SOC 124 Study Guide - Heterosexuality, Elder Abuse, Socioeconomic Status
Document Summary
One sexual orientation serves as a basis of inequality. Sexual orientation is defined as the classification of individuals according to their preference for emotional-sexual relationships and lifestyle with persons of the same sex (homosexuality) or persons of the opposite sex (heterosexuality). By sexuality refers to emotional and sexual attractions to persons of either sex. The term transgendered does not refer to a specific sexual orientation; rather, it refers to individuals whose gender identity is different from the one assigned to them at birth. Lgbt is often used to refer to lesbians, gaze, bisexuals, and transgender individuals as a group. There is no definitive study on the number of individuals who identify themselves as homosexual or bisexual. Functionalists identify how society upholds heterosexuality and a marital union between a man and a woman as ideal normative behavior. This is also referred to as institutionalized heterosexuality, the set of ideas, institutions, and relationships that define the heterosexual family as the societal norm.
