Gender Defined Sexuality Intersectionality is defined as the overlapping and interdependent nature of institutions of systemic oppression such as race, class, gender, and sexuality. Recently, it has become widely accepted that when studying any one of these social categorizations, it is imperative to also study the others. The whole concept of intersectionality revolves around the fact that multiple aspects make up one person’s identity so it is limiting and incomplete to study one systematic oppression without studying the other. In this respect, in order to get a comprehensive understanding of sexuality, it is necessary to look through the lens of the social construction of gender. Sexuality, or the sexual habits and desires of a person, …show more content…
Pascoe explores the use of the word fag in modern high schools. He discovered that although the derivation of the word fag and the implications that gay men are “predatory, passive, and to be avoided” are homophobic and play on social stereotypes, the reasoning behind mocking someone’s sexuality is actually gendered (Pascoe, 53). In his studies, he found that heterosexual boys rarely call other boys fags because of their sexual orientation but rather their behavior. For example, a seemingly masculine gay boy would not be mocked for being gay. This is not to say that homophobia does not exist but rather that boys were mostly called fags when they failed at masculinity or failed to show a certain “heterosexual prowess” that was synonymous with being a man (Pascoe, 54). Really, the word fag was used as a punishment for any boy who exhibited a behavior deemed feminine or unmanly. Boys were only accepted by society when their sexuality was viewed as masculine, dominant, and powerful. In this way, the oppression and performance of sexuality relies on the gender stereotypes embedded in U.S. …show more content…
Although homophobia is a significant problem among girls, a larger, more widespread issue is slut-shaming. Because one of the core features of femininity is the concept of being wanted for sex but never openly wanting sex, any situation that places a girl in a state of perceived sexual desire or pleasure labels her a slut. This correlates with gender oppression that paints women as passive objects. Whenever a girl starts to defy the gender norms that render girls’ sexualities invisible, she is instantly called out by society and dehumanized for her rebellion. In this way, slut rumors serve as a way for society to police girls’ femininity and are a way in which gender is consistently produced and
In the article “Dude You’re a Fag: Adolescent Homophobia” the author uses pathos and logos to convey the audience the main point of her article. Rhetorical modes such as exemplification and description are used. C.J. Pascoe is trying to argue that the word “fag” or “faggot is not mainly used as a homophobic slur within high school boys, but more commonly used to describe unmasculinity.
The teenage years are especially important in the establishment of social and cultural core principles that provide the base for further growth in the future. Sociologist C.J. Pascoe links her personal experience with scholarly research in her ethnography titled, Dude, You’re A Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School. Pascoe’s year and a half study at a Northern California School known as River High School sheds light on how bullying, power, and sexual innuendos are all components in the makeup of social life in Americas public schools. Her analysis of these components through observational data research is centered around the subject of the challenges associated with masculinity as well as sexual inequality, and the refinement of gender
Before social media was ever a thing, there was not much meaning when a girl was singled out and called a slut. When called a slut, the girl definitely knew that she as was being bullied and harassed. However, today the word “slut” is so casually used that it is almost like greeting someone. “Through the “slut” greeting, girls and young women hail each other the way police officers hails the citizens” (Tanenbaum, 2015, pg.113). It has been so widely used by many girls that
“The unprecedented growth of the gay community in recent history has transformed our culture and consciousness, creating radically new possibilities for people to ‘come out’ and live more openly as homosexuals”(Herdt 2). Before the 1969 Stonewall riot in New York, homosexuality was a taboo subject. Research concerning homosexuality emphasized the etiology, treatment, and psychological adjustment of homosexuals. Times have changed since 1969. Homosexuals have gained great attention in arts, entertainment, media, and politics. Yesterday’s research on homosexuality has expanded to include trying to understand the different experiences and situations of homosexuals (Ben-Ari 89-90).
They mention the transition of “the closet,” as being a place in which people could not see you, to becoming a metaphor over the last two decades of the twentieth century used for queers who face a lack of sexual identity. Shneer and Aviv bring together two conflicting ideas of the American view of queerness: the ideas of the past, and the present. They state as queerness became more visible, people finally had the choice of living multiple lives, or integrating one’s lives and spaces (Shneer and Aviv 2006: 245). They highlight another change in the past twenty years as the clash between being queer and studying queerness (Shneer and Aviv 2006: 246-7). They argue that the active and visible contests over power among American queers show that queers now occupy an important place in our culture. They expand on the fact that queerness, real, and performed, is everywhere (Shneer and Aviv 2006: 248). This source shows the transformation in American culture of the acceptance of queerness. It makes an extremely critical resource by providing evidence of the changes in culture throughout the last two decades. Having the information that queerness is becoming more accepted in culture links to a higher percentage of LGBTQ youths becoming comfortable with their sexual identity. However, compared to the other sources, this
In an effort to legitimize all subcategories of sexuality considered deviant of heterosexual normatively, queer theory acknowledges nontraditional sexual identities by rejecting the rigid notion of stabilized sexuality. It shares the ideals of gender theory, applying to sexuality the idea that gender is a performative adherence to capitalist structures that inform society of what it means to be male, female, gay, and straight. An individual’s conformity to sexual or gendered expectations indicates both perpetration and victimization of the systemic oppression laid down by patriarchal foundations in the interest of maintaining power within a small group of people. Seeking to deconstruct the absolute nature of binary opposition, queer theory highlights and celebrates literary examples of gray areas specifically regarding sexual orientation, and questions those which solidify heterosexuality as the “norm”, and anything outside of it as the “other”.
Yarber, William L., and Barbara J. Sayad. Human Sexuality: Diversity in Contemporary America. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2013. Print.
Leora Tanenbaum’s book Slut! imposes the argument of the unfairness and small mindedness of the sexual double standard between teenagers and what leads them to label others of the name slut. Throughout the book, the author discloses many different studies and stories to help the readers understand the underlying cause and issue of the name slut and how it affects different girls and women around the country.
Milstein, Susan A. Taking Sides Clashing Views in Human Sexuality. Ed. William J. Taverner and Ryan W. McKee. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.
Sexuality is a fundamental part of our self-discovery, involving much more than just being genetically or anatomically male and female and it is not defined solely by one 's sexual acts (Ministry of Education 1989, p.79 cited in Gourlay, P 1995). The notion that sexuality is fixed and innate disregards the social aspects that impact ones’ sexualities. Gagnon and Simon (1973) further commented that sexuality is a feature of social
Due to the girl’s current lifestyle and behavior, the mother is focused on sharing the value to save her daughter from a life of promiscuity. The mother fears her daughter will become a “slut” and insists that is exactly what the daughter desires. Moreover, the mother is very blunt with her view when she uses repetition with the statement, “… the slut you are so bent on becoming.” (Kincaid92). It is very clear that the mother holds a reputation to such a standard that it could determine the overall quality of a woman and her life. Therefore, a woman’s sexuality should be protected and hidden to present the woman with respect and to avoid the dangers of female sexuality. The mother is very direct in calling out certain, specific behaviors of the daughter. Such as, the way the daughter walks, plays with marbles, and approaches other people. The mother is very persistent that the daughter must act a certain way that can gain their community’s respect. She fears the social consequence of a woman’s sexuality becoming
...ve begins generating rumors for male peers who do not qualify as a stereotypical male. For instance, Olive pretends to have sex with a male peer during a popular house party (Gluck, 2010). This imaginary hook-up benefits the male peer’s bullying dilemma. Again, gender policing occurs between men when masculinity is questioned (Kimmel, 2008). “One survey found that most Americans boys would be rather be punched in the face than called gay” (Kimmel, 2000, p.77). The gender police govern Olive’s and the male peer’s status in social standings. America’s obsession with sex disregards if a girl truly sleeps around.
It is important to note that I am viewing and analyzing this text from the positionally of a Caucasian, lower-class, female. Not only do I identify as female, but I also consider myself to be a feminist, which is one of my reasons for choosing the feminist framework. I also feel that it is critical to state that I identify as heterosexual, but consider myself an ally to the LGBTIQ community. Therefore, my views on gender may extend to my views on sexuality, since they often go hand-in-hand.
... decades ago. This book is one that will allow the reader to view many aspects of sexuality from a social standpoint, and apply it to certain social attitudes in our society today, these attitudes can range from the acceptance of lesbian and gays, and the common sight of sex before marriage and women equality. The new era of sexuality has taken a definite "transformation" as Giddens puts it, and as a society we are living in the world of change in which we must adapt, by accepting our society as a changing society, and not be naive and think all the rules of sexuality from our parents time our still in existence now.
When one hears the words “LGBT” and “Homosexuality” it often conjures up a mental picture of people fighting for their rights, which were unjustly taken away or even the social emergence of gay culture in the world in the1980s and the discovery of AIDS. However, many people do not know that the history of LGBT people stretches as far back in humanity’s history, and continues in this day and age. Nevertheless, the LGBT community today faces much discrimination and adversity. Many think the problem lies within society itself, and often enough that may be the case. Society holds preconceptions and prejudice of the LGBT community, though not always due to actual hatred of the LGBT community, but rather through lack of knowledge and poor media portrayal.