Transcript Sexuality
CHAPTER 7 Sexuality Chapter Outline Perspectives on Sexuality: An Overview Biological and Social Views of Sexuality Sex Versus Gender Sociological Perspectives on Sexuality and Sexual Institutions Perspectives on Sexuality Perspective Key Focus Biological The unique aspects of human sexuality, and how biological nature shapes social behavior. How societies try to control the Functionalist sexuality of their members through cultural norms or institutions. Perspectives on Sexuality Perspective Conflict Key Focus Why sexuality can be a source of conflict and how power impacts sexual behavior. How people conduct their sexual lives through interactions with Interactionist others. How sexuality shapes behavior and body image. Perspectives on Sexuality Perspective Global Feminist Key Focus Whether universal norms of human rights can supersede cultural norms that oppress women. Sex Characteristics Primary sex characteristics are the male and female genitals. Secondary sex characteristics are physical and behavioral features, other than the genitalia, that differ in males and females. Sex versus Gender Sex The biological differences between males and females. Gender Culturally defined ways of acting as a male or a female that become part of an individual's personal sense of self. Sexuality Sexuality - the way a person engages in intimate behaviors connected with genital stimulation, orgasm, and procreation. Influenced by cultural norms and social institutions as well as by social structures like the class system of a society. Cultural norms exerting social control over sexuality include the incest taboo, marriage, and heterosexuality. Terminology of Mating Systems The Sexual Revolution Prehistoric cave paintings in Europe drawn by preliterate humans over 12,000 years ago depict the use of primitive condoms. Declines in births in England during the Industrial Revolution were the result of abstinence and delayed marriage. The Sexual Revolution Widespread use of birth control in the second half of the 20th century separated sexual behavior from reproduction. With improved condoms and the development of the birth control pill, men and women were able to engage in sex without worrying about unwanted pregnancies. The Sexual Revolution Changes in reproductive technologies, sexual attitudes, and behaviors contributed to a relaxation of norms governing sexuality. In the 1980s, the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases caused increased public concern about responsibility in sexual relations. Heterosexuality, Homosexuality, and Bisexuality Sexual orientation refers to an emotional, romantic, sexual, or affectional attraction a person feels toward another person. Heterosexuality is sexual orientation toward members of the opposite sex. Homosexuality is sexual orientation toward members of the same sex. Bisexuality is sexual orientation toward members of either sex. % Males and Females Who Ever Had Same Sex Contact Any Females Any All males 15–44 years 6 All Females 15–44 years 11.2 15–19 years 4.5 15–19 years 10.6 20–24 years 5.5 20–24 years 14.2 25–44 years 6.5 25–44 years 10.7 % Females Who Ever Had Specified Type of Opposite Sex Contact Any All females 15–44 years 15–19 years 20–24 years 25–44 years Vaginal Oral Intercourse Sex Anal Sex 91.7 89.2 82 30 63.3 91.3 98.4 53 87.3 98.2 54.3 83 88.3 10.9 29.6 34.7 Prostitution: A Functionalist Explanation Sociologist Kingsley Davis began writing about prostitution in the 1930s. Prostitution: A Functionalist Explanation He argued that prostitution provides alternatives for men who are not sexually fulfilled in their marriages, or who want sexual activity with multiple women. Karl Marx viewed prostitution as a form of capitalism in which people sell their labor to those who own the means of production. Rape and Power Sociologists have long associated rape with control and power. The FBI estimates that a rape occurs every 5.6 minutes in the U.S. The two most important forms of rape are 1. 2. Rape of a woman by a man seeking to satisfy his personal desires and exert his power. Rape carried out in situations of warfare, where it may be designed to intimidate the enemy. Sexual Scripts Sexual Scripts - include ideas and fantasies about what our sexual experiences should or could be like. Three kinds of sexual scripts: 1- Cultural scenarios are collective ideas about sexual goals, proper behaviors, and outcomes. 2- Intrapsychic sexual scripts are fantasies about how we would like to have sex and with whom. 3- Interpersonal scripts are developed between or among specific groups of people as ways of being sexual with each other. Globalization Of Sexual Commerce Sex tourism is associated with globalization and the growth of cities in the Third World. Families may sell their children into sex trades, children who are orphaned may prostitute themselves as a means of survival. Feminist intellectuals and social scientists emphasize how closely related sexual violence and exploitation are to global gender inequality. QUICK QUIZ 1. Just what constitutes masculine behavior, as opposed to feminine behavior, is a. b. c. d. more a matter of gender than sex. evident by the fact that all men engage in it. universally defined as the same, regardless of time and place. never really apparent to people within a society because of their tendency to engage in ethnocentric thinking. Answer: a Just what constitutes masculine behavior, as opposed to feminine behavior, is more a matter of gender than sex. 2. In terms of global gender inequality, women a. do far more work than men. b. receive roughly half of all income. c. are far less likely than men to be poor. d. now own most of the world's private property. Answer: a In terms of global gender inequality, women do far more work than men. 3. American women have less than men in the way of economic resources because they a. b. c. d. generally do not work as hard as men. are far more apt than men to be in poverty. generally do not wish to have these resources as much as do men. have had fewer occupational opportunities and have been largely channeled into traditional gender roles. Answer : d American women have less than men in the way of economic resources because they have had fewer occupational opportunities and have been largely channeled into traditional gender roles.