Throughout the course, Religion and Sexuality, I have gained new insights on religion and its relationship to sexuality, further, I have learned skills on how to approach people about such topics (religion and sexuality) and how to critically evaluate these subjects efficiently. Lastly, this course has enabled me to discover new qualities about myself.
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
Sexual orientation is a topic that is very debatable and contains a lot of information. The information I have learned since beginning this research paper has been memorable and has taught me alot. The sociology of sexual orientation teaches us a lot without us being aware about it. Looking at someone else’s puzzle piece and incorporating it into one’s own life is the mission of sociology. Dealing with sexual orientation, it teaches us not to discriminate against someone because they are different than what we are accustomed to and learn to accept others who are different. If you look at it from a broader perspective everyone, is different to someone else and once the world understands this, it will be a much more safer and positive place to
This is Damian form your Monday's & Wednesday's 12:30 pm class , it came to my attention that there seemed to be some problems relating to the test we just took on chapter 2 of the Human Sexuality class. Personally, im under the impression that i took the new exam although it had no timer applied to it and some of the question's apparent responses seem a little contradictional. On this questions for example # 1; "Which of the following statements regarding the desire phase of sexual response is true?" , #2; In which of the following areas would Masters and Johnson's research on sexual response be least helpful?, #3; Which of the following most accurately describes the plateau phase?, the book clearly states that this is
Unlike sex, the history of sexuality is dependant upon society and limited by its language in order to be defined and understood.
If sexual orientation is something that we can’t change or choose, then how are these specific preferences such as heterosexuality and homosexuality created? How does one person progress to either heterosexuality or homosexuality? Studies showed that there were genetic factors linked to influencing sexual orientation in males before they were born by increasing the female reproductive capacity in mothers during multiple births. (Iemmole, Ciani, 2008: 393) Though that doesn’t mean that there technically is a “gay gene” that has been discovered, just that several human genome studies has suggested promising areas of research that are pointing to that direction. (Iemmole, Ciani, 2008: 393) With more
Sex and gender play a big part in american society today and are often misconstrued. These two topics have become progressive as people are starting to express their gender and sexuality in ways other than what is and has been considered the norm. Many people believe that sexuality and gender are synonymous with one another. Gender is socially constructed while sex is biologically determined. In society’s past, Americans often strayed away from discussing controversial topics, but with the rise of different ways of addressing people, it is deemed more important to understand. Along with the blurred lines of gender and sex comes sexuality, who someone is attracted to sexually. When people stray from society’s heteronormative mindset, they are often faced with many more challenges than the average hetero man or woman. People often have the preconceived notion that if something does not concern them, then they should not be involved in it. A person who could be your neighbor, co worker, or even child, may have to deal with the troubles of people confusing their gender identity with their sex. While also facing challenges that deal with the sex of the person they choose to love. Learning the difference between gender and sexuality will open the eyes of many people and see how the two are different but relate to one another very much.
Both terms ‘gender’ and ‘sexuality’ are very common, broad and the meaning of it differs from person to person. Eugenically the term ‘gender’ is defined to have socially composed roles, activities, behaviours, and peculiarity that a given society considers right for men and women (WHO, 2015). Whereas the term ‘sexuality’ has various meanings, it is described as feeling or having attraction or having sexual thoughts and preferences towards same sex or opposite sex (reachout.com, 2015). This essay will explore Pascoe’s (2005) article on sexualised insult ‘fag’ by American teenage boys. It will also focus on the racialized nature of this ‘fag’ discourse. As it is not the only identity related to homosexual men but can briefly associate to heterosexual men as well. Another sexualised insult ‘slut’ depicted in Attwood’s (2007) work has many meanings and has changed overtime. This will be illustrated by highlighting how the word ‘slut’ was used to define women sexually and their struggle over class, race and generation. The term ‘bitch’ explored in Crawford & Popp (2003) study share similar perspective to Attwood’s work where talking about sexuality or gender would involve making assumption about race and class. This will help present the different identities which people use to define their sexuality and gender such as gay, fag, slut and bitch in terms of race and class. This will be explored in various academics work. This implies that understanding about sexuality and gender in
Media coverage surrounding alternative sexualities has also expanded in recent years and, in the wake of gay liberation and the emergence of lesbian and gay studies, an ever increasing flow of academic documentation pertaining to sexual orientation has flourished. We now know more about homosexual lives in general and about the experiences of particular groups such as those in prison those who offer sex in exchange for money and those who lived during particular historical periods. However, with the knowledge and awareness about what it means to be gay or lesbian has increased considerably, there remains an ignorance on a number of homosexual issues. Explanations of why sexual orientations differ are still inadequate, and in a
Please write a short response based on your personal feelings, experiences, and opinions. You do not have to answer anything you do not feel comfortable answering. Your input is greatly appreciated!
The current research aims to examine gender differences in sexual fluidity. We also seek to examine the degree of sexual fluidity in heterosexually identified women, as well as the effect of gender expression on an individual’s attraction. Lastly, we aim to examine the degree of inconsistencies in a woman’s attraction’s, fantasies, and behavior. We hypothesize three different outcomes. First, we predict that women will be more sexually fluid in their attractions, fantasies, and behavior than men. Second, we predict that women who self-report their gender expression as feminine are more likely to be attracted to women whose gender expression is androgynous. Lastly, we predict that there will be discrepancies between a woman’s attractions,
Before reading this week’s readings, I understood heteronormativity as the idea that being heterosexual is normal and how many believe that is the only way to live even if you are not heterosexual. I realized how sexuality is much more complicated than I originally thought. Sexuality is not just one-dimensional but there are so many parts to it that people are not aware of.
All my life I struggled with my sexuality; not knowing what was sexy or when being sexy cross the line to being considered promiscuous. My thoughts, feelings, and attitude about my sexuality all stemmed from not knowing or being comfortable with who I am as a woman. Throughout my marriage, I have struggle with sexuality as a wife and even as mother. I am learning that there is more to sexuality than just putting on a nice dress and nightgown.
Queer studies, child of Women's Studies and Feminist Studies, sprang into the academic setting next. Queer Studies have been often aligned with homosexuality and homosexual identities, and the questioning of normative heterosexual and homosexual practices, as well as calling attention to the fluidity of sexuality. “Queer theory concerns itself with any and all forms of sexuality that are "queer" in this sense--and then, by extension, with the normative behaviors and identities which define what is "queer" (by being their binary opposites)” (Klages, 2012). Queer theory followed feminist ideology in rejecting the notion that sexuality is predetermined by biology or that it should be “judged by eternel standards morality and truth” (Klages, 2012).
Just as other interpersonal themes, sexual themes in film are often depictions of sexual themes that exist in real life relationships. For this very reason, it is very easy for a person to compare his relationships with that of a relationship shown in media or film. Some relationships are total train wrecks from the start while others are not necessarily ideal, but healthy. Although not seen very often, ideal couples in film are attributed with characteristics that are seen by society as desirable; youthful, attractive people who are hyper-sexual and affectionate. As cliché as it sounds, sometimes relationships are simply “complicated”. Such is the case in the film It’s Complicated.
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
When considering gender and sex, a layman’s idea of these terms might be very different than a sociologist’s. There is an important distinction: sex, in terms of being “male” or “female,” is purely the physical biological characteristic differences – primarily anatomical differences. (There are also rare cases of “intersexual” individuals as outlined in the Navarro article, “When Gender Isn’t a Given”.) Gender, on the other hand, is an often misconstrued concept that is commonly mistaken as synonymous with sex. A non-sociologist might surmise the following, “men act masculine and women act feminine, therefore, it must follow that gender is inherent to sex,” however, this is not necessarily the case.