Ch. 6- Sexuality Flashcards
Essentialism
an approach based on the idea that there is an “inner truth” that exists apart from the individual observer or participant; a naturalistic perspective of sexuality can be characterized as essentialist in that it considers sexuality a biological “given” that is dictated by the body through genetics, hormones, and brain structures.
Self-cultivation
a concept requiring moderation in the pursuit of pleasure.
Desexualization
the effort to control, transform, and limit sexual desires, actions, and behaviors in the modern public sphere.
Victorian love
the approach to sexual relations that characterized the Victorian era. Victorian society was strict in its construction and regulation of such relations, requiring that all sexual behaviors take place within the confines of marriage
Erotic sphere
the zone in which sex is pure, transcendent, and valued as an end in itself, and whose existence undermines modernity’s efforts to restrict sexuality to the private institution of marriage and challenges the impersonal, ascetic ethic on which modernity is based. The erotic sphere contrasts with public sphere in which sex is highly regulated and often labeled as “profane”.
Iron cage
a concept used by Max Weber to describe modernity; he argued that as modernity becomes more rational, with increasing bureaucracy and emphasis in discipline and control, it takes on the characteristics of an “iron cage” that distances and prevents individuals from manifesting their passions and callings.
Constructivism
a perspective that assumes that day-to-day phenomena are socially created, regulated, and defined; constructivism contrasts with naturalism, which assumes that day-to-day phenomena are biological and inherit to human beings.
Sex tourism
leisure travel with the purpose of purchasing sexual activity, ranging from couples on holiday to the hiring of prostitutes.
Libido
as defined by Freud, an individual’s inborn sexual desire and energy.
Id, ego and superego
as defined by Freud, three parts of the human psyche. The id is the unfocused energy that drives the libido; it is inborn and initially unchecked. The ego and the superego develop alongside the id, controlling and repressing its urges and desires.
Sexual revolution
the process and time period in which sexuality was pluralized. The sexual revolution separated sexual activity from the purpose of procreation, placed new value on heterosexual pleasure, and gave youth the space for sexual experimentation.
Free-floating eroticism
sexuality that is no longer hardwired, rigid, and morally stigmatized as a result of having become less regulated. minimized, and moralized in the late twentieth century, when the erotic sphere moved in the center stage of public life.
Singles culture
an aspect of the sexual revolution whereby single people sought partners in sex rather than marriage
Sexual liberation
The separation of sex from procreation. The pluralizing and normalizing of sexual activity- and especially the increased sexual freedom of women.
Sexual citizenship
a term coined by Jeffrey Weeks, referring to the efforts of previously marginalized sexual minorities who wish to define themselves by their sexual identities and thereby claim social status and recognition.
