Chapter 6 Sexuality Sexual identities what it is Idea of hetero vs homo is new Sexual Identity a set of sexual practices and attitudes that lead to the formation in a person s mind of an identity as heterosexual homosexual or bisexual o Helps us to define who we are when you get to a certain point you are aware of your sexuality Sexual acts versus sexual identities categories what sexual identi ties require Sexual Act Vs Sexual Identities Only two categories of Sexual Activities existed o 1 Those socially approved having sex with spouse in moderation only to have children not for pleasure o 2 Those socially disapproved masturbation oral sex same sex intercourse not being married o Sexual Acts were seen as sinful but DID NOT DE FINE someone of having a sexual identity Concept of Sexual Identity requires o 1 self consciousness o 2 self examination late 19th century and wasn t promanate until Emergence of hetero and homosexuality Public campaigns against homosexuality Medical literature o Model dominate until 1973 finally removed ho mosexuality as being a mental disorder but it had already put a bad stigma on it bad reputa tion o If you are homosexual something is psychologi cally wrong with you mental disorders need medicine Social constructivist 1 The Social Construction Perspective society Maintains sexual identities are entirely socially created Point to cultural and historical variations and argue that sex ual categories are defined by the society we live in o Unclear boundaries i e two people spirits Kinsey Report a 1948 book by Alfred Kinsey detailing the results of thousands of interviews with men about their sexual behavior o had erotic feelings about other men o 1 3 had a sexual encounter with another men o 1 8 with predominately men for at least 1 year o Concluded sexuality is a continuum range from being completely homosexual to kinda homosexual not a strict concept o Problem likely not to be representative of popula tion bc it took volunteers and predominately white males in north east o Those who consider homo or bi sexual fewer in number than have had same sex contact o Just cause you have had some same sex contact doesn t mean you consider yourself homo or bi o Shows that idea of sexuality is complicated o Distinction that is at least in part due to social construction More recent From a sociologist standpoint it will never be JUST biology Integrative perspective 2 The Integrative Perspective Believe that human sexual identities are determined by BOTH social and biological factors People may be born with a sexual nature indicating that biology has a role as well How can we test this twins looking at genetics Much research done on twins shows the importance of biologi cal and social o Among men those who were identical much higher percent of both being homosexual than fraternal and adopted o Among women 48 identical o This supports the biology but not always the other numbers show its not always the case and that there could be social environmental influences o Shows predisposition but not deterministic Sexual identity is not learned i e having gay parents doesn t make you gay takes out the complete social as pect of it Really no satisfactory way to explain how both come into play Does it make a difference if there is a biological component to sexuality or no she argues yes it does o Biological important because conservative stance that homos make a choice and can choose what sexual identity they want including biol ogy standpoint discredits that Queer theory what it is Identities are always shifting unstable and arbitrary Queer Theory Represents the view that sexual life artifi cially organized into categories that reflect the power of heterosexual norms o Dominate heterosexual o We do sexuality like we do gender Family of choice how formed who s included 1 Networks of Friends o Family of Choice a family formed through vol untary ties among individuals who are not bio logically or legally related 1 Actively constructed family maybe live in area that doesn t allow them to marry but still consider them family 2 Maybe their actual family isn t present so they create their own family 3 Similar to kin networks among the poor Created kinship Nonmarital sexual activity double standard gap narrowed There has been an increase since the 1950s in the number of sexual partners o 1950s 66 one partner 3 5 or more o 1960s 46 one partner 18 5 or more o 1970s 36 one partner 22 5 or more o Changes overtime for men are less dramatic o Double standard is disappearing Marital and extramarital sex Extramarital Sex sexual activity by a married person with someone other than his or her spouse Sexual monogamy the state of having just one sex partner o Most are monogamous GSS general social survey o of People who think Premarital sex is always or almost always wrong decreased 48 to 36 less people think premarital sex is wrong o of people who think extramarital sex is always or almost always wrong increased up to 92 more people think cheating is wrong Sexual monogamy is the rule rather than the exception Adolescent sexuality and pregnancy Childbearing 1 Rise in childbearing outside of marriage with sex comes kinds 2 People are waiting to get married but not waiting to have sex increases time that a child will be born without mar riage Changes in sexual behavior 1 Gap between boys and girls has narrowed number having sex before marriage more equal 2 Class and race differences also narrowed not always the poor or AA pretty much all young people but still more common among poor and black but the differences are narrowing The Teenage Pregnancy Problem About 750 000 15 to 19 year old women in the U S become pregnant each year about 450 thou actually have baby Lower than 10 to 20 years ago Lack of marriage o Marriage among teens has decreased faster than birthrates have o Non marital birth ratio the proportion of all births that occur to unmarried women has in creased sharply for teens even though the birthrate or the probability that a teen will have a birth has declined o problem UNMARRIED teens having babies The consequences for Teenage Mothers o 1 Those who have children as adolescents are worse off later in life o 2 Complete fewer years of schooling having lower paying jobs are more likely to need pub lic assistance and are less like to have stable marriages o Chicken or the Egg Selection Effect The principle that whenever individuals sort or se lect themselves into groups non randomly some