SOC212 - 9. Sex Flashcards
Sexual Norms
Sexual behavior governed by norms that regulate socially acceptable practices
become sexual beings by acquiring “sexual scripts” that depict sex roles learned in a process of sexual socialization.
Sexual Norms
socialization perspective - through interaction with others
wide variety of acts - statuses, participants, surroundings
Normative behaviour & interaction
usually monogomous, male/female, vanilla, hot
Deviation from Sexual Norms
Judgments of sexual deviation consider few important characteristics (DeLamater, 1981).
1) Degree of consent: norms the prohibit assault
Deviation from Sexual Norms
2) Identities of the participants: restrict legit sex between species, number of ppl
Deviation from Sexual Norms
3) Relationships between participants: incest prohibited, legitimate partners in term of age, kinship, restricted to marriage
4) Act and conduct: oral, anal, vaginal
Deviation from Sexual Norms
5) Setting + context: at house more appropriate than closet
informal social control
vary by group
Deviation from Sexual Norms
fetishes, sex work, polygamy, incest
some are policed with law over time
porno, BDSM, bestiality
Social Change
Sexual Revolution has led to increased permissiveness
concerning a number of sexual acts (i.e., premarital sexual
intercourse, spouse swapping, open marriages, etc.)
Social Change
sexual revolution came down to invention of pill
decoupled sex from reproduction
W able to become more sexual beings outside marriage
Sex & Deviance
Heterosexual deviance’ includes:
Premarital and Extramarital Sex
Sex Work
BDSM
Sex & Deviance
meaning of sexual deviance varies in different situations + dependent upon society’s norms
Technological Change
Sex & Deviance
regardless would apply to all sexualities
cultural norms
Extramarital Sex
refers to sexual behavior by a married person with someone who is not their spouse
Reasons for engaging in extramarital affairs vary
by gender
Extramarital Sex
apply to ppl in all long term relationships
doesn’t change emotional ramifications
not always disapproved
Non-Monogamy
needs a lot of honesty and communication, trust and time managements to work
Monogamish Relationships:
more relaxed boundaries around sexual behaviour
negotiated between partners
emotionally monogamous, but not in sexual behaviours
Non-Monogamy
Open Relationships:
more sexually open
romantic or sexual relationships with others
been around since 70s
Non-Monogamy
Polyamory:
relational exclusivity not necessary for loving relationships
can have romantic or sexual relationships with more than one person
Non-Monogamy
ethical and responsible nonmonogamy
three ppl dating
not polygamy - more egalitarian and consensual
Non-Monogamy
patriarchy to take care of offspring government encourages monogamy to solve welfare - for stability religious beliefs
Non-Monogamy
tradition difficult to live on your own economy structured around it marriage linked to romantic love in tv shows and movies - the one
BDSM: Bondage Domination and Submission Sadomasochism
Definition (1969) - range of practices from power/submission dynamic
whipped, latex, hung
many try it, but don’t identify with it
comes down to self-identification as opposed to practice
BDSM: Bondage Domination and Submission Sadomasochism
Dom + Sub or switch
really egalitarian - doesn’t come down to sexual norms
unequal and complementary power dynamics
still largely misunderstood
BDSM: Bondage Domination and Submission Sadomasochism
Legal status
technically illegal in Canada - can’t consent to any harm - except doctor or sports, piercing or tattoo because broad social/cultural value
bodily harm
BDSM: Bondage Domination and Submission Sadomasochism
Consent: initial consent is negated due to bodily harm
enthusiastic, ongoing - needs to be constantly negotiated
contracts
BDSM: Bondage Domination and Submission Sadomasochism
stats are hard to come by - loose consensus that it is more common than ppl think
Kinsey - 1 in 20 engage in BDSM
problems - can be used as cloak for abuse
BDSM: Bondage Domination and Submission Sadomasochism
not anymore risky than normal sex, but seen as more extreme due to violation of social norms
Kink: Healthy kink requires responsible, ethical partners, safe techniques
BDSM: Bondage Domination and Submission Sadomasochism
•Safeword: signals continuing consent
•Aftercare: make sure they are in same mental + physical health before and after
feedback on what worked, what doesn’t
Sex & the Internet
Several people use internet to promote sexual services as
means to make money.
promote sexual services
Sex & the Internet
remote sexual stimulation within and outside of relationships
Sex work, phone sex, hook up sites & apps, RLC, etc. (escort services, nonpaid site - tinder, POF)
Sex & the Internet
Cybersex (sexting, snapchat)
expand + facilitate hookup culture
red light centre - sims but a whole lot of sex
Sex Work vs. Prostitution
Sex work highlights commercialized nature of some forms of sex: can be exotic dancing, massages, phone sex, escort
Nature and Extent: work that deals with impersonal sexual activity where there is an exchange of money
arrests target ppl in early 20, most are white
Sex Work vs. Prostitution
20% of adult men have some experience with prostitutes
more tertiary deviance - sex work
prostitution has negative connotations
excludes child prostitutes, human trafficking
International
Sex Work vs. Prostitution
Types of Prostitutes: call girls, street walkers, bar girls
probably a hierarchy - street vs escort
prostitutes at work - party girls, career climbers (sleeps with boss)
Sex Work vs. Prostitution: Dimensions of Sex Work
Networks: deviant street networks will develop
drug dealers, husslers, prostitution
Sex Work vs. Prostitution: Dimensions of Sex Work
Pathways: many diff ways - child prostitution (child abuse, neglect, coercion), adolescents (abuse, dysfunctional families), others just see it as a job
forced onto streets because it’s illegal which makes it more dangerous
Exchanging Sex for Drugs
Drug-motivated competition has decreased prices for prostitution services: correlation to substance abuse
Sex workers & drugs: sex for drugs, then get addicted to the drugs
Exchanging Sex for Drugs
Intravenous drugs use & HIV: link to HIV - sex workers and prostitutes, often have safer sex practices and if contracted it’s probably through needles
Canadian Legal History & Sex Workers’ Rights
Prostitution law in Canada: prostitution is legal, but not everything around it
before: negotiation is not legal, body houses no longer legal, not able to work in groups
Canadian Legal History & Sex Workers’ Rights
when adult sex work is criminalized, decrease control over conditions
decriminalization ensuring they have full access to health, safety and human rights
Canadian Legal History & Sex Workers’ Rights
right to work safely, without stigma or discrimination
can’t talk to someone, don’t know if they’re killers
police don’t believe them, or value their opinion, legally consent is ongoing
Canadian Legal History & Sex Workers’ Rights
more vulnerable to attack on streets and by themselves
advocacy - Bad Date Lists - sex workers can post description if they have a bad John
Canadian Legal History & Sex Workers’ Rights
Supreme Court Challenge, 2013 - struck down laws and gave gov to replace them
laws prohibiting brothels to be unconstitutional
purchase of sexual services illegal
protect prostitutes, but punish the Johns
Canadian Legal History & Sex Workers’ Rights
reduce demand - not concerned with health and safety
Bill C-36, 2014
Sex Workers Rights
The law and harm
Prostitution & Social Control
generally focused on punishing prostitution
green - prostitution legal and regulated
Blue - prostitute is punished
Prostitution & Social Control
yellow - buying sex illegal yet prostitution is legal
red - illegal
mostly red everywhere
Sex Workers’ Rights
1973 - call for decriminalization
Laws against prostitution generally discriminate against women, cause harm
Sex Workers’ Rights
no autonomy for sexuality - mysoginistic
COYOTE (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics): this organization attempted to change public attitudes toward prostitution by
Sex Workers’ Rights
calling for decriminalization - goal to eliminate social stigma
teritary deviance
not all prostitution forced - merely service occupation
denial of choice to engage violates social rights
Obscenity Laws in Canada
Obscenity Law (legal term) “any publication a dominant characteristic of which is the undue exploitation of sex, or of sex and any one or more of the following subjects, namely, crime, horror, cruelty and violence, shall be deemed to be obscene.”
Obscenity Laws in Canada
lack of general consensus - difficulty in determining prevalence
more accessible - internet created vast new opportunities for distributing and creating porn
Obscenity Laws in Canada
unique challenges for prosecution
has to be crime, cruelty in conjunction with sex
lack of agreement for definition except for definition of child porno which is used as legal term
Obscenity Laws in Canada
Child Pornography: “visual representations of explicit sexual activity involving anyone under the age of 18 or depicted as being so”
Obscenity Laws in Canada
written material or visual representations that depict it
distributing, encouraging, possessing or creating it is illegal
sexting can be considered child porn if one is not of legal age
can lead to cyber bullying
intent and practice not necessarily well link
Obscenity Laws in Canada
Implications: obscenity law more laxed now, used to target gay or lesbian book stores in 70s
can be used to target certain groups
Pornography Laws (U.S.)
Miller v. California (1973): Supreme Court ruled states can class material as obscene and ban it if an average person, applying contemporary standards, would find it:
Pornography Laws (U.S.)
Appeals to “prurient interests in sex,”
Describes sexual conduct “in a patently offensive way,”
“Taken as a whole, lacks serious literacy, artistic, political, or scientific value.”
Pornography & Everyday Life
Available in a variety of formats:
Mass media outlets, such as films, novels, television
shows, periodicals, + newspapers, graphically portray sexual images and behaviors.
Pornography & Everyday Life
Internet
stuff would have been illegal 20 years ago
Pornography & Everyday Life
Careers: see it as a career
like the money or sex or the hours
Norm promotion: make condoms normative
Critiques of Pornography
Critics of pornography deplore its perceived effect of promoting female submission and male domination (Leuchtag, 1995). perpetuates stigma, taboos push the envelope to entice ppl more
Critiques of Pornography
Promotes attitudes that perpetuate “rape myth”—women say “no” but really mean “yes”; therefore, men can feel justified in acting upon woman’s refusal of sex as an indication of willingness.
Critiques of Pornography
•Catharine MacKinnon reduces women to sex objects distorted view of sexuality physical, economical coercion of women more oppressive and violence toward women
Effects & Functions
Pornography may encourage healthy behavior + prevent
crime: sex criminals come from sexually strict families - less exposure to sexual representation than other ppl (correlational)
Effects & Functions
Sexual Expression: personal growth in sexual expression
Pornography arouses both women and men
Effects & Functions
Feminist Pornography: porn created by feminists
respected, paid fairly, includes preference, better representation of women
site of women’s agency
