Deviant Sexualities Flashcards
Sociological Study of Sexuality
- dominated by the social constructionist perspective
- Emphasis on interpretive and critical theories
Sex
male or female (usually) - that you’re assigned by a doctor at birth based on the genitals you’re born with and the chromosomes you have. It goes on your birth certificate.
Gender Roles
Expectations society and people have about behaviours thoughts, and characteristics that go along with a person’s assigned sex.
Gender Identity
How you feel inside and how you express those feelings
- Cisgender
- Transgender
Transgender
- Face some of the greatest risks and stigmatization in our society
- “Exploring” gender identity (internal, social, legal, physical/medical)
- Important to be supported
- Needs to be nuanced and careful - Physical (medical) transitioning can significantly improve quality of life and mental health
- If part of “exploring” and premature, can be dangerous
Sexuality
- Umbrella term
- Activities (sex)
- Attractions (straight/gay)
- Identities (queer) - Generally assume sex, gender, and sexuality correspond to each other, and some categories are better understood as ‘spectrums’.
Deviant/Normal Sexuality
Sexual cultures vary historically and cross-culturally
Ex: Sambian society - ritualized homosexuality reinforced patriarchal structure of society
Ex: Athens (5th century BC) - sexuality intertwined with structure of power
Sexual cultures in North America
- Traditional Indigenous Cultures
- North America (17-20th centuries)
- Contemporary Canada
Traditional Indigenous Cultures
- Considerable variability in Indigenous sexual cultures
- Premarital/Extramarital sexual relationships
- Homosexuality
- Recognition of multiple sex/gender variants - Come commonalities:
- 4 components: Physical, spiritual, intellectual, emotional
- Sexuality = gift from the Creator - Aboriginal sexuality stigmatized by European colonizers
- Colonizers: sex for procreation
- Changing acceptability of Euro/Indigenous relationships
Two Spirited Persons
- European colonizers, and political and religious authorities worked hard to suppress many facets of Indigenous cultures
- Stark contrast in understandings of sex, gender, and sexuality between Indigenous and colonial cultures
- Two Spirited: Indigenous individuals whose sex, gender, or sexuality lies outside the colonial dualisms (male/female, masculine/feminine)
- Term remains somewhat contested; does not convey the nuance in experience/identity
- Ex: Indigenous persons who identify as ‘truly’ male and ‘truly’ female (both Spirits)
North America’s Dominant Meanings of Sexuality By Year
1600: Reproduction within marriage
1700: Intimacy within marriage
1900: Personal fulfillment
200+: >???>??
Reproduction With Marriage (1600’s)
- Regulation by church, court, family, community
- Social control measures varied on the basis of socioeconomic status, race, and gender
Intimacy Within Marriage (1700’s)
- Sexual culture intertwined with social changes -> industrialization, religious shifts, pursuit of happiness
- Social control by women, physicians, social reformers, culture industry
Personal Fulfillment (1900’s)
- Continued criminalization of some acts
- Growth of the culture industry
- Sexuality within mainstream media
- Expansion of the sex industry
Sexuality in all eras
- Integrated with other social changes
- Intertwined with structures of inequality
- Hierarchies of race, class, and gender
All Sexual Cultures
- Dominant moral codes define sexual “deviance” and “normality”
- Deviant sexuality is socially controlled
- The “deviance dance” exists
Sexuality in Contemporary Canada
- Greater, but not unlimited, sexual freedom
- Criteria for determining “deviant” sexuality
- Consent
- Nature of the sexual partner
- Nature of the sexual act
Defining Consent
- Sexual assault
- Date rape drugs
- Age of consent laws
Canada’s Age of Consent Laws
- Age of consent: 16
- Close in age exceptions
- 14, 15 year old can consent to partners less than 5 years older
- 12 or 13 year old can consent to partners less than 2 years older
Canada’s Age of Consent Laws (Sexual Exploitation)
A 16, 17 year old cannot consent to sexual activity if:
- their sexual partner s in position of trust or authority towards them
- the young person is dependent on their sexual partner
- the relationship between the young person and their sexual partner is exploitative
Pedophilia
A sexual attraction to prepubescent children, as indicated by persistent and recurrent sexual thoughts, fantasies, urges, arousal, or behavior.
Age of Onset (Pedophilia)
Early onset of sexual interest in children that precedes sexual behavior involving children or self-identification as a pedophile
Sexual or Romantic Behaviour (Pedophilia)
Some pedophilic sexual offenders score high on measures of emotional congruence with children;
Some seek a romantic relationship
Stability Over Time (Pedophilia)
Life-Long;
Potential changes: associated with “self-regulation” instead of actual change in sexual desire
Child cannot consent -> substantial asymmetries
- Cognitive ability
- Psychosexual development
- Autonomy
Nature of the Sexual Partner
- Criminal justice system
- Incest, bestiality - Formal regulations
- workplace - Informal regulations
- professor and grad student relationship - Evolving views of same sex relationships
Bill C-150
- New era of human rights in Canada
- Pierre Trudeau: “There’s no place for the state in the bedroom of the nation”
- Decriminalized same-sex sexual activities between consenting adults
- Contraception & Birth Control
- Homosexuality removed from the DSM
Canada’s Same-Sex Laws
- 2000
- Same-sex common law couples entitled to same benefits as opposite-sex common law couples - 2005
- Same-sex couples can legally marry
- Stigmatization, deviantization still occurs in Canada and around the world
- Criminalization + lack of legal protections = many other countries
LGBTQ2+ Realities
- Greater risk of victimization
- Hate Crimes - Youth stigmatization
- Negative/discriminatory comments
- Kicked out of the family home
- Greater risk of homelessness
- Particularly true for Transgender youth
Polyamory
The state of practice of maintaining multiple sexual and/or romantic relationships simultaneously, with the full knowledge and consent of all the people involved
Polygamy
The state or practice of having multiple wedded spouses at the same time, regardless of the sex of those spouses
BDSM
- Bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadomasochism
- The “Dom”, “Sub”, “Switches”
- Common assumption: psychopathology
- According to Newmahr, BDSM should be regarded as a recreational leisure activity rather than a deviant/pathological activity