CHAPTER 6

Sexuality is a theme found almost everywhere Sex industry is a multibillion-dollar business U.S. culture has long treated sex as taboo

Sex: A Biological Issue Sex

The biological distinction between females and males From a biological viewpoint: the way humans reproduce Sex of an embryo guides its development

Sex and the Body

Primary sex characteristics
The genitals, organs used for reproduction People reach sexual maturity at puberty

Secondary sex characteristics

Bodily development, apart from the genitals, that distinguishes biologically mature females and males

 Sex is not the same as gender Gender is an element of culture and refers to personal traits and patterns of behavior a culture attaches to being male or female

Nature or Nurture? Who decides?

Reimer twins

Reimer twins Pt. 2 Reimer twins cnt'd

 Intersexual People People whose bodies (including genitals) have both female and male characteristics Hermaphrodite Has both female ovaries and male testis Our culture demands that sex be clear-cut Some respond to intersexuals with confusion or disgusthow do we respond? Medical Intervention?
Intersexed woman's story

 Transexuals People who feel they are one sex even though biologically they are the other Transgendered Disregarding conventional ideas about how females and males should look and behave Gender reassignment Surgical alteration of the genitals, usually accompanied by hormone

Sex: A Cultural Issue

Sexuality has a biological foundation Like other elements of human nature, sexuality is also a cultural issue Biology does not dictate specific ways of being sexual

 Americas cultural attitudes toward sexuality has always been something of a contradiction

 In the U.S. sexuality is both restrictive and permissive On one hand people view sex as a sign of personal morality On the other hand, sex is a part of the mass media

 U.S. culture is individualistic

In theory, people have the freedom to do what they wish as long as they do not directly harm others. Do we really? In theory, privacy makes sex a matter of individual freedom and choice...is it really?

The Sexual Revolution

Profound changes in sexual attitudes and practices over the past century The Roaring Twenties Slowed during the Great Depression and WW II Alfred Kinsey set the stage for the Sexual Revolution National uproar resulted from scientists studying sex People were uneasy talking about sex even in privacy

 Kinseys books encouraged a new openness toward sexuality Sexual revolution came of age in the 1960s
Baby boom generation was the first cohort in U.S. history to grow up with the idea that sex was part of peoples lives

Technology played a part

Birth control pill

Women were historically subject to greater sexual regulation than men

Societys double standard

 Sexual revolution increased sexual activity overall Changed womens behavior more than mens Greater openness about sexuality develops as societies become richer and the opportunities for women increase

The Sexual Counterrevolution

The sexual freedom of the 1960s and 1970s was criticized as evidence of moral decline A conservative call for a return to family values A change from sexual freedom back to the sexual responsibility of earlier

 For moral reasons or concerns about STDs, more people began limiting their number of sexual partners or not have sex at all There is now greater acceptance of premarital sex as well as increasing tolerance for various sexual orientations
Why? Is this everywhere?

Premarital Sex
Sexual intercourse before marriage
34% say it is always wrong or almost always wrong 19% say it is wrong only sometimes About 44% say it is not wrong at all

Society remains divided on the issue Premarital sex is widely accepted among young people today

 Young people can be sexually active without having intercourse Increase in oral sex Preferred over intercourse because does not involve risk of pregnancy Can transmit diseases 20% of todays teens have sexual intercourse before age 15 Half had at least one experience involving oral sex

Sex Between Adults

Frequency of sexual activity varies widely in the U.S. population Married people Have sex with partners more than unmarried people do Report the highest level of satisfaction with their partners Physically Emotionally

Extramarital Sex
Adultery
Married people having sex outside of marriage Widely condemned Norm of sexual fidelity within marriage has been and remains a strong element of U.S. culture Actual behavior falls short of the cultural ideal 25% of married men and 10% of married women have had at least one extramarital sexual experience 75% of men and 90% of women have remained sexually faithful to their partners

Sex Over The Life Course

Patterns of sexual activity change with age Advancing age is linked to a decline in people who are sexually active But, contrary to popular stereotypes, sexual activity is a normal part of life for most older

 Sexual orientation

A persons romantic and emotional attraction to another person

Heterosexuality
Sexual attraction to someone of the other sex

Homosexuality Bisexuality

Sexual attraction to someone of the same sex

Sexual attraction to people of both sexes

 Asexuality
No sexual attraction to people of either sex Sexual attraction is not the same as sexual behavior Worldwide, heterosexuality is the norm Permits human reproduction

Figure 6.2 (p. 157)

Four Sexual Orientations

A persons level of same-sex attraction and opposite-sex attraction are two distinct dimensions that combine in various ways to produce four major sexual orientations.
Source: Adapted from Storms (1990)

Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Copyright 2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

What Gives Us a Sexual Orientation

Sexual orientation: A product of society
Argues that people in any society attach meanings to sexual activity Meanings differ from place to place over time Patterns of homosexuality differ greatly from one society to another Existence of global diverse patterns indicate that sexual expression is socially constructed

 Sexual orientation: A product of biology

Suggests that sexual orientation is innate

LeVay
Studied the brains of heterosexual and homosexual men Found small but important difference in the size of the hypothalamus Part of the brain that regulates hormones Genetics might also influence sexual orientation Evidence leads some researchers to think there might be a gay gene

Homosexuality
People are not always willing to discuss their sexuality with strangers or even family members.why? Some social scientists estimate 10% of the population is gay, although this is a conservative estimate.

How homosexuality is defined makes a big difference Less than 1% describe themselves as bisexual
Many do not think of themselves as gay or straight Behavior reflects elements of gay and straight living
When we include those who have participated in homosexual activity as gay, the percentage triples. Why are some people ashamed to admit they are attracted to the same sex?

Figure 6.3 (p. 159)

Share of the U.S. Population that is Homosexual

The percentage of people who are classified as having a homosexual orientation depends on how this concept is operationalized. Research suggests that 2.8 percent of adult men and 1.4 percent of adult women claim a homosexual identity. Source: Adapted from Laumann et al. (1994).

Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Copyright 2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

The Gay Rights Movement

Change in public attitudes toward homosexuality is a result of the Gay Rights Movement 1973 American Psychiatric Association
Homosexuality is not an illness but a form of sexual behavior

Homophobia
Discomfort over close personal interaction with people thought to be gay, lesbian, or bisexual

Figure 6.4 (p. 160)

Opposition to Homosexual Relationships: Attitudes of First-Year College Students, 1980-2005

The historical trend among college students is toward greater tolerance of homosexual relationships, a view held by a large majority. Sources: Astin et al. (2002) and Pryor et al. (2007).

Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Copyright 2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

 Sexuality lies at the heart of a number of controversies in the United States today Teen Pregnancy Pornography Prostitution Rape

Teen Pregnancy
Engaging in sexual intercourse demands a high level of responsibility Teenagers Might be biologically mature to conceive Many are not emotionally secure U.S. teen birth rate is higher than all other high-income nations Affects young women of all racial and ethnic categories

 Weak families and low income increase the likelihood of sexual activity and unplanned childrenwhy might this be? Do we blame morals? Raises the risk of school dropout and poverty Rate was higher in the 1950s than it is today Abortion was illegal and led to quick marriages

Pornography
Sexually explicit material intended to cause sexual arousal U.S. Supreme Court gives local communities the power to decide what type of material Violates community standards of decency Lacks redeeming social value Very popular in U.S. Majority of consumers are men Criticized on moral grounds

 Political issue Degrades women and portrays them as sexual playthings of men Critics claim Cause of violence against women Difficult to prove scientific cause and effect Half of adults believe it encourages rape People everywhere object to sexual material However, value the expression of free speech and protection of artistic expression Pressure for restriction is building from conservatives and liberals

Prostitution
The selling of sexual services The worlds oldest profession Most people Believe that sex should be an expression of intimacy between two people Find the idea of sex for money disturbing Greatest in poor countries Strong patriarchy Traditional cultural norms limiting womens ability to earn a living

 Types of Prostitution
Call Girls The top level; Elite prostitutes Considered to be young, attractive, well-educated Massage parlors prostitutes Middle level Less choice about clients Receive less money; Keep less than half of what they make Street-walkers Bottom level Work the streets of large cities Under the control of pimps who take most of their earnings; Some are addicted to drugs and sell sex to buy drugs

 Most offer heterosexual services Gay prostitutes

Some sell sex after having suffered rejection by family and friends because of their orientation -what about heterosexual prostitutes? Have they suffered abuse, as well?

 A victimless crime? Instead of enforcing laws, police stage occasional crackdowns Reflects a desire to control while recognizing the impossibility of elimination Is prostitution really victimless? Subjects many women to abuse and violence Has a part in spreading STDs including AIDS Many poor women become trapped in that life Especially in low-income countries

 Rape

Sexual Violence: Rape and Date Rape

An expression of power A violent act that uses sex Hurt, humiliate, or control 92,000 women report rape each year Actual number is several times higher Official government definition The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will Most rapists are heterosexuals and people familiar to their victims

 Date rape (acquaintance rape)

Refers to forcible sexual violence against women by men they know Rape Myths: Rape involves strangers Woman must have done something to encourage the man and make him think she wanted sex Rape leaves emotional and psychological scars Affects the victims ability to trust others Danger of date rape is highest on college campuses

 Applying sociological theoretical approaches provides a better understanding of human sexuality Three major approaches Structural-functional analysis Symbolic interaction analysis Social-conflict analysis

Structural-Functional Analysis
The need to regulate sexuality
Culture and social institutions regulate with whom and when people reproduce Allowing sexual passion to go unchecked would threaten family life No society permits a completely free choice of sexual partners
Legitimate reproduction (within marriage) Illegitimate reproduction (outside marriage)

Symbolic Interaction Analysis

Highlights how people interact and construct everyday reality Different people construct different realities Our understanding of sexuality can and does change over time

 The Social Construction of Sexuality The changing importance of virginity Young peoples awareness of sex Global Comparisons Different societies attach different meanings to sexuality Sexual practices vary from culture to culture Male circumcision Female circumcision

 CRITICAL REVIEW Strength of this approach lies in revealing the socially constructed character or familiar social patterns Limitations Not all sexual practices are so variable Men everywhere have always been more likely to see women in sexual terms Because this pattern is widespread some broader social structure must be at work

Social-Conflict Analysis
Approach shows how sexuality reflects and perpetuates patterns of social inequality

Sexuality: Reflecting Social Inequality

Enforcement of prostitution is uneven Would so many women be involved in prostitution if they had economic opportunities equal to men Categories most likely defined and treated as sexual objects Those with less power women People of color compared to whites Society uses sexuality to define some people as less worthy

 Sexuality: Creating Social Inequality

The root of inequality between women and men Defining women in sexual terms devalues them from full human beings to objects of mens interests and attention Pornography, consumed by males, is a power issue Shows women focused on pleasing men Supports the idea that men have power over women American culture describes sexuality as sports Men scoring with women Violence (slamming, banging, and hitting on) Verbs used for fighting and sex

 Queer theory
A body of research findings that challenges the heterosexual bias in U.S. society

Heterosexism
A view that labels anyone who is not heterosexual as queer Widely tolerated and sometimes within the law Part of everyday culture

 Abortion
The deliberate termination of a pregnancy Most divisive sexuality related issue of all No middle ground in the debate

 CRITICAL REVIEW Approach shows how sexuality is both cause and effect of inequality Overlooks the fact that many people do not see sexuality as a power issue Pays little attention to steps society has made in reducing inequality Ample evidence that the Gay Rights Movement has won greater opportunities and social acceptance for gay people