Sexual Objectification Nussbaum Summary

As discussed in "Thinking Sex," Rubin strongly believes that sexuality is an important topic that needs to be talked about. She sees sexuality as having its own internal politics, inequities, and modes of oppression. She explains that sexuality is political and has been overly politicized by historical events. For example, in England and USA during the 19th century there were many powerful social movements that encouraged chastity, eliminating prostitution, and discouraging masturbation. In order for them to get their point across they took their attacks toward obscene literature, nude paintings, musical halls, abortion, birth control information, and even public dancing. From life observations I believe these acts shaped the way we view sexuality

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

In his article, “The Invention of Sexuality”, Weeks argued that sexuality is a product of society and is shaped by

in Szymanski, Moffitt and Carr). This leads to the belief that women are sexually objectified, seeing as they are only seen as mere parts that are to be of use to men and their sexual desires.

Human sexuality is a common phrase for all, and anything, pertaining to the feelings and behaviors of sex for the human race. Sexuality has been a topic that has been discussed and studied for as far back as 1000 years B.C. and is still being studied today. As the discussion of sexuality has progressed through history, theories have been created based on research and experiments that scholars have implemented, based on their own perceptions of human behavior. Out of the many theories that pose to explain sexual behavior, Sexuality Now explained ten that are seemed to be the most overlapped, and built off of theories. Of these theories, two that were discussed in the text were the behavioral and sociological theory. These two theories cover some of the basic ideas of what could possibly influence a person’s sexuality.

You are to respond honestly and completely to each of the questions in the journal. It is important that I will be able to understand your point of view on each and every question - so short 'Yes' or 'No' responses will not suffice. ( Place your response in the ‘Answer’ section indicated.) Give examples and details to support your responses.

Sexual orientation can be considered as one of America’s most controversial topics. Although the rationale and choice differs from person to person, and is considered to be a private matter of personal preference, many people have experienced negative backlash and harsh criticism due to their individual likings. In general, sexual orientation is defined as: a person 's sexual identity in relation to the gender to which they are attracted; the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual. While the definition seems to be straightforward and concise, the subject of sexual orientation encompasses much more than just the intensity of emotional and erotic attraction and response to members of the opposite sex, the same sex, or both

Sexual objectification is defined as the viewing of people solely as de-personalized objects of desire instead of as individuals with complex personalities, desires and plans of their own. This is done by thinking of a woman strictly only as their body, or body parts. Whereas sexual attraction is defined as the instincts, physiological processes, and activities connected with physical attraction or intimate physical contact between individuals. Lars and The Real Girl presented the exact dilemma of sexual objectification versus sexual attraction when a sex doll cyborg named Bianca was introduced as Lars’ girlfriend: the power of a males fantasy plays a huge role in creating satisfying interactions and is a primary component of the human and

Sexualization has occurred in the past, is occurring today, and will, more than likely, continue to occur in the future. The society we live in today characterizes women as sexual objects. It’s everywhere you look. For example, look at the media. Reality TV, romance movies, fashion magazines, and advertising all portray women to look a certain way; slim, young, and attractive. These images of women are etched into our brains, and it’s normal to look at these media and think that those women are what society calls “beautiful.” A contributor to

The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community is among the subculture groups that are stigmatized by the U.S. society. They are deviant of the heterosexual norm. Society labels sexualities, which expressions of sexuality it values or stigmatizes. The meanings of sexuality change over time in different contexts, which reveals the sexuality as defined by the society. Sexuality is defined as “the ways we experience and express ourselves as sexual beings”. Sexuality is more than sexual behaviors, it encompasses socially constructed meanings of sex and gender, which includes the culturally specific norms, beliefs, traditions and taboos that are related to sex. For an instance sex between an adult and a child is considered a taboo in the U.S. If sexuality is socially constructed, so are sexual identities. What makes a man “gay” or “straight”? Is a straight guy who slept

Social Construction of Sexuality Sexual orientation refers to an enduring pattern of sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions to individuals of the opposite sex, same sex, both sexes, or more than one gender. These attractions and behaviors that express them, engender an individual’s awareness of their social identity and sexuality. Sexuality is composed of a broad range of behaviors and processes, including the way your body develops and the way you feel and respond toward others. To understand the social construction of sexuality we must pay attention to the factors that shape and constrain it: race, ethnicity, gender, and social class, without ignoring the limitations, constraints, and disadvantages faced such as poverty, prejudice

Topics that really hit home for me were the rampant sexual objectification of women and our over dependence on technology, the new age addiction. Caroline Heldman brings into perspective the world of sexually objectifying women from music videos to TV advertisement and the clear line between objectification and empowerment. I think we are living in a very confused society, if we believe that women are empowering themselves when they are used as objects. We are sending a wrong message to the youth of our generation that it is ok to be objects and not be viewed for your intellect. Women are more that beautiful objects to be viewed for pleasure or eye candy (pop culture term), they should be viewed for their strength, love and kindness and help

As Hanes presents new evidence of objectification, she uses the mother’s experience as an example of the effects and a solution to a problem she presents. For example, Hanes states that “one of the best ways to keep girls from falling into rigid gender roles is to broaden their horizons,” and then notes that Finucane tried to do the same with her own daughter. Finucane found that her daughter’s interests have varied and she no longer believes that her sex limits her physical or mental capabilities. By using Finucane’s testimony as an example, Hanes successfully proves that her resolution is effective.

Throughout history, definitions of sexuality within a culture are created and then changed time after time. During these changes, we have seen the impact and power one individual or group can have over others. In the Late Nineteenth Century into the Early Twentieth Century, we see multiple groups of people and or authorities taking control over the idea of sex and how they believe society is being impacted by sex. At this point in time, society had groups of people who believed they had the power to control how society as whole viewed and acted upon sex. Those particular groups and ideas changed many lives and the overall definition of sexuality within that culture.

Upon entering this course, my understanding of human sexuality was decent; I was aware of certain aspects of sexuality such as being straight, gay, lesbian, queer, transgender, etc. Nevertheless, I did not realize how expansive sexuality is; it never occurred to me that sexual health, prostitution, marriage, rape, sex trafficking, divorce, families, etc., all fell under the umbrella of human sexuality. Books and essays such as Renee Hill’s Walk Together and David Shneer’s “Out of School” showcased the multiple facets of human sexuality and how terms like queer are not directly related to homosexuality. While sexuality and homosexuality are linked, frequently, people mistake them as being synonymous; before entering this class, I was searching for a definition of sexuality, and often in the thesaurus section of dictionary websites homosexuality and or sexual orientation was considered a synonym of sexuality. Formerly, I too would have agreed they were the same, however, after taking this course, I concluded that homosexuality is just one topic in the broad discussion of sexuality. My understanding of sexuality now is that it