a person hole. Essentially it means that just because you are straight or just because you are Trans does not mean that you are that one thing and that one thing
In an effort to legitimize all subcategories of sexuality considered deviant of heterosexual normatively, queer theory acknowledges nontraditional sexual identities by rejecting the rigid notion of stabilized sexuality. It shares the ideals of gender theory, applying to sexuality the idea that gender is a performative adherence to capitalist structures that inform society of what it means to be male, female, gay, and straight. An individual’s conformity to sexual or gendered expectations indicates both perpetration and victimization of the systemic oppression laid down by patriarchal foundations in the interest of maintaining power within a small group of people. Seeking to deconstruct the absolute nature of binary opposition, queer theory highlights and celebrates literary examples of gray areas specifically regarding sexual orientation, and questions those which solidify heterosexuality as the “norm”, and anything outside of it as the “other”.
Bronski, Michael. You Can’t Tell By Just Looking: And 20 Other Myths About LGBT Life And People: (CITY NEEDED): Beacon Press, 2013.
In just the last 50 years, gay marriage and more specifically, homosexuality, has made great strides in social reform. For example, as of May 2014, 18 states in the United States have legalized same-sex marriage with some other states allowing same-sex unions. The main issue during these last 50 years is the debate between fundamentalists and scientists who argue the controversial debate of nature vs. nurture. Some fundamentalists argue that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice. Conversely, some scientists argue that homosexuality is biologically-determined in the womb due to genes or hormones. Moreover, research conducted by the journal Science and other sources will be examined within this paper that denotes that homosexuality is biologically-determined. This paper will argue that homosexuality is natural. The crux of the issue is that homosexuality is natural due its biological roots and ancestry in humans and animals.
Most societies view homosexuality as something that is morally wrong. Individuals view sexual relations between like genders as sick. For many years homosexuality has existed, so why Homophobia is related to gender socialization still exists? As a human they see things they cannot understand as wrong in society. Homophobia issues in society are the discussions when subjects like religion and morals are talked about. There are numerous agents of gender socialization in society like family, religion, school, and media. The media is the most pervasive correspondence medium depicts highly stereotyped roles for men and women. Religion is strong emphasis on gender differences with explicit affirmation of the authority of men over women. Family they
This essay will discuss the ways sexuality is gendered and their impacts towards both men and women by exploring the contemporary heterosexual scripts from a sociological perspective on three main aspects; i.e. sex drive, desire and power. It studies how men are deemed to have a higher sexual edge than women, who acts as the relationship gatekeepers. This essay analyses the theory that women predictably pursuits love and relationships while men are more sexually controlled by lusts and cravings. Sexual dominance and passiveness is another traditional script inspected in this essay, focusing on how men are always expected to be the prevailing initiator thus devouring more power in relationships while women stays being the weaker, submissive receivers.
The word “Queer” means “strange, unusual”, the same with word “odd”. The theory of queer gender is not a specific theory, but a comprehensive interdisciplinary discourse that come from multiple subjects such as history, society and literature. The theory of queer gender established outside of the mainstream culture: these people and their theory cannot find their position in the mainstream culture, and they do not have intention to do so. “Queer” is a appellation for a social group including people who are not conform with the mainstream society about sexual preference and gender identity, like homosexual and bisexual.
As Tamsin Wilton explains in her piece, “Which One’s the Man? The Heterosexualisation of Lesbian Sex,” society has fronted that heterosexuality, or desire for the opposite sex, is the norm. However, the reason behind why this is the case is left out. Rather, Wilton claims that “heterosexual desire is [an] eroticised power difference [because] heterosexual desire originates in the power relationship between men and women” (161). This social struggle for power forces the majority of individuals into male-female based relationships because most women are unable to overcome the oppressive cycle society has led them into. Whereas heterosexual relationships are made up of the male (the oppressor) and the female (the victim who is unable to fight against the oppressor), homosexual relationships involve two or more individuals that have been freed from their oppressor-oppressed roles.
In terms of historical context, this takes place during the 1960s, approaching the 1970s, which is during the time of the Women’s rights movement, where women had risen to protest the abuse of other women by men beginning 1963. During this time, gay and lesbian organizations were forming, such as the Mattachine organization in 1951, ONE Inc in 1952, the Daughters of Bilitis in 1955, and a national organization, ECHO, that formed in New York in 1963, ready to protest for their rights (Eaklor, 96-97, 101-102). This is another instance where Homosexuality was sought after by a group, in this case being some of the radical feminists, who preferred to be with women rather than men. For example, one radical feminist, Anne Koedt, in 1969 states that women didn’t need men for pleasure, as they had women, and advocated turning their attention and preference to women rather than men (Stansell 260). Essentially, according to Koedt, going with men was the better option, and it was also expressed as a political choice rather than as a sexual identity, hoping that it would erode patriarchal constructs through this and signifying that they did not need men for pleasure (Stansell 260-261). The radical feminists, therefore, embraced the lifestyle as a political choice, however they also alienated the older feminists by criticizing them for not being true
10.7 million Americans consider themselves Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender, which is about 3.4% of our population. How does homosexuality occur? Is a man gay because of a missing father and an overbearing mother? Is a woman gay because of her desire to please her father by showing that she is worthy of the love she cannot seem to receive from him? Recently, most studies on the genetic liabilities of homosexuality have focused on men, but it is believed that the observations from these experiments also apply to women. Homosexuality is not strictly genetic, but epigenetic, and has characteristics of a hereditary trait.
Not everyone may realize that sexual behavior and sexual identity are two distinguishable ideas, though they are closely related. Sexual behavior is, as it sounds, the way one acts out sexually. Sexual identity is how one interprets themselves in regards to sex, gender, and sexual orientation. Sexual identity has more so to do with performativity, than physical sexual acts. This paper aims to identify the ways in which sexual behavior becomes known as sexual identity and how the queer theoretical insights of Marinucci and Mottier lead to the understanding of this development.
Paris, Matthew. ?Birth of a queer nation.? National Review 31 Aug. 1992: 65. Academic Search Elite. EBSCOhost. SCCC Library, St. Peters. 18 Sept. 2001 .
Throughout history homosexuality has been considered vulgar, perverse and immoral. What is truly immoral is homophobia and that it still prevails today. Firstly, homophobia derived from prejudice and escalated to panic. Secondly, homophobic attitudes are endorsed and practiced by many places of worship, which are hypocritical to God’s concept of the Golden Rule. Thirdly, the severity of homophobia has reached a point of no return, where the lives of many innocent have been viciously taken away. Lastly, many individuals choose to practice homophobia, whether it is a personal choice or not. Homophobia is the result of fear, ignorance and intolerance.
Why do people have cognitive sexual orientations and how can this affect the mind. What are the reasons for sexual orientation? And is it normal? Many people make decisions regarding sexual orientation based on their mental patterns of emotional, romantic, and sexual attraction. The most common forms of human sexuality would include heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality. Furthermore, a lot of research has been focused on the reasons behind these different types of sexuality with the consideration and fascination with the opposite and with the same sex. Since bi-sexuality is lightly considered a variant of homosexuality in popular culture. Several research studies have found there are natural' reasons behind sexual
Just like Alfred Kinsey said “The world is not divided into sheep and goats. Not all things are black nor all things white.” The world is divided into people that want many different things in life, everyone has a different opinion and mind set on what they want. Some people have other beliefs and values than other people, so we cannot judge them for being themselves. I believe that sexuality is the way that you express yourself through sex, or sexual actions. There are many factors that go into sexuality. I mainly learned about how sex worked through my health and child development classes. There were other things that contributed to my knowledge on sex, those were media, talking with friends or people at school, and my family values. How I think about sex is greatly impacted by these factors, some factors impacted me more than others but all of them still have an impact on my beliefs today.
Gender And Sexuality: Productive and Non Productive Aspects Gender carries a more social tone. It refers to socially constructed differences between the sexes and to the social relationships between women and men. These differences between the sexes are shaped over the history of social relations and change over time and across cultures. Gender identity depends on the circumstances in which women and men live and includes economic, cultural, historical, ideological, and religious factors. Gender relations also vary according to the economic and social conditions of the society and differ between social and ethnic groups. The definition of sexuality can encompass many things. This can mean the feelings we have about ourselves as sexual beings, the ways in which we choose to express these feelings with ourselves and others, and the physical capability each of us has to give and experience sexual pleasure. Sex is the total sum of physical characteristics that distinguish males and females from each other. The most distinctive difference in characteristics is that man and women have different reproductive organs. This is pretty obvious and so are other traits like facial hair, deep voices, and muscular builds. Current Scenario: If you are questioning your sexual orientation or gender identity, you probably have already figured out that society is telling you what it wants you to be. Families, religions, and different cultural and ethnic institutions communicate expectations to us, both in direct and indirect ways, about how to be. Often as children queer people get a sense that they don't fit with society's codes. It may not be completely clear to some individuals at first in what way they don't fit; instead they feel a vague sense o...