Sexual subcultures Flashcards
What are different tyoes of capital that can be considered desirable?
- Economic: money, resources that reflect/reinforce socioeconomic class position
- Cultural: certain types of knowledge, behaviour and skills differently valued in different networks, communities and institutions
- Social: ties to other people
- Sexual: physical appearance and sexual tastes and skills; what is considered desirable reflects the particular sexual field
What is a sexual field?
A sexual field combines networks, communities, and institutions where people evaluate themselves and others based on norms and desirability within the field.
How has the internet influenced sexual fields?
It has created specific online sexual fields, communities, and preferences, decoupling collective sexual life from broader social control.
Why are LGBTQ bars declining?
- Rising property costs
- internet communities
- more accepting culture enabling LGBTQ individuals to visit non-LGBTQ bars.
What is meant by “cultural archipelagos”?
Queer life spread beyond a single “gayborhood” into diverse neighborhoods and cities based on race, gender, and class.
What is the history behind gay leather culture?
- Emerging post-WWII, it subverts normative masculinity while embracing hyper-masculinity and dominance/submission themes.
- Associated with bikers who wore leather out of necessity
- It also challenges normative masculinity by rejecting the necessity to identify as straight
- pioneered erotic practices avoiding anal sex as a safety mechanism during the 1980s HIV epidemic
What are “pop-ups” in queer nightlife?
Temporary events like amateur strip nights or multi-gender drag parties that continue queer culture despite bar closures
What is an example of a cultural archipelago?
- man-man: more likely to live in urban centers (more affordable because they are less likely yo raise kids than lesbians);
- woman-woman: more likely to live in smaller cities/towns (lower costs; they are more likely to raise children so they want to own a home, affordable living costs)
Why are the effects of porn difficult to study?
- Issues with porn definition
- frequency assessment
- causation vs. correlation
- short vs. long-term effects.
How does religiosity affect views on pornography?
Highly religious individuals are more likely to have restrictive views on what constitutes porn.
How does pornography affect adolescent brains differently than adults?
- Adolescent brains are uniquely susceptible to porn
- Prefrontal cortex’s ability to measure and contextualise pleasurable impulses is not fully formed until early twenties
- Exposure to sexually explicit material results in primary indexing of their sexual framework.
- Porn can become both addictive and compulsive
What adverse effects can porn use have on adolescents?
- unhealthy sexual behaviour
- aggression
- mental illness
- unstable relationships
- reduced family formation.
What is the impact of porn on sexual aggression among adolescents?
- lead to more enactment of sexual dominance in real life = lower sexual satisfaction
What factors affect frequency of porn use among high school senior boys?
- Rule breaking behaviour 9drug use, truancy)
- High academic achievement
→ Perhaps because of time spent online - Having an employed mother
What factors affect frewuency of porn use among high school senior girls?
- Rule breaking behaviour
- Early sexual debut
- Penetrative sexual victimisation (forcible penetration)
How is problematic sexual behavior related to consumption of violent porn?
- Non-violent content: 1.8x as likely to engage in problematic sexual behaviour
- Violent content: 2.5x as likely to engage in problematic sexual behaviour
How does the frequency of porn use affect adolescent relationships?
Associated with poorer relationship skills and a lower ability to refuse risky behaviours.
What did a study from Taiwan find about the relationship btw exposure to porn and outcomes?
The more they’ve been exposed the more likely they are to:
- have early sexual debut (before 18)
- Unsafe sex (unprotected)
- Multiple sexual partners
What is the prevalence of porn consumption among U.S. adolescents?
58% of boys and 39% of girls aged 14-18 have watched porn.
What proportion of boys and girls learn about sexual pleasure from porn?
17% of boys and 4% of girls reported learning most about sexual pleasure and orgasm from porn.
How does frequent porn consumption relate to violence in Denmark?
Those who frequently consume porn are more likely to engage in physical violence.
Why has there been a rise in dangerous sexual practices?
Practices that used to be uncommon in general pop but are common in porn (Eg. Choking) are now common among young people due to porn
What is the riskof choking?
- Restricting blood flow to the brain even briefly can cause permanent injury
- Elevated risk of late onset mental illness due to inflammation response
How is the normalisation of dangerous sexual practices like choking a gendered issues?
- national probability survey of US (2021) researchers found that women are more likely to experience choking and men more likely to do the choking
- Men who watch porn are more likely to choke their partners because it is normalised to them
