Questions on Sexual Orientation

Since the dawn of man, sex has played a crucial role in society. Before they learned to read or write humans were engaging in sex and without it none of us would be here. In today’s society, sex has grown to become much more complicated. If I were to ask a group of people on the street what they believed sex was? I bet they would have a hard time answering. The question puzzling society today is how do we define sex? Can we define sex? These are questions raised in Tracy Steele’s article “Doing it: The Social Construction of S-E-X”. This article is about the current questions and issues that have been raised about sex within today’s society. In this paper I will summarize the key points of the article, while sharing my own thoughts and

The first initial Sexual Revolution happened during the era of the Roaring Twenties. Women were becoming more promiscuous and they had become more comfortable in their own skin. They would start to wear clothes that they felt appealing rather than clothes that others felt appealing. During the Roaring Twenties sex became a topic that one could converse with ease rather than a topic that everyone would just not talk about, still during this time families would not talk about sex with their children. This all changed with the second Sexual Revolution, mothers were able to talk about it with their children. The ideology of sex has changed from the Baby Boomers to Generation Y because the Sexual Revolution made it a less taboo topic to talk about.

Christina states many other definitions of sex and her thoughts about sex, but she ends her paper saying she still cannot find an answer to her question, “Was it sex?” One of the examples she made that was not sure if she should have count it as sex was when she had a sexual activity with her friend Gene after she got mad at her boyfriend. Christina

The world now becomes a state of change or flux. Human beings act toward others and objects on the basis of the meanings that such things have for them but meanings are being continually constructed and modified through interaction. The fundamental approach is simple put: nothing is sexual but naming makes it so. Sexuality is a social construct learned in interaction with others. This is not to deny biological facts. It is simply to assert that things do not have sex meanings in their own right. They have to be bestowed upon them through sexual encounters. The mind has to define something as sexual before it is sexual in

We are accustomed to referring to a "sexual revolution" in the 1960s, but the actual consequences of that social shift were necessarily reflected in the law. To a

Ira L. Reiss, a well-known sociologist, has contributed greatly to the field of human sexuality and in the 1960’s brilliantly predicted the revolutionary changes in sexual attitudes. In his novel, An End to Shame: Shaping Our Next Sexual Revolution, Reiss develops the notion that our previous sexual revolution did not adequately eliminate the inequalities related to sexuality. In reality he argues that America is in need of a newly formed sexual revolution, one that will address the negative consequences that our sex negative culture is experiencing. A significant portion of our population argues that these consequences are due to the fact that we talk too much and too soon about sex. This is an inaccurate view of the reasoning behind the sexual problems we are experiencing in America, as in reality the negative sexual outcomes we observe are due to the opposite of this view. This misconception is a common explanation for our sexual problems and many believe it is the key to solving our sexual crisis, but in reality is part of the problem. Reiss argues that “America is long overdue for a rendezvous with sexual reality” (18) and that the future of our nation depends on accepting these realities.

The topic of sexual orientation is both sensitive and controversial. This is evident in events, such as the Pride Parade, and also in media, where authoritative figures preach against it and speak of its “sinful nature” (Emmanuele, Blanchard, Camperio-Ciani, & Bancroft, 2010). Sexual orientation exists in various forms, it differs in the way it is viewed by different cultures, and researchers propose different perspectives to explain the emergence of an individual 's sexual orientation. In the discourse of sexual orientation,

It’s no secret that we all have sex. Every person grows up as an individual, learning things about themselves as they go along, as well as learning about others. We all eventually end up calling someone else our significant other, whether it be of the same sex or not, and we all end up making personal decisions about our sexual identity and actions as we progress through life. We define our sexual identities of something unique to only us and we acquire our identities with a mix of influences: biological, psychological, social, cultures, values, and society in the time in which we are growing up. After such influences, we make the choice when to lose our

It is a fair assumption to say that America is approaching a new age in understanding and accepting the many variations of human sexual orientation. More same-sex couples have fostered children than ever before in our nation 's history. Institutions such as military and professional sports have (slowly but surely) began to accept openly gay members. Most importantly, a recent amendment to the Marriage Act of 1961 now defines marriage as a union of two people; an amendment which removed the prohibition of same-sex marriages. These landmarks in the progression of social awareness surrounding sexual orientation are derivative of scientific findings disputing the "choice" theory. As outlined in Simon LeVay 's book, Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why, the result of someone 's sexual orientation "emerges from the prenatal sexual differentiation of the brain" (LeVay 2011: 271) What LeVay means in this context is, "whether a person ends up gay or straight depends in large part on how this process of biological differentiation goes forward, with the lead actors being genes, sex hormones, and the brain systems" (LeVay 2011: 271). Much research, proven and theoretical, has been done on the concept of what makes people gay. Many factors surrounding socialization in regards to sexual orientation have undergone extensive scientific scrutiny (LeVay 2011: 77). Although there is evidence that suggests social and environmental elements play a role in sexual orientation, it is

The sexual revolution of the 1960's was a time of great importance to modern America. The changes that occurred across America changed our country as a whole, its influence spread from LA to New York to the 'Heartland of America', Lawrence Kansas. This revolution occurred at a critical point in world history as well. A new type of society formed with soldiers returning from WWII and people began to incorporate themselves with those who matched their identity and not just those geographically near them. People were frustrated and they wanted their voice to be heard, and now they had a group of citizens who would back them up and help them in their revolution. American ideals changed drastically in the twenty years that followed World War two

The 1920’s ushered in a “new morality” and brought with it the” new women”, but it was not a sexual revolution. The legalization of birth control now sexualized women in a new way. The flapper

Homosexuality is defined or characterized as attraction towards the same gender either male or female. It came from the Greek language, where “homo” means the same or similar, hence referring to the attraction between two beings of the same sex. Homosexuality is also referred as a clinical term. Most male homosexuals generally prefer to be called "gay men" and most homosexual women generally prefer to be called "lesbians." Homosexuality is one of the three main categories of sexual orientation, alongside bisexual and heterosexual. The longstanding consensus of the behavioral and social sciences and the health and mental health professions is that homosexuality is an example of normal and positive variation in human sexual

The textbook describes sex as biological and gender as behavior and attitudes. Sex is what people are biologically born with, and gender is a person’s masculinity or femininity in their actions and behavior along with their thoughts and outlooks about themselves. The articles go into detail about sexual orientation and gender identity. Sexual orientation is far more external and relates to the emotional connections one shares with other humans beings.

Chapters’ four to six in the books; Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America by John D 'Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman, Major Problems in the History of American Sexuality by Kathy Peiss and A Desired Past by Leila J. Rupp, the authors depict the history of sexuality by exploring various classes, culture, gender, race and sexual orientations. After reading the books, I questioned myself as to what is the meaning of justice and equality in terms of sex and gender. In modern societies, people are still arguing over controversial issues such as abortion, premarital and divorced wives’ child custody and homosexual marriages. I believe stricter control over women than men as women show their sexual expression and desire is unjustifiable. And it would only infringe on women’s freedom and equality in society. And after finishing the books, I came to the conclusion that the physical difference between the men and women was one of the reasons that led to the women being regarded as inferior in the past.

This led to a sexual revolution. The was because of the greater freedom of the pill. The women;s movement and Supreme Court decision to make explicit books more availible. Movies also became more explicit. By the 1970’s the spreqda of benereal diseases and AIDs caused many young people to avoid casual relations. By the 80’s there an emphasis on virginity and celibacy. The dominant trends of independence, freedom, the consumer markey and wealth in youth culture remained. Pop music, fashion, smoking and drugs continued to be the expressions of youth cutlure. By now, the collaps of consensus was in full swing; the next development would be that of a counter-culture.