Unit 9 Flashcards
Separating Gender from Sexuality
They are connected, often linked directly or indirectly
How is hegemonic masculinity about gender or sexuality
The ideal, the presumed heterosexuality is found in many forms, such as normative dominant discourses, where we fit in society, how sexuality presumes gender or is used as a reference to what one’s gender is
The unintelligibility of entanglement & invisibility
There are different kinds of sexualities that are marginalized and a lot of research is being done to normalize them (asexuality)
Gender-y-ness
- How gender centric or focused we are
- how central gender is to function in our world
- Being more gender-y or less gender-y is useful to look broadly at gender
More gender-y
Central element for us to understand, interact with and view our world (must know what gender a silhouette is)
Less gender-y
Gender is less central, potentially useless, meaningless
Why is gender/gender-ness relevant for Agender, transgender, cisgender and gender expression
- Sex does not equal gender
- It is used in different types of ways, such as genderless, gender unknown with no words to describe gender identity as it is outside of genders present
- The choice of not labelling one’s gender
Gender as Irrelevant
- Quitting the Gender Game (as much as possible)
- How one identifies at one point in life may not be the same later, nothing is set in stone
Asexuality and agender are embodied by alienation
- This idea that they are separable, independent
- Looks at folks identity as asexual
- Need to bridge the gap between agender & gender identities
- Agender/sexual have the intimate experience of not being involved since they are not seeking a gender or sexuality and have this irrelevance towards gender
- However quitting the gender game may not be possible due to how gendered society is
Gender Bread person
- Try to understand attraction, identity, sexuality, expression and try to label them and see where or how they fit
- They do not have to equal to one another and can be completely different & change independently
Navigating aggressive sexualization & hetero-patriarchy
- AFAB asexuality need to express their gender and sexuality to navigate both
- Embodiment of trans athletes vs others who may experience alienation of/in their own bodies or discomfort (agender)
Video of AFAB Asexual person
- Everyone wants to have sex idea
- Pathologizing/ medical lens of gender and sexuality that still affects asexual and agendered ppl
- Normative femininity and “doing femininity right” constantly brought up as not synonymous with identity and used to question identity
- being pretty
- reproduction
- celibacy, “clean”
- wasting time and sexual organ
- Aggressive sexualization of “I can change your mind”
Gender, Porn & Sex Work
Rooted with gender and sexuality
The end of the 2nd wave of feminism
- Latter 1/2 of the 20th century, around the 1970s
- More attention to reproductive rights, critiques of 2nd W, intersectionality
Feminism and the sex wars
- Unsure of how sex work fits
- Feminism is broken into two sections: anti-sex work and pro sex work
Anti-SW Feminism
- Porn, sexualization, commodification of sex is inherently oppressive
- It is a controlled sexuality by men
- Representative of sexism and male superiority vs female inferiority
- It is anti-feminist
Pro SW Feminism
- Sex can be just as recreational for women
- Liberating, empowering to do and to watch
- Sex work is just as valid a job as any other
There is also a middle
SW is more complex and it is not as simple as pro or anti feminism
Sex, sexuality, sex work & gender
- Is it oppression or empowerment?
- Does it need to be abolished (save women from sex work) or decriminalized (recognized as work)? With this question it is also important to acknowledge the representation of certain groups in porn and SW
- Is it exploitation (requiring rescue) or is it an agency (like any other job)?
The Orgasm Gap
- Highest- lowest: Straight men, Gay men, Bisexual men, Lesbian women, Bisexual women, straight women
- Sexual orientation shaped the different levels
- Persistent pattern in this intersect of shaping of sexual experiences
- Cultural issue
- Lack of understanding & acknowledgment of female anatomy and sexuality
Porn and Sexual Education with school-based sexual cultures
A big finding demonstrated that there are very gendered differences in experiencing porn
Porn for men/boys
- Porn is seen as normal for men (heterosexual)
- it is reflective of dominant and heg. masculinity discourses
- its use is justified by sex rights
Porn for women/girls
- For women, it is seen as abnormal
- it is framed for men so girls should not be interested and are better off not watching sex through a male gaze
- there is this idea of threat for women watching porn as it sets certain expectations
- It demonstrates the double bind women also go through where they must be sexy but not too sexy
- Women should focus more on romantic stuff rather than porn
Disability, Sexuality and Gender
- Traditional gender role beliefs correlated with more negative attitudes, especially regarding women’s sex rights (not sex acts)
- For disabled people, it leads to discussions on the right to parent, to have sex, to choose whether or not to have kids
Ads Study
- Ads matter in gendered ways, with how gender is seen in and outside of ads
- Sexuality was a referential category
- Generally, men held more negative attitudes especially towards the sexuality of disabled women and were reinforced negatively when exposed to disability in ads
- Women were more accepting than men
Thinking about Disability & Sexuality
The timing of a disability as a factor in interpreting sexualities was affected by the type of disability: the sex life of people who acquired a disability was seen as ended and for people born with a disability, having never existed or begun
The heirarchy of disability
- More severe disabilities resulted in more negative attitudes
- Disabled women were left out of sexual education to their detriment
- For women, engagement in sexuality was seen as increasing risk of pregnancy which led to discussions on their abilities to go through pregnancy and have kids, whether they were willing or whether it was appropriate for them to raise children
undressingdisability Enhancetheuk.org
- Advocacy group for disabilities
- Destigmatizing sexuality w disabled people, as they can live their (sexual) lives too
