Sexual Orientation Flashcards
Gender Identity
Knowledge of being a male, female or both or even none
Gender Role
- Knowledge, behaviors and beliefs that we associate with each sex
- Each cultural identity gender roles such as what roles they should take, what things they should be interested in
Sexual Orientation
- Who you see romantically and who you are physically attracted to
- Some people think they are independent
- It’s a very complex thing; it involves behaviors, attraction, etc.
Allies
Often straight people, advocate and engage in activism
Homophobia
Irrational fear or hatred of LGBTQ+ people
Kinsey’s Work
- Continuum idea (that is spectrum)
- Studied sexual behavior in human white male and women
- It was a direct face to face interview with both men and women
- Became an observational work
Found:
- 37% of men and 13% of women has some degree of homosexual experience
- 10% if men were exclusively homosexual and 2 to 6% for women
- Age 16 to 20, some men that was interviewed was homosexual for a little while
Kinsey Scale
- Continuum
- He asked boxed checked questions which he shouldn’t have, but the reason he didi was because the box check questions understates people who do not have heterosexual orientation
Found:
- 4 to 16% of males had same sex contact
- 1 to 3% males and 2 to 5% of female were bisexual
- 4% of females had same sex contact (now 11 to 12%)
Storms Eroticism Scale
- Sexuality represented
- Consists of 4 orientation categories: Homosexual, Asexual, Heterosexual, Bisexual
- It like generates a 2D model (box with 4 squares); It’s like options people can go into
- Conforming sexual orientation in a box and just allowing the 4 categories
- Not the best measuring sexual orientation
- Recognized that not many fit in those boxes
Fritz Klein Sexual Orientation Grid
- A whole bunch of continuum
- Looked at the past, present and future
- It got a rich sense of complexity of sexuality and sexual behavior
- It was a matrix instead of a continuum and the reason behind that is that Kinsey scale failed behind and it wasn’t very representative for sexual orientation. So, matrix, you can find many aspects of sexual orientation and it Lismore complex
- Concluded: That sexual orientation is more complex than checking one box
Psychoanalytic Theory of Sexual Orientation
- Done by Freud
- Believed everyone is burned with bisexual potential
- Believed that sexual orientation develops during the phallic period
- Believed that it was strongly with parents interactions that influence sexual orientation (not really true)
- Theory was not supported
Social Learning Theory of Sexual Orientation
- Bell Weinberg & Hammersmith (1918)
- Investigated a social learning perspective
- Used a path analysis model to try to identify possible influences in childhood and adolescence
- It contained almost 15000 participants
Findings:
- Sexual orientation determined by adolescence, although people may not be sexually active yet
- Romantic feelings appeared to be more critical than activities
- People in the study sound heterosexual experiences ungratifying
- Linked to gender non-conformity
- Identification with parents who had little to no significant impact
- Final conclusion hinted at the possibility of a biological basis for sexual orientation
- Went along with the idea that sexual orientation is fully biological
** Social learning is when someone is determined by adolescence **
Social Construction of Sexual Orientation
- Active process of sexual orientation
- Use the guideline guidelines of our culture
- More of an emphasis on environment
- Rejects all biological beliefs about sexual orientation
- It is based on shared assumptions
- Belief that the environment os going to influence your sexual orientation
Biological Determinants of Sexual Orientation
Basically, asked what about biological is influenced sexual orientation
- Brain
- Genetics
- Hormones
Brain (LeVay)
- Looked at brains, specifically, hypothalamus
- Looked at men and women
- Men have self identify as gay and straight men
- Women have self identify as straight but did not include women who identified as lesbian
- Looked at MRIs and PET scans
Found:
- A small sample of gay men and straight women have same size and that it was smaller than heterosexual men
- Giving the idea that there is something going on in the brain that influence sexual orientation (these findings have been replciated)
Genetics
- There’s a comparison between men and women
Some unexpected studies: Handedness rates (Blanchard et al 2006)
- Found gay male lefties 34% more likely than straight men
- Lesbian 91% more likely than straight women
Hormones - Index vs Ring Finger
Finding:
- Men tend to have a longer ring finger than index fingers. Due to exposure of androgens
- Women who identify as lesbian as a more masculine finger proportionality
- Also, found no difference between gay and heterosexual men
Hormones - Biology Fraternal Birth Order Effect
- Study conducted by Blanchard in 2001
- Wanted to find if sexual orientation related to older brothers?
- Looked at number of older, biological brothers
Found:
- 33% each conditional older increase their chances of being gay
- Add to 33% of each older brother (increase the chance)
- Older sister has no effect
- He believed that HY antigens, has some effect on the biological fraternal birth order effect, but is it anything on the sisters, which there isn’t any effect on older sisters
- Internal Immune hypothesis: Not the same for older sister, but female relative of gay men tend to have more offspring
Hormones - Hair Whorks
- Looked at which the hair is swirling - our head is the shape of the world
- Research done by Lepa
Found:
- 23% of gay men have a clockwise hair swirl compare than straight men and 8.4% of straight men had a counter clock hair swirl
- Belief that it influenced on sexual orientation (hormones), specially on the gay men
EBE Theory
(Stand for exotic becomes erotic)
- States that genetics and environment is going to affect how active children are. Also, social pressure
- See biological differences associated with sexual orientation
- Social gender is not for everyone. It all depends on the child and who they hanging out
- The kids you are not hanging with starts to become interesting to the kids such as playing with a girl - girl but grows to get interested in playing with a boy
Cass Model of Coming out
- Identity Confusion
- Identity Comparison
- Identity Tolerance
- Identity Acceptance
- Identity Pride
- Identity Synthesis
Identity Confusion
- Confuse about the identity
- Don’t know who they are as a person
- Don’t understand others identity
- Get along with someone they are not
Identity Comparison
- Start thinking about what they are? Probably gay, bisexual, maybe just one crush
- Sense of isolation
Identity Tolerance
- Feeling of not along
- Focus on straight people
- Role model starts to become important
- Start to feel positive
- Greater commitment
- Figure what type of people you can tolerate with or align with
- Positive context tend to help with this stage such as role models
Example: Trevor Project - He loses friends and makes fun of it, tries to end his life. But, he sees good in his life. Especially, with the role model, someone he aligned with.This is the foundation to help people come out
Identity Acceptance
- Becomes stronger
- Strong contact with others (LGBTQ+)
- Not confuse
- Sense of belong in the community
- Starts to come out
- Selective people they can trust and act positive
- It’s new to them
Identity Pride
- Develop awareness
- Increase of positive of self
- Awareness of society - start to feel angry to those who doesn’t accept them
- Disclose identity to more people
- Into literature and art
- Often become activist - take part of protest
Identify Synthesis
- Angry they feel of others (straight folks) becomes stronger than minimize it
- Gain pride
- Becomes integrated to who they are
- Criticize how negative it is
- Realize that they will have straight allies, support them
Issues and Sexual Orientation
- Cultural Perception
- Role Models
3, Support Systems - Safety Concerns
The Infamous Strain Gauge Study (Adams, Wright & Lohr, 1996)
- It was a penile plethysmograph
- Study of men
- Gave them index homophobia
- Rational fear of dislike
- Using that index, there are participants whoa re high or low homophobia
- Use the penile and men them watch erotic material (porn): Men and women have sex, men and men have sex, women and women have sex
- Penil measure erections
Found:
- Results vary
- Guys that have high in homophobia, shows reaction towards everything (all three types of pornography)
- Guys who have low homophobia, showed reactions towards everything except with mean and men
Expressive Love
- Expressing love, communicating feelings
- Romantic love seems to be expressive
Example: Writing a love letter, a poem, communication, country music songs, etc.,
Ludus Love
- Thrill of the chase
- It is playful love
- Love is game
- Like excitement
- Like creating and form relationships BIT don’t like building long term relationship (not a lot of commitment)
- Don’t see investment
- Has to do a lot with the hook up rules
Instrumental Love
- Activity base love, doing things together (sharing life experiences)
Example: Cooking together or fixing the radio of the car
Eros Love
- Passionate love (doesn’t last long)
- Romance and desire
- Emphasis lust
- Very passionate relationship BUT can be a fire that can eventually go out (can be maintained for a short period of time)
- Physical attraction
- Emphasis on sex
- Tend to fizzle out
- Some relationship cant maintain that high level of passionate
Storge Love
- Love build on friendship
- Focus on friendship first and eventually develop in a romantic relationships
- It is more of a movie style love
- Requires a lot of commitment
- Big on verbal intimacy
- Friends first and than develop into love
Example: Hallmark movies
Mania Love
- Very Intense, jealous, untrusting and manipulative love
- A lot of Manic love
- Often characteristic intense feelings with a lot of distrust
- Behavior: being toxic → checking partners phone, jealousy, tend to control or actually controlling, can be obsessive, etc.
- Not healthy relationship
Example: Stalking your partner
Pragma Love
- Finding someone who meets criteria (who is practical for you)
- Practical love
- Someone who checks all your needs such as being a good father, has the same belief, etc.
- An arrange marriage is a pragma love
Example: Looking for someone who is rich
Agape Love
- Self sacrifice love
- Spiritual love
- No strings attached type of thing
- Not healthy
- Your partner’s happiness is your happiness even more important
- Not a balance of giving and taking
- They would be more giving and not taking
Infidelity
- Self sacrifice love
- Spiritual love
- No strings attached type of thing
- Not healthy
- Your partner’s happiness is your happiness even more important
- Not a balance of giving and taking (They would be more giving and not taking)
- Those who have cheated, they are 3x more likely to cheat again (any gender)
Micro-Cheating
- Engaging with someone online (Not physical contact)
- Having contact virtually such as sexting, consuming porn
- Not quite infidelity
- More specifically to the couple
Example: Flirting with someone online knowing that it was agreed to not do that
Example: Watching porn online knowing it was agreed on to not watch porn because it is considered cheating
Could it be gene? (Justin R. Garcia et al)
- Conducted studies to look at genes, are genes associated with cheating?
- 181 students to complete survey with Binghamton University
- Submitted the DNA sample
- Screen for the DRD4 gene which is found in chromosome 11
- Looked at relationships and what is going on in that relationship
- 1 version is associated with impulsive issues, Which is 7R+
- Divided people in who had this version of the gene and who didn’t
- Those who didn’t have the version of the gene it was considered 7R-
Found differences:
- Half of 7R+ people and 20% of 7R- people reported infidelity
- Concluded: More people reported in infidelity, meaning that impulsive control issues could be related to infidelity
- Labeled “the slut gene”
CNS (Consensual Non-Monogamy)
A lot of people who are in a polyamory relationships are just quiet about it
Polygyny
- One man with multiple wives
- Can exist in cultures
- More common than polyandry
Polyandry
- One women with multiple husband
- Less common
Swinging
- Engage sexual behavior with folks who are not in emotional relationship
- It’s a physical relationship
- Have sex with multiple people
- Can be people in clubs
- No romantic relationship
- Can be identify as polyamories or not; just depend on the relationship you in
Polyamory
- Loving more than one person (multiple) can take many forms
- Tend to be in a closed relationship (stick to their own group, and not outside the group and start dating)
Open Relationship
- Folks who have committed relationship but involve in a sexual relationship with someone else (seeing other people outside of their relationship
- They still stay in there committed relationship (stay in their polyamory relationship)
- 60% of gay relationships are in a open relationship
Dating
- People who have a script
- Go and do an activity together
- Happens earlier than hookups
- Support and define traditional gender roles
Hookup
- Brief, uncommitted sexual encounter among individuals who are not partners
- Most of college students hookup (majority)
- Typically involve alcohol, any social scenes
- It’s a no promise type of thing
- Support and defy traditional gender roles
- Increase in men who have a positive emotions after hookup (women’s as well but mainly men)
Where hookups occur?
- Parties (67%)
- Dorms (57%)
- Bars club (10%)
- Cars (4%)
- Other (35%)
What happens on a hookup?
- A Lot of hookups (98%)
- Sexual touching above the waist (58%)
- Sexual touching below the wait (53%)
- Performed oral sex (36%)
- Received oral sex
Cohabitation
- Living together and having a sexual relationship without being married
- It can be part of courtship, trial marriage and an alternative to marriage
Cohabitation Iceland
- Registered Cohabitation (Jonsonn, 2020)
- Icelandic Model (Guony Bjork Eydal)
— Meteing
— Pregnancy
— Cohabitation
— Birth
— Maybe marriage
Cohabitation in the United States
- Changes in acceptance
- Many folks starting to see the benefits of cohabitation and marriage
- Reasons are different for cohabitation such as love, compenship, wanted to make a format commitment, wanted to have children someday, it made sense financially, etc.
- 63% vs 80% in gender roles
Cohabitation vs Marriages
- Show traditional roles but tend to be more androgynous than married partners
- Cohabitation tends to be more varied in pattern
- Partners report being equally satisfied with cohabitation and marriage
- Cohabitation does not have a substantial influence on later marital happiness
Traditional Marriage
- Marriage that bind in gender roles (traditional gender roles)
- Men: Breadwinners
- Women: Often stay home moms, House works, Raise kids
Example: Husband works and makes any final decisions
Example: Wife stay home and takes care of the kids
Modern Marriage
- People endorse gender neutral roles
- Make decisions equally
- Often both working outside the home
- Mix of Egalitarian and traditional marriage
Example: when kid is sick, a parent has to be stay and it usually as to be the wife (the mother)
Example: Both go to work, but if kid gets sick the mom is more likely to stay and take care of the kids
Believe that everything is equal, but it is still a subtle gender roles
Subtype of Modern Marriage: Dual Earner Marriage
- Dominant family form today
- Yet still problems with this form (specifically for women):
— Work overload
— Second shift syndrome
—- Work - Family Role Conflict (Sub: Invisible Work)
Work Overload
Where women won;t abandon house responsibilities due to work. Tend to feel everything is coming together and is stressing them out
Second Shift Syndrome
- Working outside the house and when they come home, they have like a second job because they have to complete house responsibilities after going to work
- Feel like starting another job
Example: If mom is going to clean each day after home (they are acknowledge of responsibilities they have to do)
Work - Family Role Conflict
- Is how we make decisions about prioritizing work and family
- Women tend to do more housework in general
- Moms will experience career reduction than the dad due to the kids
Invisible Work
- All the work that the mom/wife is doing, that you don’t really think of
- But, if not everything will eventually fall apart
Example: Remembering family birthdays
Egalitarian Marriage
- They are equal in every way
- Following heterosexual couples
- When marriage style is truly equal
- No differences in who has to leave work to care for the kids
- Career decisions is not based on the gender role s
- Marital satisfaction is highest
