Sexual Orientation Flashcards
What is asexual?
person perceives little or no interest in engaging sexually with others
What is pansexual?
open to any gender
Queer
umbrella term, non-gendered term, also a slur, intended to not labels one’s sexuality
Two-spirited
have the spirit of both the male and female
Androphilic
anyone attracted to males
Gynephilic
anyone attracted to females
Ambiphilic (not really used)
If both Androphilic and Gynephilic
Sexual orientation
The category of people you are attracted to
Affectional orientation
The interaction between affect and cognition such that it produces attraction, erotic desire, and ultimately feelings of love for members of the other sex, the same sex or both
Historically there was no word like homosexual, what happened??
As its general usage become popular those who engaged in the activity were no longer doing a behavior, they became a certain creature.
What were 3 examples of what people thought of homosexuals?
o Thought to be what was wrong with society
o Called shallow, narcissistic, effeminate, predatory and prudish
o Blamed for American defeat in Vietnam and for WW2
Why did people start identifying as gay or lesbian instead of homosexual?
Because homosexual had such a bad connotation associated with it and was very sexualized
What is sexual orientation?
The gender(s)/sex(es) that you are attracted to
What is gender identity?
The psychological sense of being male, female, or somewhere else on the gender spectrum
What is heterocentric?
the assumption of a universal heterosexual orientation
What do we tend to do to people who don’t fit into our norm and who is it bad for?
We question who does not fit into our norm (ex: when did you choose to be straight/gay video). IT is bad for everyone! Especially heterosexual men (think of Dan Savage’s video)
What are 5 questions listed on the heterosexual questionnaire? (pick 5 out of 10)
- when did you first decide you were a heterosexual?
- what do you think caused your heterosexuality?
- is it possible this is just a phase and you will out grow it?
- if you have never slept with a person of the same sex, how d you know you wouldn’t prefer it?
- why do you insist on being so obvious with public displays of affection? Can you just be who you are and keep it quiet?
- whom have you told about your heterosexuality and how did they react?
- do heterosexuals hate or distrust others of their own sex? Is this what makes them heterosexual?
- why do heterosexuals place so much emphasis on sex?
- why do heterosexuals try to recruit others into this lifestyle
- a disproportionate majority of child molesters are heterosexual…. Do you consider it safe to expose children to heterosexual teachers?
People love to theorize what makes people gay but not…
what makes people straight
What is heterosexism?
prejudice and discrimination against individuals of other sexual orientations and genders, based on the implicit assumption that heterosexuality is the norm
What did the Kinsey scale ask people to rate (2)? What did each number mean (0-6)?
Asked to rate experiences and fantasies:
0: Exclusively heterosexual
1: Predominantly heterosexual, only incidentally homosexual
2: Predominantly heterosexual, but more than incidentally homosexual
3: Equally heterosexual and homosexual
4: Predominantly homosexual, but more than incidentally heterosexual
5: Predominantly homosexual, only incidentally heterosexual
6: Exclusively homosexual
What variables would people for on the Klein sexual orientation grid?
What did 0= and 6=?
People would rate the variables for past, present and ideal. 0 = exclusively heterosexual to 6 = exclusively homosexual
What is placement on the Klein grid determined by?
Placement on the scale is determine by self-report of sexual behaviour and secondarily by self-report of sexual desires and attractions
What was different about the sexuality questionnaire?
Attraction to men and women weren’t seen as opposite sides of the spectrum but as separate spectrums.
What did 1 vs. 7 mean on the sexuality questionnaire and what variables were being rated?
Each component is assigned a number from 1 (other sex only) to 7 (same sex only) in terms of past, present and “ideal” circumstances.
What is sexual configurations theory?
- Thinking of every individual as having a sexual configuration on a number of axes (ex: gender, sex, partner number, etc)
- Focus on eroticism and nurturance as broader separate categories
- Talks about solitary sexuality as a valid form of expression
Define eroticism vs. nurturance
♣ Can be bisexual in terms of attraction = eroticism
♣ But can want a heterosexual relationship = nurturance
Explain and draw that othering to diversity idea:
Other: white background = all heterosexual, not talking about sexuality
Difference (most common): making that background more apparent. Comparing squares (heterosexuals) to gay people (dots). Looking how different these two groups are. Usually the minority group, the differences are seen as weird.
Diversity: everyone has some sort of sexuality that fall somewhere on a grid. The squares, some have solid lines, dashed lines, slightly curved. So instead of saying all of this group is the same, everyone is put on the grid. Shows all heterosexuals are not the same as all gay people are not the same.
What is a queer and feminist approach to understanding sexuality (thinking from the margins)? Draw it!
It is an outer circle that includes: cisnormativity, alignment normatively, heteronormativity, homonormativity, mononormativity, sexual normatively, fixedness normativity that all filter into the inner circle which is you.
DRAW the SCT and explain the 4 parts that make it up, ex: sexual orientation
a) Only focuses on binary: men, women, both
b) But there is a gender/sex challenge part = sex/gender doesn’t matter. Challenging the norms.
c) how specific: only only attracted to women (left), both (middle), men (right)
d) what is a core part of your sexuality? If you don’t care about sex/gender it would be 0%
Explain the brain difference findings and what the issue was with it
Size different in the INAH3 and SCN. Study was don of cadavers. HUGE FLAW: They didn’t know the sexual orientation of any one dead but those who died of HIV/AIDS were assumed gay but who knows what effect those diseases would have had on the size of the hypothalamus!
Part of the issue with this research is if you can prove you’re biologically gay then its okay b/c you can’t help it, which is just a shit way to think.
Explain the difference in brain symmetry
On average male brains are less symmetrical than women. Gay men have a level of symmetry that falls between men and women.