The relationship between sexual taxonomies and ideas of the self (e.g. Foucault, Jagose or Halperin)
Sexual Taxonomies are not trans-historical; they are socially and historically situated and created. Sexual taxonomies are the different ideas about what sexuality is and they circulate around contexts, consequently forming identities. When we categorise sexuality it is categorised into heterosexual people and homosexual people but it is widely known that heterosexual is the ‘normal’ and accepted sexuality as “Homosexuality is a deviation from a privileged and naturalised heterosexuality,” (page 72, Annamarie Jagose, 1996). Terms gay, homo and queer do not mean the same things, “The blanket term "homosexual" has a number of different, related but distinct meanings: there are several groups of people who are covered by this term, and there are significant variations between them,” (Melinda Selmys, 2012) this has created sexual taxonomies regarding homosexual people. The simplest definition of a homosexual is person of the same sex being attracted to the same sex. This can become very confusing when identify the self. Historically homosexuality has been masked, ridiculed and not accepted in society even if they share the same qualities as heterosexual people for example “The vast majority of same sex attracted people have some degree of opposite sex attraction as well [and are defined as] a person who [have] an LGBTQ identity,” (Melinda Selmys, 2012). By observing Michael Foucault in the “The History of Sexuality” (1976) as well as Annamarie Jagose & Judith Butler in “Queer in Queer Theory” (1996), we become aware of different ideas/identities of the self. It also shows the debate and hardships homosexuals experience with self-id...
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...er Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Idendity.
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At the beginning of the 1900s, there was a “sexual revolution” in New York City. During this time, sexual acts and desires were not hidden, but instead they were openl...
References to Kurt Freund’s studies to “assess sexual arousal in men and women” and Alfred Kinsey’s “sexual orientation” scale are made to further explain how sexuality and asexuality are not solid concepts with strict definitions of their own but rather more multifarious. For
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In the book History of Sexuality: An introduction, Volume 1 by Michel Foucault, he discusses the “repressive hypothesis” which he had developed. Sexual repression was due to the rise of the bourgeois. He suggests that the repressive hypothesis is important for discourse on the revolution of sexuality. Foucault has recognized the repressive hypothesis as a form of discourse. The repressive hypothesis has power to repress the debate of sexuality. Foucault mentions that society has created control over how people talk about sex over time. In the 17th century with the rise of the bourgeoisie, there had been control on the discourse of sex. In the 18th century, sex was studied for the means of regulating the demographic of the population. Sex lives
Milstein, Susan A. Taking Sides Clashing Views in Human Sexuality. Ed. William J. Taverner and Ryan W. McKee. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.
In our sex-obsessed society, the idea of a perspective devoid of sex might seem impossible. In response to this, Anthony Bogeart—in his article “Asexuality: What It Is and Why It Matters—introduces the lens of asexuality, which is essentially that “the study of asexuality allows for a broader view and, potentially, a deeper understanding of sexuality” (375). He goes on to suggest “that studying asexuality—for example, taking an asexual’s perspective, to the degree that such a view is possible for a sexual person—reveals how sex is deeply embedded in our worldview/culture” (375). Despite Bogaert’s suggestion to turn the lens of asexuality to literature and other forms of art, it still seems as though asexuality theory flounders past only identifying
There are several theorists that have presented models on sexual identity development. Many of the models have stages of sexual identity development suggesting that certain characteristics are present during a specific period. However, Anthony D’Augelli presents a model that suggests processes rather than stages. These processes take place over the span of one’s life and not necessarily in any specific order or fashion. D’Augelli’s (1994a) life span model of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) identity development takes into account “the complex factors that influence the development of people in context over historical time” (Evans et al, 2010). According to D’Augelli’s (1994) theory, identity formation includes three sets of interrelated variables that are involved in identity formation: personal actions and subjectivities, interactive intimacies, and sociohistorical connections. Personal subjectivities and actions include individuals’ perceptions and feelings about their sexual identities as well as actual sexual behaviors and the meanings attached to them. Interactive intimacies include the influences of family, peer group, and intimate partnerships and the meanings attached to experiences with significant others. Sociohistorical connections are defined as the social norms, policies and laws found in various geographical locations and cultures, as well as the values existing during particular historical periods (Evans et al, 2010).
Wilton, Tamsin. "Which One's the Man? The Heterosexualisation of Lesbain Sex." Gender, Sex, and Sexuality. New York: Oxford University, 2009. 157-70. Print.
In order to grasp the concept of social construction of gender, it is essential to understand the difference between sex and gender. Biologically, there are only two reproductive genital organs that are determinants of sex: the vagina and the penis. Sex is established solely through biological structures; in other words, genitalia are the basis of sex. Once a sex category is determined, gender, a human categorization socially attached to sex, is assigned based on anatomy. Gender typically references social or cultural differen...
In order to discuss the biology of gender identity and sexual orientation, it is necessary to first examine the differences between multiple definitions that are often mistakenly interchanged: sex, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Sexual orientation is defined by LeVay (2011) as “the trait that predisposes us to experience sexual attraction to people of the same sex as ourselves, to persons of the other sex, or to both sexes” (p. 1). The typical categories of sexual orientation are homosexual, heterosexual and bisexual. Vrangalova and Savin-Williams (2012) found that most people identify as heterosexual, but there are also groups of people that identify as mostly heterosexual and mostly gay within the three traditional categories (p. 89). This is to say that there are not three concrete groups, but sexual orientation is a continuum and one can even fluctuate on it over time. LeVay (2011) also defines gender as “the ...
The sexual orientation of a person has been a critical debate over the past several centuries. For several...