Construction Of Human Sexuality

The construction of human sexuality has been and remains an enigma in today’s society. The prominent and well fought debate can be compacted into one simple title: Nature vs. Nurture. There is no clear answer to how our human sexuality is formed.

In the debate of the construction of human sexuality, two extremes make up the boundaries. These extremes are essentialism and constructionism (Harding 6-17). It is most likely that the truth behind the construction of sexuality lies somewhere in between these two ideologies. Understanding the two is critical in determining one’s own theories and beliefs on the subject. Jennifer Harding describes the two ideologies in detail in her essay Investigating Sex: Essentialism and Constructionism.

Simply put, the essentialist perspective is the view that sexuality is a product of biological destiny. It is the belief that sexuality is a natural phenomenon that is not influenced at all by culture and society. Sexuality is made up of drives and desires that make up one’s identity as a sexual person.

The constructionist perspective is the opposing viewpoint to the essentialist perspective. Harding defines the constructionist perspective as the belief that sexuality has no inherent essence but must be understood as a configuration of cultural meanings (Harding 6-17). In other words, human sexuality is not defined by biology at all, but instead is completely culturally constructed. The constructionist’s primary focuses are cultural institutions, norms, practices and relations, and how these define human sexuality. An example from Harding’s essay states that a study of the history of sexuality has shown that sexuality has changed greatly throughout human history (Harding 6-17). If s...

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...ld servants had nicknames,” (Watson 178-187).

Showing such major differences between these two cultures with little overlap between the two strongly suggests that the differences in sexuality are due to cultural constructions. Seeing the immense differences and encountering difficulty trying to find similarities between these two cultures, it is clear that all human beings come into this world via the same process: sexual intercourse. It is also clear that, commonly, men are larger and stronger than women. These traits exist everywhere in the world. However, the physical violence of the machismo is not observed globally, nor is the extreme suppression of women observed everywhere. These ideals exist alone, in their separate cultures. Human sexuality may have some biological influences, but it is largely and almost completely a construction of culture.