Sexuality and Identities Flashcards
Lober (1994) distinguishes as many as 10 sexual identities:
Straight man, straight woman, lesbian woman, gay man, bisexual woman, bisexual man, transvestite woman, transvestite man, transexual woman and transexual man
What do sociologists consider heterosexuality to be a product of?
Culture rather than biology
How can sociologists considering homosexuality to be cultural be shown?
Examining the way that definitions of sexual attraction have changed over 100 years. The changing “ideal standard” of feminine beauty
What are some of the double standards in society of male and female behaviour?
Men are supposed to be promiscuous predators having sex with as many women as possible and females are supposed to be passive and more interested in love than sex. Lees found women may be subjected to being called a slag.
Weeks (1987) sexuality tends to be strongly linked to identity for those who are homosexual more than those who are heterosexual
Weeks (1991) observes that to come out and announce a gay sexuality is to make a statement about challenging the dominant heterosexual hegemony. The construction of homosexuality usually involves seeking out and joining a gay subculture.
Rich (1980) heterosexuality is forced upon women because lesbian identity has been written off as abnormal. Men find it threatening because its existence challenges the dominance of hegemonic masculinity.
McIntosh (1996) in Western societies gay identity is associated with particular cultural characteristics which people use to distinguish gay from straight men
Plummer (1986) partly supports McIntosh by seeing homosexuality as a process and discussing the homosexual career
What happened in the 1960s in regards to homosexuality? cultural attitudes towards it started to shift and homosexuality was made legal for consenting adults older than 21
What happened in the 1970s in regards to homosexuality? a distinct gay subculture emerged in British culture and it focused on the pink pound. Gay culture became politicised as gays sought to assert their identity
When was gay marriage made legal? 2014
Pink pound Spending power of gay professionals was targeted by gay bars
clubs and restaurants.
How many 16-44 year olds viewed homosexuality as immoral in 2010 compared to 1990? 2010 = 27%
1990 = 60%
How many 16-44 year olds disapproved of lesbian relationships in 2010 compared to 1990? 2010 = 23%
1990 = 58%
McCormack and Anderson (2010) study of males at a sixth form
found homophobia wasn’t tolerated
How does the media impact homosexuality? For heterosexuals the media is how they encounter LGBT identities and this affects attitudes.
Lovelock (2017) tabloid press is still negative and condemning of its coverage of homosexuality. The suns outrage about a book in a teacher resource library about in the 1980s about a girl with same sex dads and the treatment of George michael’s death
Section 28 of Local government act 1988 local authority shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality as a pretended family relationship
When was Section 28 repealed? 2003
From when did relationships and sex education become a statutory requirement in all secondary schools in England? September 2020
From when did relationship education become compulsory in primary schools? September 2020
What decision did the government make about LGBT in teaching? they decided to let the schools decide how they would address LGBT content
Ward and Winstanley (2005) Showed different working environment impact on the ease with which individuals can be open or should conceal sexual identities
Browne (2014) ‘The Glass Closet’ documents the challenges he faced in coming out in the workplace and advises businesses to be more open and inclusive
What did research from the Institute of Engineering and Technology find in 2014? 34% of lesbian
gay
How was homosexuality seen in the early 20th century? Seen as a form of criminal and abnormal behaviour
sexual activity was illegal and a prisonable offence
How did attitudes towards homosexuality change in the 1960s? Began to shift and was made legal for consenting adults over 21
From when did a distinct gay subculture emerge in British culture? 1970s
What does Rich suggest about gay subcultures? The emergence of gay and lesbian subcultures is remarkable considering that western societies tend to be characterised by a fierce compulsory heterosexuality
What from 2019 proved that gay people today are a part of society? 45 openly gay MPs
