Sexuality Flashcards
Sexuality
Our sexual desires and practices
Sociological perspective: How our sexual desires and practices are shaped by our social contexts
What contributes to sexuality?
Biology and environment contribute to human sexuality
Our beliefs and practices are shaped by processes of socialization
Sexual socialization
We are taught what is appropriate sexual behavior
Learn from parents, schools, media, religious group, peers
The social construction of sexuality
Sexuality is always shaped by social factors
Social norms define “normal” desires and behaviors
The labels humans have created for different types of behaviors
Heteronormativity
Heteronormativity
The idea that heterosexuality is the default or normal sexual orientation from which other sexualities deviate
Sexual minorities
People who are non-heterosexual (e.g. gay, lesbian, bisexual)
The social construction of sexuality
The words (heterosexuality/homosexuality) didn’t appear in books until the 1920s and then took off in a the next few decades
Sexuality as Identity
Desires and behaviors do not automatically crystallize into identities
The creation of sexual identities is a historically contingent (and often accidental) social process
The emergence of sexual identity in the U.S.
Urbanization facilitates anonymity
Industrialization reduces the economic necessity of reproduction within the context of a heterosexual family unit
World War 2
Homosexuality shifts from becoming something people can do to something people can be
Homosexuality wasn’t an identity someone adopted before 20s
Sexual Identity and Stigma
Sexual minorities joined together and created new cultural meanings and practices
People can find each other and build a new culture
Exclude from mainstream culture
This can be viewed as a response to stigma
Sexualities and Inequalities in the U.S.
LGBT people are more likely to live in poverty, experience social isolation, be at higher risk of mental health problems, substance use, and smoking, and are more likely to contemplate and attempt suicide.
Doing Gender, Doing Sexuality
People often act in ways that deliberately project their sexual identity, but not everyone chooses to connect their identities to their behaviors and desires.
In Tony Silva’s reading, what are his findings?
Over 1 percent of men who have sex with men identify as straight
They felt it didn’t make sense for them to identify as gay due to the context in which they live (with a wife and in rural parts)
Who wrote the American Hookup reading?
Lisa Wade
What is hookup culture?
Hookup is a scripted experience
Hooking up is a status game
Status is conferred based on collective agreement about the social value of one’s hookup partners
Data suggests sex hasn’t risen over time, but the culture around it has changed
What is the Hookup Script?
Pregame
Grind
Initiate a hookup
Do… something
Establish meaninglessness
by Be (or claim to be) plastered, Cap your hookups, Create emotional distance
