Perspectives on Sexuality Flashcards
What does it mean that the topic of sexuality is never neutral? (4)
- People have MANY different ideas about sexuality.
- These ideas are NOT INNATE but rather influenced by the messages we receive throughout our lives.
- The messages can be POSITIVE and NEGATIVE.
- The messages come from a variety of different sources.
Key sources of (mis)Information about Sexuality?
- Culture/Religion, it does not matter if you subsribe to a religion. Religion and culture shapes our view regardless of individual convinces
- Media
- Internet
Ethnocentrism? Causes us to …
The tendency to view things from our own vantage point as “normal” and others as “atypical”.
The idea that only our version or definition of sex is “normal”
Causes us to ignore diversity
Religion/Culture
All societies regulate sexuality to some degree, some examples are? (4)
- Rules against incest (most universal)
- Rules against sexual assault/rape
- Different norms for men and women
- Accepted forms of relationships (e.g., monogamy is the most common dyadic relationship throughout most of the world)
Colonisation of sexuality in Canada
- Canada’s Indian Act: (Will be on exam)
Efforts towards making heterosexuality compulsory in First Nations communities
- Prior to Western European contact there was a broad range of diversity with regards to gender/sex and sexuality within indigenous communities
- The introduction of Western European racist, heterosexist, and patriarchal knowledges served to regulate those with gender/sex and sexuality diversity in these communities
- Imposing Western categories, labels, and values on sexual practices, sexual and gender identities, and gender roles has been really harmful
- Many cultures differ in sexual practices and in presentations of gender.
- Colonisation of these cultures has contributed to stigmatisation of these gender expressions and identities.
- Some cultures, including indigenous cultures do nit characterise genders as a binary (e.g., fa’afafine, Hijra, mute)
- Acceptance of same sex/same-gender sexual attraction behaviour, marriage
Culture & Sexuality - Cook Islands?
Girls, females, women are encouraged to explore their sexuality including many sexual partners before Marriage. Boys are provided with mentorship on female pleasure.
Culture & Sexuality - India?
Every year the Muria tribe celebrate Ghotul where they learn about songs, folklore, and sex.
Culture & Sexuality - Nepal/India?
Polyandry (though limited to agricultural communities)
Within cultures, norms can change over time
- How has attitudes about sexual behaviours have changed over time since 1972?
- Increase % of adults agreeing that types of non-marital sex are “not wrong at all”
- Not all of our sexual attitudes are changing over time, more ok with premarital and adult same sex, but only slight shift in approval of teen sexual relationship, and no shift in extramarital relationships (cheating).
Religion - Christianity
Patriarchal because …. ?
- Women as responsible for original sin
- e.g. Eve as a spruce of temptation
- Dichotomises women’s sexuality
- e.g. “pure” as in the case of Mary the mother of Jesus who had immaculate conception
- e.g. “whores” or sources of temptation
- Virginity was “prized”
- Face-to-face position, missionary position (women as inferior, below men)
- Views about contraception, the goal is reprocreation
What are the implications of sex guilt?
Meta-analysis = “study of studies”
Systematically assess the results of previous research to derive conclusions about that body of reproach.
- Sexual active amount, the more sex guilt the less sex people have
- Higher sex guilt, less likely to use contraceptives
- Sexual arousal to media (porn), more sex guilt less arousal to porn
- Emotional response to media, higher sex guilt less positive emotional response to porn (more negative emotion)
- The more sex guilt, the lower sex information accuracy
- More sex guilt -> less positive attitudes about sex
- More sex guilt -> greater religiosity
Religion - Judaism
Judaism views sexuality as mostly good??
- Sexual realtions as part of God’s creation
- Some contradictions: sex as good AND as a spruce of impurity
Some examples: - Wet dreams, menstruation and childbearing require ritual cleansing
- Incest, bestiality, sexual behaviour between men, and adultery were punishable by death
How does MEDIA influence views about sexuality?
- Media play a large role in the formation of our identities and norms.
- Much of what we think of as “good” or “bad”
- Is a social construction conveyed to us by menus
- Media help us learn what is “normal” and what is expected of us.
- We learn about what we “should” or “should not” desire.
- At times, these messages are very subtle or even blatantly unrealistic.
Advertising and messages around sex?
- Historically, media that referenced sexuality was censored in Western culture.
- References had to be very subtle because of the influence of religious doctrines.
- Selling contraceptives was illegal.
- Explicitly sexual items were disguised in advertising.
