Throughout Western civilization, culturally hegemonic views on gender and sexuality have upheld a rigid and monolithic societal structure, resulting in the marginalization and dehumanization of millions of individuals who differ from the expected norm. Whether they are ridiculed as freaks, persecuted as blasphemers, or discriminated as sub-human, these individuals have been historically treated as invisible and pushed into vulnerable positions, resulting in cycles of poverty and oppression that remain prevalent even in modern times. Today, while many of these individuals are not publicly displayed as freaks or persecuted under Western law, women, queer, and intersexed persons within our society still nonetheless find themselves under constant …show more content…
According to Kate Bornstein and their work Gender Outlaw, “the first question we usually ask new parents is: Is it a boy or a girl?” (46). This question creates a sense of a rigid dichotomy, by which individuals must outwardly conform to either being male or female. Individuals who do not prescribe to this binary concept of gender identity find themselves ostracized from much of society – ignored, ridiculed, and laughed at as an insignificant minority. For this group of people, “either/or is used as a control mechanism,” creating a normative group by which power can be derived from (102). According to Bornstein, the concept of the gender binary being the “natural state of affairs” is one of the most dangerous thoughts proliferated about gender within modern society (105). For individuals who do not conform to this socially created structure, they are seen as opposing the natural order of things, and subsequently, their power is stripped by society, and they are deemed as unnatural and inhuman. These oppressive labels create intense feelings of gender dissonance, and the pressure to conform can often overwhelm the individual, directly resulting in often horrific
The stark expectations surrounding gender and sex of today’s society stem largely from a need to seek use of exclusionary language. Jacques Derrida, one of the many source contributors from which Judith Butler sought out to formulate Queer Theory as we know it today, pegged the idea that language is exclusionary in and of itself. His most commonly used example is that of “chair” versus “not chair”; how do you define a chair? If you were to look at a bench, a couch, a table, a swing, a bed- these things are “not chair”. Similar to this example is the situation that society forces every individual born into it to face- “male” and “not male”, or “female” and “not female”. Fausto-Sterling approaches this issue from a unique perspective that utilizes both her knowledge as biologist (looking towards the cellular basis of “sex”) paired with her self-proclaimed feminist perspective. Her perspective on a more sensible system of sex was initial...
Unlike sex, the history of sexuality is dependant upon society and limited by its language in order to be defined and understood.
However, across the globe, there remain many instances where an individuals' sexual orientation or gender identity can lead them to face execution, imprisonment, torture, violence or discrimination. The range of abuse is limitless and it breaches the fundamental views of international human rights law.
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
Gender Identity is defined as the gender a person identifies with or is certain they are. It should be noted that just because an individual may appear to be one gender physically, does not mean he/she feels they are the gender they appear to be. For example, a person who appears to be a woman physically and contains all the female reproductive organs and body make up may claim to be a man with the wrong gender body. Gender identity is often shaped by societal and cultural influences. So, it is no wonder that people who identify with a gender different from what society has tried to engrave in their minds, are left feeling confused or rejected. What gender a person is sexually attracted to determines their sexual orientation. There are a few commonly used labels in today’s cultures that explain sexual orientation, such as “straight” (heterosexual), “gay” (homosexual), and bisexual.
Let’s talk about sex! Sex is primarily for the survival of our species. It satisfies our urge to reproduce and leave generational legacies on the world. Everyone does it; everyone is here because of it. Yet in society, it 's considered to be a taboo subject to discuss. Most people are uncomfortable openly talking about it, but those who do are often criticized because of their differences. As a result, the effects of the sex being such a private topic are more harmful than simply being open about it. However, in today’s society, it not that everyone cannot be open about their sexuality, it 's mostly unacceptable for women to be open, thus posing double standards on women. I wonder if the connotation of sex is a result of society’s morals
Since birth children are taught the necessary components of human interaction; the lesson of how to be a male and female is one that is never-ending in their development. Whether or not the parents choose to teach these barbaric messages of what is conventionally expected from a male or female, their children will be bombarded with this agenda by other aspects of western civilization’s culture. The machine, which is known as society, facilitates the media, our peers, and social interaction which will in result shaping its citizens as it sees fit. Steering clear of these messages is impossible, but the ability to recognize these lessons in gender for what they really are will be liberating and vital to an individual’s personal growth. With the conditioning of our parents, social interaction, and the media, gender expectations have persisted for eons; both complacency and defiance towards these social norms lead to ramifications such as a stagnate battle towards gender equality; as well as civil strife.
For many individuals, sexual and gender identity is a highly controversial topic to discuss. Those who have inconsistency with their internal or mental sense of gender compared to their physical gender is now described as a psychological disorder and is found amongst adults and adolescents. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders gender dysphoria also known as gender identity disorder refers to the stresses that accompany with the variances between one’s physical gender they were assigned at birth and one’s expressed or emotional gender (5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Gender dysphoria can be contributed to many different stressors determined by ones social interactions. Throughout the years the diagnosis of gender dysphoria has evolved due to the progression of medicine and new treatment discoveries to help limit further mental issues that come with sexual identity disorders.
While doing research, I stumbled across a story about a Baby X who was raised in a world where gender norms did not apply to this child. No one knew the gender of Baby X. Growing up the child wore gender neutral clothing, played with both dolls and trucks, and participated in both ‘feminine’ activities such as baking, and ‘masculine’ activities such as relay races. However, parents of Baby X’s friends thought that Baby X was a ‘misfit’ and a ‘bad example’ and people from the community demanded to know the child’s gender and force him or her to behave like whichever it was (Gould, 1995). Why did so many people have a problem with Baby X resisting the typical gender norms? Why must a child be identified as either a boy or a girl and act in accordance to their sex? Gender norms are extremely inherent in society and many conform to these social rules. Although there are endless possibilities to study when it comes to gender norms, this paper is going to focus on the construction of masculinity and how it is problematic in the way that many people in society view it and reinforce it.
Because gender and sexual identity are an important factor in society, there are many concepts and norms instituted in order for people to be categorized into society. One of these concepts are gender roles. Gender roles are sets of societal criterion that impose what types of behaviors are considered appropriate or desirable for an individual based on their discernible sex. This is a problematic concept because these roles differ from one culture to the other, but all cultures have developed gender roles. These roles are learned early in one’s life, from the socialization through parents, family and religion (Andersen, 258). The ideas brought on by gender roles are especially challenged by ideologies such as gender essentialism, gender binary, and heterosexism are analyzed. Through the scrutinization of these ideologies one can realize the flaws of these beliefs and come to understand why gender roles are also an inaccurate generalization of many individuals in society. Truly misconceptions like these disregard the identities of countless amounts of people who are a great part of
Some of the most controversial issues in society have historically revolved around matters relating to gender and sexuality. As gender plays an integral part in how we function in society, we quickly learn what is expected of us through our gender roles at a young age and our sexual scripts as we get older. We are expected to conform to our respective gender roles of femininity or masculinity depending on the sex we were assigned at birth. We learn that certain characteristics and expressions are attributed to each gender but are never taught that gender is fluid but instead it is binary. We also become subjected to assumptions of our sexual desires and attraction based on our sex and our gender and are expected not to deviate from it. We become
In order to bring change, the myths of Gender have to be altered. Believing that the world consists of only two genders has been a cultural invention which does not accommodate the vast number of experiences humans are capable of living. According to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network in 2009, “86% of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students experienced harassment at school; one in three skipped a day of school in the past month because they felt unsafe there” (Colombo 376). Their gender preference is not accommodated in society, and as a result, they are being discriminated, judged, mentally affected and not allowed expression of their social identity. There are many cultures that have three or more gender categories.
The terms gender and sexuality are can get mistaken for one or the other. Gender refers to the social term that is given to a specific sex. Gender is typically either female or male. The term sexuality refers to people’s sexual interest or desires to other people. Different types of sexuality are heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, and other types. Gender and sexuality can be used to identify their sexuality, communication with others, and learn how to find a community of people that are alike.
See, when we are born we are each given a sexual identity. At the hospital, when children are born, baby girls are given pink blankets and/or little beanies and the boys are given blue ones. The general philosophy is that girls are fragile, soft, caring, and usually grow up to be a house-wife or a stay-at-home mother. Boys on the other hand are aggressive, active, and dominant and have to provide for their family. The duty of the parent’s is to help them assume those roles and teach them survival skills that will help them successfully survive in society.
When one hears the words “LGBT” and “Homosexuality” it often conjures up a mental picture of people fighting for their rights, which were unjustly taken away or even the social emergence of gay culture in the world in the1980s and the discovery of AIDS. However, many people do not know that the history of LGBT people stretches as far back in humanity’s history, and continues in this day and age. Nevertheless, the LGBT community today faces much discrimination and adversity. Many think the problem lies within society itself, and often enough that may be the case. Society holds preconceptions and prejudice of the LGBT community, though not always due to actual hatred of the LGBT community, but rather through lack of knowledge and poor media portrayal.