Sexuality is Socially Constructed

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines sexuality as a) the quality and state of being sexual, b) the condition of having sex, c) sexual activity, and d) the expression of sexual receptivity or interest especially when excessive, and it cites the first use of the word at around the year 1800. Human beings experienced their own sexuality prior to 1800; however, it was not until the late nineteenth century when the ideas heterosexuality and homosexuality were initially formulated. As sexuality is the result of social interactions, one’s sex, class, and race all play large roles in defining sexuality, whether it be to others or simply on a personal level.

The human tendency to associate males with power and females with weakness is so inbred within society that, at times, it appears impossible to combat it. Alongside this lies the challenge of combating the disdain many have towards individuals of different lifestyles. Venturing back to the Victorian era, the line between men and women was clear. As Jonathan Ned Katz describes in his piece “The Invention of Heterosexuality,” the True Woman was characterized by her “distance from lust,” whereas the True Man was understood to “live closer to carnality.” Society regulated sex and male-female sexuality so that the “penis and vagina were [to be used as] instruments of reproduction, not pleasure” (Katz 152). Prostitutes or other “monsters,” such as those who self-pleasured themselves through masturbation, were looked down upon as sacrilegious individuals who threatened the purity elicited by the True Man and True Woman. As the world began to industrialize, there was a change in how individuals viewed the use of their bodies. The late nineteenth century saw a shift of societal values so t...

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