SOC 2000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Redone, Genderqueer, Reproductive Justice
Chapter 6: Sexuality and Society
Understanding Sexuality
• Sexuality is a theme found almost everywhere and is an important part of how we think
about ourselves as well as how others think about us.
• Sex is taboo in our culture and can produce confusion and anxiety.
Sex: A Biological Issue
• Sex refers to the biological distinction between males and females.
• Sex is the way the human species reproduces
• The sex of an embryo guides its development
Sex and the Body
• The two sexes have different primary sex characteristics: the genitals, organs used for
reproduction
• At puberty people develop secondary sex characteristics: bodily development, apart from
the genitals that distinguishes biologically mature males and females.
• Sex is not the same thing as gender.
• Gender is an element of culture and refers to the personal traits and patterns of behavior
that culture attaches to being male or female.
• Intersexual people refers to people whose bodies have both female and male
characteristics
o Both natural and rare
o However it is required in the US for the sex of a child to be declared at birth
o Seen with confusion and disgust
• Transsexuals are people who feel they are one sex even though biologically they are the
other
o Some respond to this by undergoing gender reassignment which is surgical
alteration
Sex: A Cultural Issue
• Although there is a biological sex drive our biology does not dictate any specific ways of
being sexual
• Almost every sexual practice show considerable variation from one society to another
• Even the simple practice of showing affection varies from society to society
• Modesty is a cultural variable
• Some societies restrict sexuality and others are more permissive
The Incest Taboo
• One cultural universal is the incest taboo
o A norm forbidding sexual relations or marriage between certain relatives
• The level of taboo and which family members vary from place to place
• Partially biological
o Reproduction between close relatives leads to birth defects
o Limits sexual competition within families
Sexual Attitudes in the United States
• Our cultural attitudes about sexuality have always been somewhat contradictory
• Often seen has having rigid strict ideas about sex
• However we can also be seen as permissive, sex s more and more part of the mass media
people encounter daily
The Sexual Revolution
• Over the past century the US witnessed profound changes in sexual attitudes and
practices
• Young people moved into cities during the “roaring twenties” and experienced sexual
freedom
• The post WW2 period set the stage for the sexual revolution
o Kinsey and his colleagues posted their first studies
• The baby boomer generation grew up with the idea that sex was a part of life
• The sexual revolution narrows the double standard of men allowed to be promiscuous
and women expected to be pure
• Increased sexual activity and changed women’s behavior
o Helped by birth control
The Sexual Counterrevolution
• By 1980 the climate of sexual freedom was seen by some as evidence of our country’s
moral decline
• The counterrevolution was a conservative call for a return to “family values”
• Did not greatly change the idea that people should decide for themselves but more people
began limiting their number of partners
Premarital Sex
• Public opinion is much more accepting of premarital sex today than a generation ago
o However society remains divided
• 47% of high school students have had premarital sexual intercourse
• A significant minority of young people choose abstinence
Sex between Adults
• Judging from mass media people in the US are very sexually active
• However frequency of sexual activity varies widely in the U.S. population.
• However married people who have sex with their partners the most
Extramarital Sex
• Widely condemned in the US
• But about 17% of married people report being unfaithful
• Higher among younger married couples and those with no religious affiliation
Sex over the Life Course
• Patterns of sexuality change with age
• Most young men and women become sexually active by the age of 17/
• Adults report having sex about 62 times a year.
• By age 60 this decreases dramatically
Sexual Orientation
• Sexual orientation is a person’s romantic and emotion attraction to another person
• The norm in all human societies is heterosexuality which is sexual attraction to someone
of the other sex.
• In every society a significant share of people experience homosexuality which is sexual
attraction to someone of the same sex
• Bisexuality is sexual attraction to people of both sexes
o Emphasizes the idea that sexuality is not always clear cut
• Asexuality is a lack of sexual attraction to people of either sex
Document Summary
Sex: a biological issue: sex refers to the biological distinction between males and females, sex is the way the human species reproduces, the sex of an embryo guides its development. Increased sexual activity and changed women"s behavior: helped by birth control. Premarital sex: public opinion is much more accepting of premarital sex today than a generation ago, however society remains divided, 47% of high school students have had premarital sexual intercourse, a significant minority of young people choose abstinence. Sex between adults: judging from mass media people in the us are very sexually active, however frequency of sexual activity varies widely in the u. s. population, however married people who have sex with their partners the most. Extramarital sex: widely condemned in the us, but about 17% of married people report being unfaithful, higher among younger married couples and those with no religious affiliation.
