Holloway 1

Audriana Holloway
Writ 2
Scott Kneece
18 0 March 2016
Human Sexuality
Human sexuality and how it functions in society can be assessed in a multitude of
ways. Different authors assess the topic with varying approaches and methodologies. It can be
studied through many different approaches supported by a plethora of studies and categorical
evidence. Of the many ways it can be assessed, the article "Socially Constructing Sexuality:
Toward a Postmodernist Theory of Sexual Intimacy by Emily Reynolds and the book
Handbook of the Sociology of Sexualities. by John DeLamater and Rebecca Plante
accurately depict the functionality of human sexuality in contemporary and modern society.
The main goal of each is to persuade the reader as to why their approach is the more accurate
of the two. In doing this, they present their arguments in very different manners. While both
sources have convincing sentiments, Reynolds has a much more clear and concise
methodology with linguistics as the discipline. By using argumentative points, concrete
studies and concrete descriptions of that studies, she has proven her stance to be the strongest
of the two disciplines.
The article "Socially Constructing Sexuality: Toward a Postmodernist Theory of
Sexual Intimacy." By Emily Reynolds is a very good example of human sexuality in the social

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sense. This article is using a linguistic approach to sexuality in order to compare and contrast
a biological approach. The author takes a look at social construction as a means of sexuality.
Author maintains that since sexuality occurs in a social setting then it must also be observed
in a social (versus biological) setting and uses case studies, observations, and social surveys
as evidenve. She makes very strong points and facts throughout her article that can be used to
strengthen my argument. Reynolds presents information in the form of various studies and
research which contributes greatly to her paper and makes the reader feel as though the
information she has written is thoroughly researched and correct One may find it very
interesting that Reynolds is making a view point of sexuality in a social sense. Its interesting
to deviate away from the biology (or the how) of human sexuality and explore the social
aspect (the why). The only down side is thatto Reynolds writing is that she uses a linguistics
approach which is kind of ambiguous but it is this presents a very a minor setback. She makes
very strong points and facts throughout her article that can be used to strengthen my
argument. Reynolds presents information in the form of various studies and research which
contributes greatly to her paper and makes the reader feel as though the information she has
written is thoroughly researched and correct.
The reader may feel like they are getting the most information possible out of the
article. Contrast to a biological approach, Reynolds states; Drawing on hermeneutics and
social constructionism, this new view could take as its central premise the idea that sexual
relations, like all human actions, are fundamentally social and meaningful rather than
individual and biological. (Reynolds 1) Here Reynolds is again explaining how sexuality is a
social construct. She solidifies this information by using social experiments by linguists Harre

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and Gergen. With the use of these references, Reynolds makes her paper article have a more
authoritative yet relaxed tone and really helps strengthen the overall point of the article- how
and why human sexuality is a socially constructed phenomenon and contrasts the view with a
biological approach.
On the other hand, in the book Handbook of the Sociology of Sexualities by
DeLamater, John D., and Rebecca F. Plante, the authors talk about the sociology of sex, as the
title suggests. The authors designed this book to be made for people interested in studying
more about human sexuality and relies heavily on studies and data, counter to the more
relaxed tone of the article.. They also perform their own studies ofy sexual relationships in the
form of, attraction, and expression with lots of different and varying perspectives which
include social psychology, psychology, and sociology. DeLamater and Plante discuss how the
human brain forms how one experience things (namely sex) and controls how the brain in part
molds our sexuality and all the reasonings in a mainly social setting using psychological case
studies. Authors also talk about how our brain perceives and responds to sexuality. (Delamter
and Plante) The authors also use case evidence that explain how certain schemas and
hierarchies contribute to sex and sexuality. They also describe how sex is due to cognitive
process and behavioral response. Because this essay is used more for studying human
sexuality it seems to lack a strong argumentative points and only presents study information
in a one dimensional way.
Reynolds use of evidence and studies is much more concise, through and to the
point in comparison to DeLamater and Plante. Though they both use studies, Reynolds

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sources seem to be better explained as well as better outlined and paraphrased. Reynolds
approaches her article with a more lax attitude and tries to thoroughly describe her position
and her explanations for doing so by using evidence. DeLamater and Plante seem to focus
more on facts and evidence instead of explanations. As Reynolds article is more
argumentative, she successfully uses counter example of biology which strengthens her
arguments sufficiently, whereas DeLamater and Plante seem to lack counter examples.
Reynolds approach is most persuasive and effective in her writing practices as she outlines
her evidence of sexuality in a social linguistic approach and gives specific examples and
studies of each discipline she wrote about- including her counter example of biology. Her
research produces a very thorough understanding of social human sexuality with the linguistic
approach. Reynolds definitely accomplishes her goal of trying to pursaude her readers to
believe in her point of view by presenting not only examples, facts, proof ,and evidence, but
also by providing counter views and counter examples.
Both articles possess different types of writing conventions. Both forms of writing are
examples of academic writing. Both examples are alsofocused around one subject and use
multiple studies to expand on that topic. To outline some differences; the book by Delamater
and Plante is much longer than Reynolds short article and therefore provides more
information and sources. However, their book lacks an argumentative stance and doesnt
make the reader form a specific viewpoint behind the reasoning of human sexuality. Reynolds
article has more directly helpful information to strengthen her points.

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These two sources are aiming to uncover the inner workings and complexities of
human sexuality and social human sexual interaction. Both sources want to uncover exxacty
why human sexuality is developed through social order, heiraachies and social scripts using
the disciplines; linguistics, psychology, and sociology while Reynolds also counters with a
biological approach and why biology is not enough to describe the social workings of
sexuality. Though both articles are strong informational sources for human sexuality, the
article "Socially Constructing Sexuality: Toward a Postmodernist Theory of Sexual Intimacy
by Emily Reynolds proves to be the stronger of the two by being more clear, concise, and by
taking an argumentative stance which aids in persuading the reader by providing proof and
counter examples.

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Abstract
After researching the topic of human sexuality I would like to know how all
disciplines work to gether. I think it would be interesting to see how to disciplines
work together rather than varying against each other. I think human sexual
interaction could very well be a mix of all disciplines (sociology, biology, and
psychology). In seeing how they work together I believe I would have a more
complete sense of ho w sexuality works as a whole versus how it works on a
strictly social level. In collecting information I would do biological research of
human sexuality and see if there are any social cues that go hand in hand with
biology. I would see if the biology of sex alters how it functions in a societal
sense . I would also conduct social surveys and use prior evidence of past social
experiments, maybe try and duplicate their findings.

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Works Cited
DeLamater, John D., and Rebecca F. Plante. Handbook of the Sociology of Sexualities.
Cham:

Springer, 2015. Print.

Reynolds, Emily M. "Socially Constructing Sexuality: Toward a Postmodernist Theory of

Sexual Intimacy." Theoretical & Philosophical Psychology 12.1 (1992): 38-47. ProQuest.
Web. 4 Feb. 2016.