Slide 1The Gender of SexualityDoes Sexuality Have a Gender?Men and MasculinityMasculinity and SexualityMen and MasculinityFemininity and SexualityFemininity and SexualitySexual ScriptsSexual ScriptsSex and SocietyHeterosexualityHeterosexualitySexuality in Cross-Cultural PerspectiveBisexualityHeterosexism and HeteronormativityHeterosexism and HeteronormativityRelationshipsHOW DOES GENDER MATTER FOR WHO WE WANT AND DESIRE?Chapter FiveQuestioning Gender: A Sociological Exploration 2e by Robyn Ryle © 2015 SAGE PublicationsThe Gender of SexualitySociologists examine social significance of sexual categories such as “gay” and “straight”Sex is any act defined as sexual; thus, potentially much broader than just intercourseSexual identity: ________________Sexual desire: A combination of objective physical responses and subjective psychological or emotional responses to some internal or external stimulusDoes Sexuality Have a Gender?John Stoltenberg imaged a world _______________Scholars argue that having sex is one of the ways in which we create the idea that there is such a thing as sex categories and genderWe create the idea of gender in part through our expectations about what it means to be sexually as a women or a manSex is used to create an accountable performance of genderQuestioning Gender: A Sociological Exploration 2e by Robyn Ryle © 2015 SAGE PublicationsMen and MasculinityWhat do we make about men’s sexuality? The first is that real men are heterosexual. They have a greater authority in societyThey show their Masculinity through gendered norms???This aspect of men’s sexuality is evidence of the strong connection in contemporary society between sexuality and gender, as well as evidence of _________Masculinity and SexualityCompulsive heterosexuality is the way in which heterosexuality becomes ___It explains why institutions serve to ensure male authority over physical, emotional, and economic access.For men, compulsive heterosexuality is more about men maintaining access to their power as men.For women it may be about men maintaining their power over womenMen are seen as sexual _____, meaning they have a sense of ___________that allows them to act in their bodies rather than being acted uponMen and MasculinityWWII: Military training encouraged physical violence, independence, risk taking, dominance, and competitionDuring WWII, the Japanese Imperial Army enslaved women to service the sexual needs of the male soldiers – “comfort women”In the U.S., much of popular culture focuses on adolescent boys’ obsession with sexImpotency implies that a man is literally without power, not able to respond sexually as a man to any and every situation without assistance is seen as unmanly by men as well as womenFemininity and SexualityFor women, sexuality reveals a very different set of lessons compared to those related to menRomance tourism describes the ways in which many women as sex tourists are looking to be swept away by men in other locations. Heteronormativity is the way in which heterosexuality is viewed as the normal, natural way of being (e.g. Prom King and Queen)Questioning Gender: A Sociological Exploration 2e by Robyn Ryle © 2015 SAGE PublicationsFemininity and SexualityKarin Martin’s research revealed that girls often see sex as happening to them, rather than something they actively desired or pursuedMany experienced ideal love with their boyfriend, expressed as a mix of submission and adorationSexual object: Women often confront a sexual double standardHow is this double standard expressed?Sexual ScriptsQuestioning Gender: A Sociological Exploration 2e by Robyn Ryle © 2015 SAGE PublicationsSexual scripts answer the question: what exactly are we supposed to do, sexually speaking?Sexual scripts are the learned guidelines for sexual expression that provide individuals with a sense of appropriate sexual behaviors and sexual desires for that particular cultureWomen as passive, men as active in U.S. cultureThe egg portrayed as passive, sperm as activeSexual ScriptsQuestioning Gender: A Sociological Exploration 2e by Robyn Ryle © 2015 SAGE PublicationsCultural variation in sexual definitionsSome Christian traditions see flesh as “sinful”Muslim tradition: Sexual desire can help to serve God’s purpose through procreation, provides a preview of “delights secured for men in Paradise,” and can foster intellectual effort if properly controlledSome feminists argue that the idea of passive, feminine sexuality is an attempt to control women’s power in societySex and SocietySexuality is more than just internal or biological aspects of ourselves; it is also a key element of social structures and institutionsSocial status and power are important components of sexual behavior in many culturesE.g., Status and power of women’s virginityWomen’s sexuality is often subject to social control while men’s sexuality is less restrictedSex categories and gender are often closed linkedHeterosexualityQuestioning Gender: A Sociological Exploration 2e by Robyn Ryle © 2015 SAGE PublicationsAs heterosexuality is seen as given (normal), homosexuality has been long been viewed as needing to be explainedHowever, “studying up” in sociology is an effort to study those at the top of a given power structureThus, dominance of heterosexuality also needs to be explainedHeterosexualityDefinitions of “heterosexuality” and “homosexuality” were created in 19th centuryThe two terms were popularized by sexologist, Richard Krafft-EbingHe wrote about homosexuality as a personality disorder in 1886 Sexual categories focused on men’s behaviorPrior to this, “one-sex model” was dominantSexuality in Cross-Cultural PerspectiveCross-cultural research on same-sex behaviorThis evidence shows that the relationship between sex category, gender, and sexuality is culturally defined and variesEthnocentrism – ?BisexualityQuestioning Gender: A Sociological Exploration 2e by Robyn Ryle © 2015 SAGE PublicationsBisexuality is an even more recent conceptFreud believed that all humans are potentially bisexualBisexuals are stigmatized by both heterosexuals and homosexuals, but bisexuals refer to the others as “monosexuals”Amber Ault identified four techniques of neutralization through which lesbian women