SEX, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY 1
Sex, Gender, and Sexuality
Joel M. Queen
Oklahoma State University
Sex, Gender, and Sexuality When you go on with your daily lives and norms, you tend to not give much attention to what kind of roles certain genders play or how we perceive certain gender to perform said roles. Lorber mentions in the early part of her argument that we seem to treat sex, gender, and sexuality and the norms that come with them like fish and water (Lorber, 1994) . We have almost become numb to the norms and expectations that come along with certain genders and roles. However, when we see something out of the norm or missing, we notice it. Whether we keep it to ourselves or point it out, that is up to the individual.
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They share the house cleaning duties for sure, but you could fairly say she does more of the chores more frequently. My dad on the other hand, spent most of his afternoon doing yard work and mowing the lawn and even helped me replace a belt on my truck. To be fair, my mom has helped out occasionally with simple yard work chores, but she was not outside for hours doing yard work and changing a belt. Watching and hearing my parents do these chores for so long, it just became the norm; I became numb to it. I know my parents are not the only parents out there like this, I am sure most parents are like my with the same process. Gender in Stratification. The way Lorber explains gender being a part of a stratification system is her basically saying people view and rank men above women. Actions that women are usually devalued and overlooked, while actions by men are praised more even if the action done by the man and woman are the same exact thing (Lorber, 1994). In Western civilization scenarios, men are usually what we call "A" and the women are what we call "Not-A" (Lorber, 1994). The "Not-A" 's are also usually seen as deviant or bad which results in minorities being in the "Not-A" group. To make the path even more windy, by looking at society in a stratification way, men and women in the working class and strictly working class, are typically more equal regarding actions and accomplishments (Lorber, 1994).When you think about how gender is a
247). Thus, since females and males have different expectations of them and are treated differently from one another, females and males have different situations within their family life and their mental and physical health. Plus, a woman’s educational level will not benefit her since “men out-earn women at every level of education” (Ferris & Stein, 2014, p. 253). Similarly, certain jobs are still classified for men or women. Although, the jobs for women are underpaid compared to jobs classified for men (Ferris & Stein, 2014, p. 253). Also, the military is largely male-dominated with very few females since the military is expected for men, not women because of certain cultural beliefs (Ferris & Stein, 2014, p. 255). Furthermore, the criminal justice system targets men more than women, because men are viewed as aggressive when women are not (Ferris & Stein, 2014, p. 256). Lastly, gender is associated to certain words which influences society’s views on women and men which also affect the expectations of them and how both are treated in society (Ferris & Stein, 2014, p.
Alike gender, sexuality is also a social construct, especially when looking at the period before the 18th century, when one’s sexual orientation did not matter, hence there being no need for justification, just as pointed by Foucault: “Sexual practices had little need of secrecy; words were said without undue reticence, and things were done without too much concealment; one had a tolerant familiarity with the illicit.” (3). And the 19th century came and brought with it a big change, and not only did people become engulfed by social norms, whom they should abide at all costs, but they also had to keep their sexual preferences under lock and key: “But twilight soon fell upon this bright day, followed by the monotonous nights of the Victorian
To answer this question it is important to understand the terms Sexuality and Gender roles. Sexuality means a person 's sexual identity in relation to the gender to which he or she is typically attracted; the fact of being heterosexual or homosexual; sexual orientation . Gender roles means the state of being male or female as expressed by social or cultural distinctions and differences, rather than biological ones. It is vital to gain an understanding of the perceptions of sexuality and gender roles in the seventeenth century and then to analyse them closely throughout the eighteenth century to see how they gradually changed. Helping me to respond to the subject I will be considering the vicissitudes of: the rise in pornographic literature, the change in biological acuities, the hardening of gender boundaries through separate spheres, the transformation of sexual behaviour between men and women, the change of attitudes towards women and men concerning issues of femininity and masculinity and demographic changes across the eighteenth century.
In the Gendered Nature of Sexual Scripts by Michael W. Weiderman, the author talks about what societal factors influence males and females view of sex and their genitalia. The perception of one’s views on their genitalia is related to the sexual script that they are assigned and how society deems they should feel about sex. If one were to deviate from their assigned sexual script, the social ramifications may be detrimental to how they are perceived not only to society, but to the opposite sex.
Stratification in society are divisions and rankings into social classes. This essay will explore and discuss gender stratification in terms of specific criteria, based on position and influence within society, and financial standing. Inequalities and ways that gender stratification are related to three distinct theories will be discussed. These include symbolic interactionism, conflict theory , functionalism and feminist theory. A range of academic sources will support the discussion and personal opinions in various theoretical contexts given.
Throughout the course of history, going from the Puritans to modern day civilization each gender has had a set of societal norms dictating the types of behaviors which are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for people based on their actual perceived sex of sexuality. Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of femininity and masculinity there are some exceptions and variations.
IDST 3350: Final Research Paper Research Topic: Sociological Perspectives on Gender Stratification Introduction Gender stratification is a form of social inequality that involves the unequal distribution of power, privilege, and wealth between females and males in contemporary human societies. There are three major sociological perspectives on gender stratification. These include the functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective, and the symbolic interactionist perspective. Each of these major sociological frameworks contain their own theories and views regarding gender, and how gender relates to other aspects of society.
Gender stratification is the cuts across all aspects of social life and social classes. It refers to the inequality distribution of wealth, power and privilege between men and women at the basis of their sex. The world has been divided and organized by gender, which are the behavioural differences between men and women that are culturally learnt (Appelbaum & Chambliss, 1997:218). The society is in fact historically shaped by males and the issue regarding the fact has been publicly reverberating through society for decades and now is still a debatably hot topic. Men and women have different roles and these sex roles, defined to be the set of behaviour’s and characteristics that are standard for each gender in a society (Singleton, 1987) are
Gender and sexuality can be comprehended through social science. Social science is “the study of human society and of individual relationships in and to society” (free dictionary, 2009). The study of social science deals with different aspects of society such as politics, economics, and the social aspects of society. Gender identity is closely interlinked with social science as it is based on an identity of an individual in the society. Sexuality is “the condition of being characterized and distinguished by sex” (free dictionary, 2009). There are different gender identities such as male, female, gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual that exists all around the world. There is inequality in gender identities and dominance of a male
According to Helsin, Possamai and Possamai-Inesedy (2011 p. 625) gender stratification occurs when a specific gender has unequal access to power, property and prestige. As gender is classed as a master status it forms a significant structural characteristic within society (Helsin, Possamai & Possamai-Inesedy 2011, p. 310). Therefore, it is society, through social construction that determines what gender norms are considered appropriate and can be passed through generations of people via agents of socialisation such as family, mass media or in the form of symbolic interaction (Macionis & Plummer 1997, pp. 139-141).
While the expressions "sexual orientation" and "sex" are frequently utilized conversely, the two words have altogether distinctive definitions. One could contend that sex alludes to organic essentialism and the thought that we are who we are a result of our hereditary material. Then again, sex is connected with the social constructionist hypothesis, which contends that the way we are is reliant on our race, class, and sexuality. Since every individual is distinctive in their race, class, and sexuality, their sex turns out to be socially built. To contend that sex is not socially built would be to say that all individuals, for instance, that are naturally female have the same objectives.
Males and females are classed differently from the moment they are pronounced boy or girl. Gender determines the differences in power and control in which men and women have over the socioeconomic determinants of their health, lives and status in their community. Our society moulds how men and women should and should not behave and can be observed in all parts of our society. As a result of these Gender stereotypes men and women have issues which affect their health which are unique to each gender. Males for example are perceived to be greater risk takers as a whole in our society than that of females. We represent risk taking behavior with masculinity and violence, high speed driving and contact sport with the male gender. (Doyle 2005)
Analyzing sexual and gender issues within the realm of theological ethics is a topic some shy away from, others avoid entirely. Dr. Todd Salzman meets the challenge head on. He is a professor in the Theology department at Creighton University and I have the honor of being enrolled in his course, THL 272: Theological Ethics – Sexual and Gender Issues this semester. Early on I sensed that Dr. Salzman has a kindness that makes him approachable. Lectures are rarely only lectures, with much of the time dedicated to discussion within the class. Dr. Salzman treats each student fairly and listens to their commentary and opinions with respect. While meeting with Dr. Salzman for this interview, I quickly realized he had the same demeanor outside of
Did you know that gay men and lesbians do not choose their sexual orientation, but rather are born with it? There has been extensive research proving that sexual orientation is caused by many biological factors, whereas there is no solid proof that social factors after birth affect sexual orientation (Swaab, 2007, p. 442). Sexual orientation is already programmed into the brain, with the influence of sex hormones and genes, before a child is even born. The development of sexual orientation is caused by sex hormones, genes, and the brain, which then cause differences in the anatomical body (LeVay, 2011, p.271).
Sexuality encompasses aspects in a person’s life that involves sex and gender identity, sexual orientation and sexual behavior. It encompasses the physical, social and psychological aspects of a person’s sexual behavior. It underpins what an individual is, affects the individual’s life wholesomely and is unique to each and every individual. A general stereotype of sexuality in old people exists in the society. Most people tend to believe that sexuality diminishes with age and that old people are not supposed to be sexually active beings. It is a reality however that most old people engage in sexual activities and have sexual needs even late into their lives (Connaughton & McCabe, 2015). Beliefs on sexuality in old people have greatly influenced negatively the way old people express their sexuality. The cartoon depicts an old couple possibly in one of their routine appointments with their family doctor. The couple despite the doctor’s attempt to engage them in a conversation regarding their sexual health is reluctant to discuss it with their doctor. A reaction such as the one associated with this couple can be as a result of the negative way in which the society views sexuality in the elderly. The result of such negativity is depicted by the way the couple seems irritated by the doctor’s line of discussion.