unit 1A - topic 12 - sexuality Flashcards
define sexuality
socially constructed identity based on who you are romantically/sexually attracted to (heterosexual, homosexual, asexual, pansexual etc)
2019 YouGov survey on sexuality
48% of 18-24 year olds are “somewhere in the middle”
Weeks
no one really says “I’m straight”. But “I’m gay” 🏳️🌈 is POWERFUL statement
sexuality complex, sometimes contradictory? 🤨 Some people say they’re gay but never had gay relationship.
Kinsey Report 1948
US 🇺🇸 population on sexual behaviour
37% of men had homosexual experience to the point of orgasm, but much lower numbers said they were gay
Rich 1980 💰
FEMINIST
Women socialised to be straight. Creates idea that lesbianism = unnatural
Women’s sexuality OPPRESSED 🙅 by men in patriarchy
— marriage
— sexual violence
— rape
COMPHET: women socialised into subordinate, heterosexual role
Lesbian identity written out of existence bc its a threat to male dominance ☹️
Mary McIntosh
sexual identity has ROLES + BEHAVIOURS that accompany it
Western cultures 🇬🇧: gay men expected to conform to stereotype
— effeminate 💅
— attention to appearance 💄
closeted men avoid these norms, so aren’t seen as gay
Michel Foucault 1976
sexuality = social construct 🏗 and CHANGING CONSTANTLY depending on paradigm + discourse
50s and 60s: being gay seen as illness 🤒🏥, illegal, ‘cured’ via conversion therapy
—> 2034 men imprisoned for being gay in 1954
now: more accepted 😊
some societies still criminalise 🏳️🌈: 72 countries. Iran, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen: punishable by DEATH
3 key legal acts to do with homosexuality in UK
1967: England 🏴 + Wales 🏴 DECRIMINALISED being gay (not in army 😕)
1988: Section 28 banned HOMOSEXUALITY PROMOTION IN SCHOOLS 🏫
2010: Equality Act — unlawful to discriminate against sexuality
2014: gay marriage
however, despite legal changes, homophobia still common
McCormack 2010
attitudes towards 🏳️🌈 far more liberal and positive 😌
— late 80s / 90s, soo much homophobia (AIDS crisis + Section 28 from Thatcher)
researched 16-18 yr old boys in 3 sixth form colleges in south of England
— PASSIONATE abt gay rights 💪
— openly gay students had positive experiences: self-identified as “queen” and was elected student president. no harrassment
— past research said only high social capital gays were respected, but McCormack found even shy gays respected
not bc of individual college’s work, but decrease 📉 in CULTURAL HOMOPHOBIA
— legal changes
— media 📺 📖 representation
Walter
hypersexual culture in media
sexual attraction in women VERRYYY FOCUSSED ON WOMEN, very narrow
—> unwelcome pressure 😞
hypersexual culture creates unrealistic experiences: 47% have tried something in their sex lives they’ve seen in online 💻 porn
Kate Julian
importance of sex and sexual identity 📉
SEX RECESSION
— especially in youth
— ppl take ‘sex holidays’ 🏖
— new sex norms (from internet 💻 porn) so exhausting they turn us off
