Kiara Rivas
Sociology 1
Due Date: 5/5/15
Human Sexuality Sexuality is something that seems to dominate a lot of the world we live in. It’s in our schools, at work, and especially in the mass media. The way your body develops and the way you feel and respond to others sexually creates your sexuality (“Sexuality and Sexual Orientation”, Youthoria). It can shape and affect people’s lives as well as our own. Sexuality can be influenced by culture, religion, media, friends and experiences. Some people are very sexual, while others experience no sexual attraction at all. Sexuality has always been treated as taboo and some people are uncomfortable talking about it so they avoid it. For this reason sexuality can produce confusion, anxiety and fear. Sexuality includes much more than just sex. It includes anatomy, biological sex, gender, sexual orientation, relationships, and sexual behaviors (“Sex and Sexuality”, Planned Parenthood). Applying the sociological approaches will give us a better understanding of human sexuality.
Now that we have some insight on what sexuality is, we can apply the sociological perspectives. Starting with the structural functional theory, this theory argues that society consists of interrelated parts that work together to promote social order, unity, and balance. The structural-functional paradigm can be broken down by other type on functions: manifest functions, latent functions, and dysfunctions. The manifest functions regulates with whom your
This topic is presents two main reasons why it is critically important to sociology. First, sexuality refers to a persons capacity of sexual feelings (Little, 2013).
What do you think of when you hear the word sexuality? You can either think of it in a negative light or a positive one. Growing up my family never talked about sexuality, it was only when you want to have a baby you get married to a man that you love and that was that. There was never any in between with sexuality. Sexuality is a lot more complex than I was originally told. So what is Sexuality, where does it come from and how has it changed over time? These are some of the questions that I hope to unfold in my essay, first starting off with past
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
Contemporary understandings of sexuality are not the same as back in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Understandings and terminology in the past hold multiple differences and similarities than our current contemporary understandings.
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.
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
Resistance to sex research has caused large misunderstanding about our human sexuality. This resistance has been shaped by our society’s moral views. Our society’s perceptions have greatly influence the type of sexual research conducted and the funding that has gone towards sexual research. This has overall influenced the outcome of sexual research has had.
Sexuality is a fundamental aspect of being human all through life and includes gender identities, sex, and sexual orientation, roles, eroticism, intimacy, pleasure, and reproduction (Chapman, 2008). Sexuality is expressed and experienced in thoughts, ideas, fantasies, desires, manners, values, behaviors, roles, relationships and practices. Though sexuality can encompass all of these aspects, not all of them are for all time experienced or demonstrated (Hunter, 1992). It is influenced by the interface of biological, social, political, psychological, ethical, economic, cultural, historical, legal, spiritual and religious factors (Simoni & Walters, 2001). There
Are issues of diversity represented fairly, realistically and accurately or problematically in Australian schools in regards to issues of gender, sexuality and sexual identity.
The origin and cause of human sexual orientation have been highly debated topics between sociologist and biologists. Most scientists believe sexual orientation is biologically determined while sociologists argue that it is socially constructed. There is a third belief that human sexual orientation is not solely biologically determined or socially constructed. From this belief come theories that combine both arguments, where human sexual orientation contains a biological component and a social component. One of the conjoint theories is that humans are born with a propensity for certain sexual tendencies which are determined biologically, and these tendencies are developed into a complex sexual identity as an adult. This development of sexual tendencies into a sexual identity is influenced by society, and therefore, sexual orientation depends on biological influences as well as society and social influences. There is various evidence and arguments for biological determination and social construction of sexual orientation, as well as a few conjoint theories of sexual orientation, but there are also criticisms of each theory and the validity of these arguments will be explored.
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.
In today’s society things are being expressed and experienced at younger ages, than ever before in our time. Children and teenagers are discovering their sexuality at very early ages. Sexuality is the discovering of who you are and what makes you different from everybody else.
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.
Today in class I was amazed at the many different terminologies I thought I knew but learned I did not actually know the true definition of. During the morning activity of defining human sexuality within our group, I learned that everyone’s definition of human sexuality is different. I define human sexuality as defining who you are sexually, your gender, and who you are attracted to. Some of my classmates defined it as your sexual orientation, the physical and mental connection you have with one person or more than one person. I did agree with the group that human sexuality could also be defined by your culture, societal influences and norms, and biological factors.