Sexual Identity Flashcards
1885
Section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885, commonly known as the Labouchere Amendment, makes ‘gross indecency’ between men a crime. The law is broadly interpreted to refer to any sexual or intimate contact between men.
1921
The Criminal Law Amendment Act threatens to extend the Labouchere Amendment to include same-sex relationships between women.
1957
The Wolfenden Report was published. The committee recommended that ‘homosexual behaviour between consenting adults in private should no longer be a criminal offence.’ It is not acted on by Parliament.
1967
The Sexual Offences Act is passed. It decriminalises sex in private between men over the age of 21. The Act only applies to England and Wales and does not cover the Merchant Navy or the Armed Forces. However, homosexuality was still widely discriminated against and the Act still led to arrests, as certain conditions were still considered illegal.
1969
stonewall riots began on the streets on London
1972
The first official Gay Pride rally takes place in London on 1 July. Seven hundred people attend.
1977
first gay electee
1980
first gay nightclub opened
1989
stonewall opened a charity in the UK to protect LGBTQ+ and Denmark legalised same sex marriage
1992
The World Health Organization no longer defines same-sex desire as a mental illness.
1999
The Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999 make it illegal for employers to discriminate against trans people.
2000
The ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual people serving in the armed forces is lifted.
The Sexual Offences Amendment Act lowers the age of sexual consent to 16 for everyone
2003
The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations make it illegal to discriminate against someone based on their sexuality in the workplace.
2004
civil partnership act and the gender recognition act was passed
2010
The first LGBTQ+ refugees are accepted into the UK
2013
The Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act 2013 is passed and comes into effect the following year. It legalises same-sex marriage in England and Wales.
2020
Same-sex marriage laws come into effect in Northern Ireland
where is homosexuality still illegal?
Uganda and Singapoore
feminists have concerns over how women are portrayed through their sexuality
as sexual objects for men
this can be supported by Mulvey and the ‘male gaze’
sexuality is an issue for many, especially for those who are not heterosexual
Weeks points out that not many would say ‘I am heterosexual’ but many would say ‘I am gay’ in relation to identity
When talking about sexual identity you are talking about ……..
sexual orientation
**Weeks **argues that ‘sexual identification is a strange thing’ and it is very complex
- many people identify as gay and take part in gay activities but dont take part in same same sexual relations
- there are people who have same-sex sexual relations but dont identify as gay
Reiss’s study
rent boys (young male prostitutes) thought of themselves as straight despite having sex with men for money
Quinn - gay tribal people
cross-cultural study
- native americans celebrated male and male relationships with the ‘wife’ being more feminine ( dressing in female clothes and putting on a higher voice) and the ‘husband’ was dominant and masculine
- sub-saharan african people have man-boy marriages called boy-wives who are treated the same as a female wife
Sexual identity is relative and therefore socially constructed - Plummer
The homosexual role - MacIntosh
- In western cultures, a homosexuak mans role involves certain characteristics (effeminate mannerisms, higher voice and attention to looks)
- once a male accepts this label he will fullfil these expectations
- label creates the behaviour
Plummer
Homosexuality is a process talking about a ‘homosexual career’. This is where a man has accepted the label of gay and will look to others and join a subculture where homosexuality is the norm.
gay left collective
‘becoming a homosexual’ is a difficult process of ‘becoming the other’ or ‘becoming what one has learnt to desire’
Rich -feminist
- womens sexuality is oppressed by men in a patriarchy
- marriage, sexual violence and rape
- ‘compulsory heterosexuality’ describes how women are socialised into a subordinate role
- women arent neccessarily inheritantly straight and its forced upon them
- lesbian idenitiy has been constructed as abnormal as its a threat to male dominance
‘pink pound’
when society makes money off of gay poeple (capitalists)
