Sexual Orientation, Gender, And Sexuality

‘‘Sex’ is a biological term; ‘gender’ a psychological and cultural one’ (Oakley 1972, p.158). To further expound on Oakley, ‘sex’ refers to the biological framework a person is born with while ‘gender’, an identity that we acquire as a result of social and cultural influence. Sex is naturally constant throughout an individual’s life whereas gender is a variable. Via gender socialisation, men and women constantly learn to adapt to society’s expectations associated with their biological form as society changes. This very concept clearly elucidates the dichotomy between sex and gender. Therefore, coming from such a perspective, it is true to say that we are born as human beings (males, females or intersex) who formulate socially accepted gender identities as a product of social and cultural implications (Abbott, Wallace & Tyler 2005). Conventionally, societies associate the male and female sexes with their definitions of masculinity and femininity respectively.

Before taking Women’s Study I understood gender being, “...body building up whether male or female or feminine or masculine. Not necessarily just about the body parts.” This definition has evolved and bloomed to a more understood concept. The same is reflected from the definition of sexuality I quoted in my first class assignment, “…person’s preference or attraction. Whether towards male or female or any other identity.” These are concrete definitions I understood, but reading articles of several perspectives allowed me to think through the

The Nature of Sexual Orientation - The term sexual orientation refers to the direction of one’s thoughts, feelings, and sexual interactions toward members of the same sex, the other sex, or both sexes.

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,

Throughout the history of humans, people have been having sex. It’s obviously necessary for the continuation of humans as a species. But it definitely hasn’t been for just reproductive purposes. People have been engaging in same-gender sex for probably as long as humans have been around. However, the terms we think of today when we think of different sexual orientations didn’t get coined until the 19th and 20th centuries. And with these terms came huge stigma that still exists today. There are many different sexual orientations that people identify as (including heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, as well as many others); the orientations that do not coincide with what people viewed as normal were originally given classification as mental disorders.

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

This includes both primary sex characteristics such as their reproductive systems and secondary sex characteristics such as height and muscularity. Gender refers to social or cultural distinctions associated with being male or female. A person’s sex does not always correspond with his or her gender. Gender is a concept that is created by cultural or the social norm. Sexual orientation is the term used when referring to an individual’s physical or emotional attraction to the same or opposite gender. Examples of sexual orientation are “Gay”, “Lesbian”, “Bisexual” and “Straight” (Huffman,

“Our sexual identity, that label we embrace to let others know whether we prefer people of the same gender, of different genders, or both (e.g., gay, lesbian, heterosexual, bisexual, queer), does not always necessarily reflect who we are attracted to, who we fantasize about, and who we have sex with.” (Vrangalova &

I never really put much thought into the difference between gender and sex. I, like most people, would have assumed that they were the same thing. After reading Multiple Choice: Gender, Orientation, and Sexual identity by Heather Corina, it made me think about my perception of these two words. I also now believe that they are in fact different. This article put sex and gender in a different perspective to me. Gender is characteristic of a person that they choose to identify as. This may or may not be different then their actual sex, which is the anatomical characteristic of people that we were born with (Corina, 2007). The broader aspect of this article challenged my way of thinking rather than just one small aspect of it.

There are many different positions that are held in society today regarding certain sexual orientations and activities. These issues include premarital sexual activity, masturbation, and the most debated, homosexual orientation and behavior. The opinions that people hold on these topics are likely to be influenced by several factors. The more common of these factors would be religious background and affiliation. In order to gain information regarding how certain religious organizations feel about certain sexual orientations and activities, I looked to my church to see the positions held on each of these issues.

What would you think if you knew that throughout your whole life, an untrue assumption had been made about you? How would you feel about total strangers believing that the assumption was reality, the media advertising products and marketing movies to you based on this assumption, and even your family supporting it? If the assumption was about a personal issue, this would be hurtful, confusing, and maybe even psychologically damaging. This hypothetical situation comes alive when examining the problem of heteronormativity: defined as believing that everyone is heterosexual, thus ignoring the LGBT population. To someone who is heterosexual, it might not seem like a big deal for straightness to be the “norm.” However, the more than 8 million LGBT people in America are affected by heteronormativity everywhere they turn. It is true that civil rights for LGBT people have progressed enormously. As of January 2, 2015, 35 states have legalized same-sex marriage, 18 states have workplace discrimination laws that cover both sexual orientation and gender identity, and the majority of public schools must have bullying policies that protect LGBT students. Despite how far we have come, there is still a lot of work to do in the area of acceptance. The only way homophobia will be diminished on a large scale is through education. This education can be spurred by eradicating heteronormative standards in the media, in the sales market, and most importantly in institutional settings, namely,

Like every social identity, sexual orientation characters are persuasive: they include no less than two arrangements of performing artists referenced against each other: "us" versus "them." In Western culture, this signifies "manly" versus "female." As such, sex is built around thoughts of Otherness: the "manly" is dealt with as the default human experience by social standards, the law and other social organizations. Masculinities are compensated far beyond femininities. Men all in all are paid superior to anything ladies; they appreciate more sexual and social flexibility; and they have different advantages that ladies don't by ethicalness of their sex. There are varieties crosswise over race, class, sexuality, and as indicated by inability and other financial measures.

It stands to reason that sexual orientation, as a phenomenon that emerges both from social and biological factors, would influence physiological responses such as stress. While the social and biological aspects may be so intertwined as to be inseparable, it is definitely possible to test if LGBTQ individuals face more stress than others, and it may even be possible to determine if those stress reactions are due to social factors such as stigma or may have a biological antecedent. Justen et al. in Biological Psychiatry explored stress in people with different sexual orientations, using a cortisol methodology, and found that, contrary to their hypothesis, gay men were actually less likely than their straight male counterparts to show signs of

Sexual orientation is a romantic or sexual attraction between men and women sometimes attraction to both sexes. Sexual orientation define person's sense of identity as it is related to that person’s sexual behaviors. It identify the a persons sexual or romantic relationship interest. It is obvious that a persons sexual relationship have to make that person happy and fulfilled as it is a part of a human life to have a romantic relationship in order to experience everything that is in life. People express their sexual orientation through simple daily actions and behaviors such as holding hands or kissing. As well as other deep sexual behaviors such as different type of physical contacts and affections. Sharing different life goals and values, supporting one another, and other long term commitments like marriage. Human sexual orientations can be categorize in three different categories.. The first category is heterosexual which refers to the romantic relationship or attraction between man and women or straight couple. The second category is individuals romantic or sexual attraction to both men and women which is called Bisexual. The third category is sexual attraction between same sex. Based on those behaviors Individuals are identified and described based on this sexual attractions. In America the bisexual, gay and lesbians are labeled as being homosexuals and the heterosexuals

Many people will asked themselves what is sexual orientation? I remember the first time someone asked me on a questionnaire what was my sexual orientation, I did not know what it meant, and I thought it had to do with my sexuality. The book gay, straight and reason why by neuroanatomist Simon leVay claimed that INAH3 nucleus size which is found in the brains of the homosexuals who died from AIDS in the 1980’s comparing it with straight men who died from other causes. Also there are reasons for being born gay. According to the author leVay, sexual orientation, refers to the sex a person prefers to be, feeling attraction for