Sexuality and Society

Question 1

Sex

Answer 1

Biological, referring to bodily differences between females and males

Question 2

Gender

Answer 2

Cultural, referring to behaviour, power and privileges a society attaches to being female or male

Question 3

Biological Issue

Answer 3

Sex determined at conception; different genitals (primary sex characteristics) and bodily development (secondary sex characteristics)

Question 4

Intersexual People

Answer 4

Hermaphrodites; have some combination of male and female genitalia

Question 5

Transsexual People

Answer 5

Feel they are one sex although biologically they are another

Question 6

Cultural Issue

Answer 6

Sex is a matter of cultural meaning and personal choice rather than biological programming. Sexual practices vary considerably between cultures. Incest taboo exists in all societies.

Question 7

Gender Identity

Answer 7

Traits that females or males, guided by their culture, incorporate into their personalities

Question 8

Incest Taboo

Answer 8

A norm forbidding sexual relations or marriage between certain relatives

Question 9

Sexual Revolution

Answer 9

1960s and 1970s: Drew sexuality into the open

Question 10

Sexual Counterrevolution

Answer 10

1980: Criticized permissiveness and urged for a return to traditional family values

Question 11

Alfred Kinsey

Answer 11

Sexuality researcher

Question 12

Sexual Orientation

Answer 12

A person’s romantic/emotional attraction to another person; most research supports that it is rooted in biology; not a matter of neat categories

Question 13

Gay Rights Movement

Answer 13

Helped change public attitudes toward acceptance of homosexuality

Question 14

Teen Pregnancy

Answer 14

In a single decade, teen pregnancy dropped from 50 to 34 per 1000 teenage women

Question 15

Pornography

Answer 15

Sexually explicit material that causes sexual arousal. Legal in Canada, while obscenity is not. Viewed as a power issue, and is condemned as demeaning to women.

Question 16

Prostitution

Answer 16

Selling of sexual services is not illegal in Canada, but until recently, soliciting or communicating for prostitution and running a brothel were against the law. Victimizes women and spreads STDs.

Question 17

Sexual Assault

Answer 17

Victims and offenders typically know one another.

Question 18

Abortion

Answer 18

Deliberate termination of pregnancy. Canada may be the only country in the developed world with no abortion law whatsoever. Pro-life: allowed under very limited circumstances/not at all. Pro-choice: women must have control over their bodies.

Question 19

Structural-Functional Approach

Answer 19

Highlights society’s need to regulate sexual activity, especially reproduction. One universal norm is incest taboo, which keeps family relations clear.

Question 20

Symbolic-Interaction Approach

Answer 20

Emphasizes the various meanings people attach to sexuality. The social construction of sexuality can be seen in sexual differences between societies and in changing sexual patterns over time.

Question 21

Social-Conflict Approach

Answer 21

Links sexuality to social inequality. Feminist theory claims that men dominate women by devaluing them to the level of sexual objects. Queer theory claims our society has a heterosexual bias, defining anything different as “queer”.

Question 22

Cultural Variation

Answer 22

Considerable variation between societies; regulation of openness

Question 23

Premarital Sex

Answer 23

Has gained approval; Males endorse fun, women endorse love

Question 24

Homophobia

Answer 24

Dread of close personal interaction with gays, lesbians, or bisexuals