The Invention Of Sexuality As A Social Construct

From birth, one's sexuality is shaped by society. Cultures institute behaviors that are to be seen as the societal norms, which work to constantly reinforce societal expectations of how genders should act in relation to one another. Although some may argue that one's sexuality is an innate characteristic resulting from genetic makeup, there is a large amount of evidence pointing to its social construction instead. Through the power differences between males and females, established gender roles, and drastic economic shifts, society establishes sexuality and reinforces the behaviors that are expected of its citizens.

We are socialized to assumed heterosexuality is normal because it is all around us. Most of us are born into a heterosexual, mom and dad relationship. As we grow up looking up to them it becomes normal to see heterosexuality. Throughout my upbringing, my parents did not talk about homosexuality much. All of my family members throughout at least the first two generations identify as straight, so it was not something I grew up being around. Therefore it was never talked about in a positive or negative way. In biology class and church we are taught that we are on this earth to reproduce and contribute to the renewal of civilization. To do this the ‘normal’ way you would get married and heterosexually reproduce. It is taught that the only natural way to have sex is inserting a penis into a vagina. Institutions reinforce this by continuing to teach children throughout their education that man and woman are the normal thing. This belief came from the fact that a female egg cannot turn into a fetus unless it is fertilized by a male sperm. The cycle of heterosexual socialization promotes heterosexism because it is promoted as the ‘right’ thing to do throughout all forms of media and teachings. When all you see as a positive thing growing up is heterosexual, married couples with biological kids you are conformed to think that is the only way to find happiness. Heteronormative socialization excludes many different types of people such as couples who cannot conceive their own

Unlike sex, the history of sexuality is dependant upon society and limited by its language in order to be defined and understood.

Ever since Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”, the amount of Americans who thought sexuality was assumed at birth has steadily climbed. For many people in the LGBTQ community, being gay

In her essay titled “Compulsive Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence,” Adrienne Rich claims that any alternative to heterosexual outcome is discouraged by society. The essay claims that Western tradition has used the heterosexual family model as the basic social

Social norms are rules of behavior that are considered acceptable in society. If one does not follow social norms one might be shamed or suffer some kind of consequence. This leads to the actions of slut shaming. Slut shaming is the act of making a female feel degraded of certain sexual behaviors that deviate from social norms. Feminist believe that women deserve equality, and therefore stand up for women’s rights. Society’s norms of sexual activity is different from men and women, when men seem sexually active they are praised, but when women seem sexually active they are judged and called “sluts.” In society, from a very young age people, including women, have been unintentionally teaching their children about double standards in gender, being unintentionally sexist. In Toronto, a police officer addressed young women about safety by saying, ¨women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized.” Because of this, feminist have started “slut walks” where the movement goes againts seuxal injustice, victiam blaming, derogatory labeling and gender inequality.

I think that analyzing sexuality as a social construction, and importantly as one that is fluid–evolving with and responding to the social terrain it is operating within–is necessary because it allows for reflection and revision. I agree with Hammond’s sentiment that through erasure black women have “lost the ability to articulate any conception of their sexuality” (133, Hammonds), however I believe it goes beyond a loss of ability. Hammonds claims that not only are people of color often excluded from spaces that discuss the politics of sexuality, but that when they are granted space to speak, a queer writer of color may find that “defining himself gay is not of the utmost importance” (129). That is to say that the intersection of race and

Sexuality has taken a big part in American culture, which has brought new and changed laws. Some rules have gone too far such as bathroom rights. This allows transgender people or anyone to use either bathroom of their choice and this includes anyone who corresponds with their current identity, for example a predator. People can live as their identified gender, but other people can falsely identify someone they are not. These people can take advantage of the bathroom right and make it dangerous for women and

Adrienne Rich also speak compulsory heterosexuality in her work, Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence. Compulsory heterosexuality as discussed by Rich is how we view heterosexuality as a part of institution of capitalism that maintains power through the ideas of heterosexuality being acceptable to society and how we do not allow for differences in the binary system. As Rich states, “the failure to examine heterosexuality as an institution is like failing to admit that the economic system called capitalism or the caste system of racism is maintained by a variety of forces, including both physical violence and false consciousness” (Rich, 135). Meaning that we understand how heterosexuality is maintained by our capitalism system just as we understand oppression of classism, racism, and gender differences. Heterosexuality becomes institutionalized by maintaining through the normalization of forcing us to believe in the capitalism

Compulsory means required or obligatory; heterosexuality refers to sexual activity between members of opposite sexes. The phrase "compulsory heterosexuality" originally referred to the assumption by male-dominated society that the only normal sexual relationship is between a man and a woman. Society enforces heterosexuality, branding as deviant any deviance or noncompliance. The normalcy of heterosexuality and the defiance of that are both political acts. The phrase carries the implication that heterosexuality is neither inborn nor chosen by the individual, but rather is a product of culture and thus is forced. Behind the theory of compulsory heterosexuality is the idea that biological sex is determined, that gender is how one behaves, and

Although there is no actual physical acts of sex in either of the two novels, the idea and lustfulness of sexuality is extremely present throughout both. One way that this can be seen is through the process of blood-sucking, because of how intimate the process is. Whoever is having their blood sucked is so vulnerable at the time that it can be seen as the equivalency of losing their innocence and purity. This act also creates a bond between the vampire and their victim, and whether that is a good or bad thing depends on the novel you are reading. For example, in Twilight, Edward is forced to suck Bella’s blood to rid her of the poison that has been inflicted on her by another vampire, and because Bella is a human who has particular desirable

For instance, studies conducted by the University of Dublin show that when people are asked about why they feel a certain way in specific moral issues, people are often dumbfounded and they cannot explain the reasoning under their moral judgement other than the fact that it feels right (3). This feeling can be a result of societal norms that have conditioned a population to feel a certain way through validation and invalidation in one’s community. Conditioning such as this can lead to hate crimes and discrimination. One such example is the concept of homophobia in a society. Homophobia is a result of psychological conditioning through religion and social norms that homosexuality is immoral when in actuality it does not harm people that it does not involve. However, logically speaking, homophobia is immoral since it dehumanizes those who are not straight through invalidation and persecution. Therefore, even though homophobia checks out emotionally through social conditioning, it does not check out logically.

The word sexual is a commonly used word in the English language. The word can be taken out of context or used for it's general meaning. The word regularly serves as an adjective and can be used in various ways.

Social construction has been an extremely influential and hot debating topic in the past century. It is a term where everyone almost has heard but quite a few actually understand. The social constructionist perspective on sexuality, on the other hand, began to rise during the sexual revolution of the 1960s. Every social constructionist has their own approach to sexuality. Thinkers such as Gary Kinsman, Fausto-Sterling both discussed their approach towards social constructionism on sexuality. (Missing out thesis statement, not sure how to write it)

When thinking of sexuality, hetero- and homosexuality are the first concepts that come to mind. Rather than considering the number of emotional and physical attachments that are also involved, it is a common belief that one's sexuality consists only of their sexual desires. Because society has put the homosexual umbrella over any individual who does not claim to be heterosexual, many people are unaware of the diverse lifestyles that are a part of a melting pot culture. As a result, it is oftentimes a subconscious act to make assumptions about these sub-sexualities. Rather than judging every individual by their personal actions, assumptions are often made on the basis of physical appearance and the collective actions of those belonging to