SOC 1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Anorexia Nervosa, Grammatical Gender, Sub-Saharan Africa
Sexuality PDF
Sexuality Intro
-when people talk about sexuality and the sex act itself, they often accept the idea that sex and
the pleasure it brings come “naturally”—that it is completely driven by biological makeup and
physiological urges
-sexuality
•type of social interaction through which we perceive, experience, and express ourselves as
sexual beings
•our culture teaches us how to experience sexual pleasure, who is sexually attractive, and how
sexual intercourse should be conducted
•although sexual intimacy is intensely private, our sexual lives are encroached upon by society in
part because sexual expression is organized and governed by social rules and cultural
stereotypes
Sexuality in a Diverse World
-research reveals variability in human sexuality
•what one culture views as erotic or sexually stimulating might be disdained or even forbidden in
another culture
-our cultures provide powerful messages about physical attractiveness
•person we believe is physically attractive is also sexually attractive
-Sexual Stimulation
•human females are born with the capacity to experience the sexual pleasure that comes with
orgasm
-research shows that female sexual pleasure is associated more with the culture’s beliefs
about the purposes of sexual intercourse and the appropriateness of sexual pleasure
•example of cultural differences:
-So people of Uganda believe that only males experience orgasm
•genital touching is forbidden
•So women do not enjoy sex, just tolerate it in order to conceive
-Mangaian people of Polynesia
•socialize children to give and receive the pleasures of sexual intimacy
•girls in particular are sexually active early in life and encouraged to have intercourse with
a number of boys
-through these experiences they select the best match for a spouse who gives the most
sexual enjoyment
•believe women have triple the number of orgasms as Mangaian men
•if there are strong cultural beliefs about what is sexual stimulating, it follows that there are
also strong beliefs about what is sexually repulsive or dangerous
-fear of menstrual blood is common around the world
•example: Mae Enga people of New Guinea believe that if a man has sex with a
menstruating woman, he will become so sickened that he will vomit, his flesh will waste,
and his wits will be permanently dulled, all leading to his decline and death
-another repulsive act for some cultures is kissing
•kissing is the norm in almost all cultures today due mainly to Western influence
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•kissing is widely practiced in Japan today, but as a sexual act it is still associated with
uncertainty and strangeness
•kissing occurs less often as a form of sexual foreplay than genital manipulation in many
cultures
-Sexual Attractiveness
•cultural differences abound when considering what is sexually attractive and erotic
-example:
•12th century Chinese emperor was said to have been erotically aroused by tiny feet in
women, so the practice of foot binding ensued
-thus Chinese men have been socialized to believe that tiny feet are sexually attractive
•Abkhasians of Russia
-the female armpit is arousing
-viewing it by anyone except the women’s husband is forbidden
•throughout developing world, especially in North and Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle
East
-heavier people are considered the most attractive
•in Tonga Islands of the South Pacific
-most attractive men are built like football linebackers
-women are expected to be round and chunky
•weight is associated with wealth in many of these societies
-stouter people are those who can afford to eat more
•in the West, the reverse is true
-there are been a dramatic increase in eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa
-obsession with thinness and breast size is media based
•since change is gradual, the idea of a sexual revolution is misleading
-sociologists accept the notion that sexual evolution is a better way than sexual revolution to
describe patterns of human sexuality over the last century
Sexuality as Socially Constructed
-according to symbolic interactionist perspective, we interact on basis of how we perceive the
interaction, including the expectations we perceive others have of us
•sexual interaction is no exception to this rule
-sexual beliefs and behaviors are built upper time
-culture is the major influence in providing the meanings people use to distinguish their
sexual feelings, identities, and practices
-Defining Sex, Gender and Sexual Orientation
•sex
-described as those biological characteristics distinguishing male and female
-males and females are biologically distinguished by differences in chromosomes and hormone
levels
•gender
-described as those social, cultural, and psychological characteristics linked to male and
female that define people as masculine and feminine
•gender identity
-a person’s awareness that the two sexes behave differently
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-gender roles
•one emphasizing masculinity and the other emphasizing femininity
•sexual orientation
-a person’s preference for sexual partners, usually one gender
-Gender Identity
•developed by age 6
•central part of self and is invested with strong emotional attachment
•biological sex does not automatically grant gender identity
-something that must be learned through socialization
•hermaphrodites
-infants born with both male and female sexual organs or ambiguous genitals (such as a
clitoris that looks like a penis) tend to support the social construction of gender identity
-sometimes referred to as inter-sexed
•they are assigned one sex at birth
•child’s genetic sex is discovered later
-likely to take on the gender identity of whichever sex is assigned regardless of the genetic
sex
-sex reassignment surgery (SRS)
•age is a crucial factor
•genitals are surgically altered so that a person changes from one biological sex to the
other
-Sexual Scripts
•shared beliefs concerning what society defines as acceptable sexual thoughts, feelings, and
behaviors for each gender
•example:
-gender roles are connected with different sexual scripts—one considered more appropriate
for males and the other more appropriate for females
•continue to be based on beliefs that for men, sex is for orgasm and physical pleasure and for
women sex is for love and the pleasure that comes from intimacy
•may provide the routes to sexuality but symbolic interactionists also assert that over time new
paths offering new directions for sexuality can be built
Sexual Orientation
-not automatically granted by biological sex
-humans share the same anatomy and have the same capacity for sexual pleasure, but there is a
great deal of variation in how and with whom people experience sexual pleasure
-social construction built during social interaction
-Problems with Definitions
•sexual orientation is divided into two categories in most Western cultures: heterosexual and
homosexual
-heterosexual
•category for people who have sexual preference for, and erotic attraction to, those of
the other gender
•referred to as “straight”
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
When people talk about sexuality and the sex act itself, they often accept the idea that sex and the pleasure it brings come naturally that it is completely driven by biological makeup and physiological urges. Research reveals variability in human sexuality: what one culture views as erotic or sexually stimulating might be disdained or even forbidden in another culture. Our cultures provide powerful messages about physical attractiveness: person we believe is physically attractive is also sexually attractive. Sexual stimulation: human females are born with the capacity to experience the sexual pleasure that comes with orgasm. Research shows that female sexual pleasure is associated more with the culture"s beliefs about the purposes of sexual intercourse and the appropriateness of sexual pleasure: example of cultural differences: So people of uganda believe that only males experience orgasm: genital touching is forbidden, so women do not enjoy sex, just tolerate it in order to conceive.
