Transcript Sex, Sexuality and Gender_1st October 1st October 2013.ppsx

SEX, SEXUALITY
AND
GENDER
Sex ~ is what you are born
with
You
Sex
Gender
Sexuality
Sexuality ~ is how you
perceive sex and your
preferences
Gender ~ is how you socially
exhibit your sexuality
Born as a male…
Or a female…
And gender is how
you are socially
constructed as a man
or a woman.
Sexuality
Sexual Orientation
Sexual Behavior
Whom I Desire /
get attracted
With Whom I have
sex
Sexual Identity
recognition of one’s sexual orientation and
sexual behaviours
along with their meanings
• Are these images of sex, sexuality or gender?
• What would we need to know in order to make sense of this
question?
MSM in India
• MSM - literally “men having
sex with men”
• Same sex identities/
behaviors found in Hindu
texts, literature, paintings
and sculpture
• MSM belong to all socioeconomic, age, religious
and ethnic groups in India
MSM CIRCLE
Gender and identity
• Gender: Attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates
with a person’s biological sex.
• Gender identity : It is a perceived identity of oneself. When one’s gender
identity and biological sex are not matching, the individual may identify as
transsexual or as another transgender category.
• Gender expression : A form of expression where a person acts to express
gender within a given culture of clothing, communication patterns and
interests.
Transgender Umbrella
Explanation of the terms.
• Transsexual: Individual whose gender identity is that of the opposite gender
(sex). There are male-to-female and female-to-male transsexuals. A
transsexual may or may not have had sex reassignment surgery and thus
could be ‘pre-operative’ transsexual, ‘postoperative’transsexual and ‘nonoperative’ transsexual.
• Hijras: Hijras are biological/anatomical males who reject their 'masculine'
identity in due course of time to identify either as women, or “not-men”, or
“neither man nor woman”. They are part of the gharana system which has a
guru-chela hierarchy.
• Intersex persons (‘hermaphrodites’): "Intersex" is a general term used for a
variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual
anatomy that doesn't seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male.
• Crossdressers: They are usually heterosexual persons who like to cross
dress and live their life.
Myths and Misconceptions
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Homosexuality is an illness and can be cured.
Sex change is a irrecoverable process.
Homosexual men can be identified by their looks.
I keep dreaming about having sex with a guy, am I
homosexual?
My boy friend has sex with me. However, he says he is not
homosexual.
I am masculine, but I feel like a women inside. Am I a
transgender?
At what does an individual get to know about his sexuality?
All MSMs should be linked to the exisiting TI services.
Key Messages
• Identity is not a constant phenomenon, but changes with
time, roles, social milieu, geographic location, phase in life to
name a few
• Identity is not often linear; each individual may have multiple
identities. An interaction of these identities may lead to
complex life situations.
• Sexual identity is an integral part of one’s life and the same
needs to be needs to be understood while counselling
individuals.
• Individuals identifying in a similar way may have different
sexual behaviours, and gender expression.
• In the view of HIV intervention, it is important to focus even
on a single episode of the sexual activity with another man.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsCQdsi5f
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