Chapter 6 Sexualities The rise of sexual identities the Emergence and consequences of sexual identities o The idea of sexual identities did not arise until the end of the 19th century o Once more fluid o Categories such as heterosexual and homosexual emerged and a medical model was introduced o Sexual Identity a set of sexual practices and attitudes that lead to the formation of a person s mind of an identity as heterosexual homosexual or bisexual Social Constructionist perspective on Sexuality history of constructing deviance legal restrictions o Social Constructionist Perspective the belief that human sexual identities are entirely socially constructed o Compulsory Heterosexuality it is so normative that it is the default situation must declare out loud if you choose a different way Prohibitions in organizations conversion programs Choice and biology o Kinsey Report a 1948 book detailing the results of thousands of interviews with men about their sexual behavior Kinsey report and the revelation that many people have same sex thoughts or actions the continuum o Opened a dialogue for discussion of sexuality o Very few reported exclusive homosexual behavior 4 o Kinsey suggested o Two conclusions An individual s sexual orientation may have both heterosexual and homosexual elements Rather sexuality is a continuum running from exclusively heterosexual behavior to exclusively homosexual behavior The proportion of men whose experiences were primarily homosexual were An even larger number of men had had some heterosexual experience or higher than imagined feelings The Medical model and the withdrawal of classifications o 1973 APA classification that homosexuality was a mental disorder was withdrawn o Legal protection for LBG people and their families Consequences of discrimination based on sexual orientation impact on life chances o Findings from a survey of LGBT youth 6 12 grade from 48 states 23 6 reported hearing homophobic remarks from faculty and staff More than 1 3 reported physical harassment and more than 20 reported having been physically assaulted in the past year due to sexual orientation Over 30 missed a day in the past month because they felt unsafe o All of these affect life chances Spiritual love vs romantic passionate love erotic love and marriage o Spiritual Love partners join together in a moral uplifting marriage rests upon a deep knowledge of each other and a sense of mutual obligation true love o Romantic Passionate Love dangerous a base emotion that fades away quickly leaving little support for the couple strong sexual attraction Factors contributing to change from sex as reproduction to sex as pleasure top page 196 o The emergence of birth control is key o Public Marriage raising children o Private Marriage intimacy and companionship o In Between Status domestic partners and civil unions Changing purpose of marriage o Marriage shifted from parenting to self fulfillment Later age at first marriage more time as a single person Network of friends Living Apart Together LAT Families of choice o Network of friends friends may be more central to your family than a partner because of the high likelihood that you and your partner will eventually dissolve your union o Living Apart Together a relationship in which two people define themselves as a o Family of Choice a family formed through voluntary ties among individuals who are couple but do not live together not biologically or legally related Teen pregnancy nonmarital births and the consequences selection effect p200 o Nonmarital Birth Ratio the proportion of all births that occur to unmarried women 1970 1 out of 3 2002 5 out of 6 o Consequences for teenage mothers Complete fewer years of schooling Have jobs that pay less More likely to be dependent on public assistance payments Less likely to have stable marriages o Selection Effect the principle that whenever individuals sort or select themselves into groups nonrandomly some of the differences among the groups reflect preexisting differences among the individuals Chapter 7 Cohabitation and Marriage Courtships patterns changed to dating and then modern dating characteristics of courtship and dating who had the power from women and community to boys men through the economics of dating o Courtship a publicly visible process with rules and restriction through which young men and women find a partner to marry Women controlled Public Economic and child centered Declined after 1900 due to migration to cities growing affluence independent living emergence of adolescence o Dating o Modern Dating Men controlled Allowed by men working for pay entertainment and schooling Not as closely related to marriage More equal control between men and women Hooking Up a sexual encounter with no expectation of further involvement Recent trends in US Marriage like age at first marriage and cohabitation change o Average marriage age has risen o Cohabitation the sharing of a household by unmarried persons who have a sexual relationship o Institutional to Companionship Institutional marriage a marriage in which the emphasis is on male authority duty and conformity to social norms strong social norms tradition and law Companionship Marriage a marriage in which the emphasis is on affection friendship and sexual gratification separate spheres satisfaction in performing roles o Companionate to Individualization Individualistic Marriage a marriage in which the emphasis is on self development flexible roles and open communication Why might people choose to cohabit What is the most common reason o Historically mostly among poor acceptable substitute to legal marriage less social stigma o 10 of U S respondents believed marriage is an outdated institution o Since 1970 cohabitation has increased among couples of all economic levels 50 increase to about 5 of all households Part of marriage process Alternative to traditional marriage Legal marriage is unavailable Positive selection into marriage vs marriage makes you happy o Married people are happier statistically than unmarried people o Being married causes people to feel better and live longer o Mentally and physically healthier when married What are some cultural and technological changes that altered courtship and dating behaviors o Rise of adolescence o Public schooling o Men working for pay o Social media Marriage Market concept o Marriage Market an analogy to the labor market in which single individuals or their parents search for others who will