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Gender and Sexuality – Part I

SOCY 3720-E01

Global Perspectives on Social Issues

Summer 2019

 Gender and Sexuality

 Part I:

 For this first part of the lecture we will mainly be covering pertinent terminology as it applies to this unit

on gender and sexuality.

 We will cover main concepts such as gender, sex, gender identity, gender roles, sex segregation, gender

segregation, sexism, misandry, misogyny, sexual orientation, heterosexuality, heterosexism,

heteronormativity, homosexuality, homophobia, bisexuality, pansexuality, asexuality, intersexual,

transgender, and briefly discuss the LBGTQ+ community.

Gender and Sexuality

 As Kornblum and Julian (2012) report:

 “With 52% of the world’s population, but also more than 60% of the world’s poor population, women

still fight for political and economic rights.

 These same fights and demands can often conflict with traditional and established cultural values and

will continue to affect women’s chances for access to education, healthcare, and political influence

around the world.

 Worldwide, violence against women is still a very unjustifiable and horrible reality, and in the United

States 115,000 women are raped every year, a horrendous reality that points out to violent acts against

women not being limited to developing countries only.

 Still nowadays, globally, women are threatened by hunger and violence far more than are men”

(Kornblum & Julian, 2012).

 Gender

 Gender “is the meaning of being male or female in a particular society” (Lauer & Lauer, 2008).

 Masculinity and femininity concepts can be very complex and may vary from culture to culture, from

society to society. Many different characteristics apply and many norms and expectations are socially

constructed around these notions.

 Even when looking at gender through the traditional binary system, there can still be “a great deal of

confusion and suffering occurring because of mistaken ideas about gender and sexuality and about how

we think men and women should behave” (Kornblum & Julian, 2012).

 Sex

 Sex “refers to an individual’s biological identity as male or female” (Lauer & Lauer, 2008).

 This biological distinction is applied, in most cases, as absolutes, through the binary system that we are

used to.

 Sigmund Freud weighted on the debate through his ‘anatomy is destiny’ idea arguing that biology is of

paramount importance in sex-related behaviors (Lauer & Lauer, 2008).

 In sociobiology, “people who draw on research on the brain and hormones also stress the biological

differences, but do not necessarily talk about them in terms of evolutionary imperatives” (Lauer &

Lauer, 2008).

 Gender Identity

 In sociology, gender identity describes “a sense of maleness or femaleness, typically formed by age 3.

According to the gender role norms of each society, which prescribe how males and females should

behave, the child is expected to exhibit maleness or femaleness as they are defined in that society’s

culture” (Bussey & Bandura, 1999).

 Gender identity can be best understand at a personal level, do you feel like a woman or a man, do you

identify yourself as a woman or a man.

 Gender Roles

 In sociology, Goffman described a role or social role as a set of behaviors, us as actors in a social

instance. In other words, the way we are supposed or expected to behave within a role.

 In sociology, the term gender role refers to “the attitudes and behavior that are expected of men and

women in a society” (Lauer & Lauer, 2008).

 These roles are very unique since they are inculcated through gender-role socialization. From colors,

toys, clothes, hairstyles and length designated to specific genders, all the way to personality/behavioral

expectations and gender stereotypes.

 This is process that begins at birth and never ends since “in all interactions, we receive positive or

negative feedback based on our gender performance” (Witt, 2011).

 Important ways of understanding this notion is to think about how am I expected to act or I can be seen

by others as masculine or feminine.

 Sex Segregation and Gender Segregation

 Sex or gender segregation is not only being debated in the United States, but also around the world. In

many different countries the same controversial issues exist and are discussed within their culture and

values.

 Sex or gender segregation includes the separation of people in relation to sex or gender.

 Public restrooms, public showers, dormitories, are often a de facto outcome of sex segregation. Places of

worship can also be sex segregated and even different cultural practices and rituals around the world are

sex segregated as well.

 Sexism

 Sexism is “the ideology that one sex is superior to the other” (Witt, 2011).

 Sexism can also include discrimination against individuals based on their sexual identity.

 Certain forms of “sexual discrimination are illegal in many countries but nearly all countries have laws

that give special rights, privileges, or responsibilities to one sex” (Deji, 2011).

 Sexism can also include hatred of men (misandry) or women (misogyny).

 Misandry is hatred or aversion towards men.

 Misogyny is hatred or aversion towards women.

 Misandry can be a controversial notion since some Feminist scholars argue the validity of this concept

while others, even though little research exists, believes in the existence of this behavior.

 Misogyny, is widely accepted as a social problem very much existent and many societies around the

world.

 Misogynistic behavior is predominantly attributed to men, but women can also engage in this

discriminatory behavior as well.

 From a Feminist Theory perspective it can be seen as a subjugation ideology in order to oppress women

and maintain a subordination factor.

 Sexual Orientation

 Sexual orientation refers to “the categories of people to whom we are sexually attracted” (Witt, 2011).

 Predominantly discussed and researched sexual orientations include :

 Heterosexual  Homosexual  Bisexual  Pansexual  Asexual

 It is also important to notice that there are other more specific orientations and not everybody

agrees on some of the definitions for some orientations.

 Heterosexuality

 Heterosexuality is a “category of sexual orientation that includes those who are sexually attracted to

members of the opposite sex” (Witt, 2011).

 A modern approach to most sexual orientations also goes beyond just sexual attraction and includes

notions of romantic and emotional attraction as well.

 Heterosexism and Heteronormativity

 Heterosexism or heterosexualism, is when we assume that most individuals are Heterosexuals. This

practice, although believed to be mostly non-hostile, can include passive-aggressive and even

subconscious discrimination as we may fail to give proper inclusion or understand other sexual

minorities.

 Heteronormativity is “a term that sociologists use to describe the cultural presupposition that

heterosexuality is the appropriate standard for sexual identity and practice and that alternative sexualities

are deviant, abnormal, or wrong” (Witt, 2011).

 Homosexuality and Homophobia

 Homosexuality is “a category of sexual orientation that includes those who are attracted to members of

the same sex” (Witt, 2011).

 Homosexual males are usually known as Gay and Homosexual females are known as Lesbians.

 The term homophobia means an irrational fear of Homosexual people.

 As Philip Emeagwali states “Homophobia is not a psychiatric term…There is no such thing as clinical

homophobia, though the phenomenon of homophobia continues to be studied by groups like the

American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association. New psychiatric studies

have linked deep hatred towards Homosexuality to repressed Homosexual feelings,” which is also

known as “internalized homophobia” (Emeagwali, 2013).

 Bisexuality and Pansexuality

 Bisexuality is a “category of sexual orientation that includes those who are attracted to both men and

women” (Witt, 2011).

 The terms Pansexual or Omnisexual can be used synonymously. Pansexuality “is a sexual orientation

describing a person who is attracted to all types of people, regardless of sex or gender” (UUA, 2015).

 Asexuality

 Asexuality is a person who “generally does not experience sexual attraction or has little to no desire for

sexual activity” (UMICH, 2015).

 Asexuality can be viewed as a sexual orientation, as well as a form of gender identification.

 Intersexual and Transgender

 Intersexual is “a person whose sexual anatomy or chromosomes do not fit with the traditional markers

of ‘female’ and ‘male’” (UMICH, 2015).

 In most societies, if an individual is born with both anatomies, a specific gender will be assigned at

birth. This can carry different issues for individuals whose gender may not match their sexual or gender

identity later in life.

 Transgender is a complex term with different definitions and “it is frequently used as an umbrella term

to refer to all people who do not identify with their assigned gender at birth or the binary gender system.

This includes transsexuals, cross-dressers, genderqueer, drag kings, drag queens, two-spirit people, and

others. Some transgender people feel they exist not within one of the two standard gender categories, but

rather somewhere between, beyond, or outside of those two genders” (UMICH, 2015).

 Some societies have strict laws and punishments against Transgender individuals while others societies

may evaluate it as a psychiatric illness.

 Nowadays, in the United States, we are experiencing the legal, social, and cultural debate/battle

regarding the sex and gender assignment of restrooms in certain buildings and in certain specific states

as it affects Transgender individuals.

 LGBT, or LGBTQI, or LGBTQQIA+

 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersexed, Queer, Questioning, and Asexual community is still

the focus of many discriminatory acts around the world. Within many social constructs and for many

people there can be plenty of misunderstanding, lack of acceptance, fear, and ignorance in relation to

this global community.

 Social constructs of family life, sexual relations, procreation, gender roles, and marriage can be very

resistant to change in many different societies around the world. In other societies, social progress and

the challenging of these social constructs is a constant fight for equality with many positive results.

 This community keeps growing stronger and prouder of their identities and is finding more equality and

acceptance as people become more educated, more understanding, and free to celebrate who they are

and this type of sexual and gender diversity.

 Aside from the June 26, 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down bans on same sex marriages nationwide there are currently 28 other countries where same sex marriage is fully legal and/or

recognized. These countries (and the legalization year) are:

 The Netherlands (2000)  Belgium (2003)  Canada (2005)  Spain (2005)  South Africa (2006)  Norway (2008)  Sweden (2009)  Argentina (2010)  Iceland (2010)  Portugal (2010)  Denmark (2012)  Brazil (2013)  England and Wales (2013)  France (2013)  New Zealand (2013)  Uruguay (2013)  Luxembourg (2014)  Scotland (2014)

 Finland: (2015)  Ireland: (2015)  Greenland (2015)  Colombia (2016)  Malta (2017)  Australia (2017)  Germany (2017)  * Mexico allows same sex marriage regionally, not nationally.

(Pew Research Center, 2018)