We participate in societal norms that divide the world into ways that serve some people’s interest over others (Katz 87), and I find that it is crucial to examine our own lives to realize how we do so. We either support, reject, rebel against, challenge, question, or uphold societal norms through the decisions we make from how we interpret situations to how we interact with others. A large part of how we participate in this system comes from how we have been socialized. According to Howard and Alamilla (2016), socialization tells us that “we learn what behavior is appropriate to our gender, race, class, age, and sexuality from our environment through various learning processes” (p. 166). We uphold how we have been socialized when we refuse …show more content…
At my high school, the heteronormative hook-up culture that heavily promoted masculinity through sexual behavior, resulting in a double standard between women and men. Dude, You’re a Fag cites Renold: “students participate in a ‘heterosexualizing process’ in which children present themselves as ‘normal’ girls or boys through discourses of heterosexuality” (p. 26). As so much of what we do in high school is to impress others, or to at least appear to be in the norm to avoid insults or social exclusion, the majority of my peers (and myself) tried hard to fit in and abide by the norms. Popularity for the guys was very much based on frequency of sexual behavior and “attractiveness” of the girl they had been intimate with. Pascoe points out that “boys and girls engage in interactional rituals to achieve masculine identities, which are, in large part, based in similar homophobic and heterosexualizing processes” (p. 28). This very much describes the ways in which we interacted with one another at my high school. Conversely, the more people women were sexual with, the more social backlash they received. According to Stombler and Baunach (2014), men who are very sexually active are generally not subject to shame and sometimes lauded for sexual behavior, whereas women with “too many” partners are stigmatized (p. 71). While men are socialized to present their masculinity through sexuality, women grow up learning about all the negative consequences of sexuality. Nestle’s My Mother Liked to Fuck highlights the social consequences that come along with being a woman who is open about enjoying having sex (1983). Such consequences include harsh judgement, social exclusion, and even rape. Lorde’s The Uses of the Erotic present that sexualty is something women are taught to hide (2016). I can recall being told I was a “slut” for making out with someone and sleeping on the same couch
Understanding sex and sexuality in the South is beyond a challenge. Those wanting to explore these concepts are met with rigid, religious traditions and ignorant, bigots who perpetuate the ideals of the stubborn South. This is especially difficult for the youth of the South who are still trying to find themselves and navigate the trials and tribulations of life.The protagonists of both Jesmyn Ward’s Salvage the Bones and Jim Grimsley’s Dream Boy come from two contrasting backgrounds yet, both share the same struggles of understanding themselves and their sexuality and coming to terms with their sexuality.
Over the past couple centuries that the United States has existed, society has always had a judgement to make on one’s sexuality. At the head of society has consistently been white, Christian, hetereosexual males; therefore, they had the power to define sexual and societal norms. As a result, judgements on one’s sexuality have always intersected with one’s race, class or gender, groups of people that are not dominating society.
All of a sudden, I found myself thinking sociologically when I got home for summer vacation, after completing my first year of college. At this time, I received the news that my parents were separating after celebrating 23 years of marriage. Of course this was shocking news to hear, but I knew there was more to the divorce than my parents falling out of love. At this time I began taking an online class called, “Sociology of Human Sexuality”. The readings that were given in this class discussed divorce issues in the United States and every other country. The textbook, Understanding Human Sexuality had provided insight on reasons for divorce; that discussed kids leaving moving out, high divorce rate and even couples getting married too young. While
trafficking, modeling, participating in pageants to the media using women as objects in their ads. Sexual objectification is both a cultural and social, in which women and young girls are valued based on their appearance, and most importantly their ability to have a body that is accepted by society. The potential consequences of such phenomenon is that women and girls will accept such sexualization and objectification and begin to objectify themselves, which means that over time, women will begin to accept society’s rule that their appearance does matter and their treatment on the hands of society will be based according to their looks, which can have an effect on their social and economic lives. The objectification theory is describes psychological
“Patterns of behaviour taught to children and adults in order to help them learn to behave as acceptable females or males. It begins at birth via naming, clothing, and treatment of the infant, and it continues to be taught and reinforced throughout life within most social institutions” (Online Learning Centre, 2003). The main agents of socialisation includ...
... so many lives are suppressed, depressed and carry the plague of a negative stigma. Suppressed feelings, self esteem, and personal sexual choice is hindered by the norms and expectations of our society.
In contemporary society, sexual intercourse allows people to show affection for one another whereas in Brave New World, it is based on the idea that detaching oneself from his/her emotions through sexual intercourse, leads to a greater feeling of happiness within the individual. I personally believe that sexual intercourse is meant to be affectionate, purposeful, and meaningful; to establish trust in another person and let go of your insecurities. There are probably many different reasons why people have sexual intercourse, but it’s the amount of importance behind the reasoning that truly matters. In Brave New World, allowing people to partake in inconsequential sexual intercourse strips away the right to withhold affection for another person. One of the ways in which the World State preserves sexual activity as part of their culture, is through simulated sex.
The behaviors of the Pokot wives and husbands illustrated in the article “Human sexuality in cross-culture Perspective” show the norms of sexuality behaviors that are different from the U.S norms. The Pokot wives believe that their behaviors are right things to be done or are the appropriate sanctions given to a husband who is not able to sexually satisfy his wife. However, the US perceives these behaviors differently. In the US perspective, it is considered to be a deviance that is against the law within the society. It is considers to be domestic abuse which might lead some individuals involved in this behaviors to be given a negative sanctions like sending them to prison.
...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.
Social institutions, like educational and religious groups, enhance rule obedience and contribute to the formation of identity and sense of belonging to certain groups. People possess a set of beliefs that condition their everyday behavior, like one can think that education is the most important four our future, while other people might believe that staying at home and raising their children is their reality. However, our beliefs are influenced by the groups that we interact. For instance, if we join a feminist movement, we might start reflecting a positive attitude towards gender equality. This illustrates how our social interaction can influence or beliefs related to race, and gender. Similarly, religious institutions and
Each individual is inevitably born as one or the other; male or female, but that does not mean that they have discover their sexuality yet. Gender and sexuality are two different entities. Gender is what people use to identify themselves as while filling out an application, while sexuality is what sex and gender are desire to like or love. Human sexuality is constructed socially, and their desire is influenced by a person’s individual childhood or exposure to familial or religious contacts. People have become open minded about their sexuality. Society judges and discriminates in different ways against a person’s sexuality.
From birth, one's sexuality is shaped by society. Cultures institute behaviors that are to be seen as the societal norms, which work to constantly reinforce societal expectations of how genders should act in relation to one another. Although some may argue that one's sexuality is an innate characteristic resulting from genetic makeup, there is a large amount of evidence pointing to its social construction instead. Through the power differences between males and females, established gender roles, and drastic economic shifts, society establishes sexuality and reinforces the behaviors that are expected of its citizens.
Throughout Western civilization, culturally hegemonic views on gender and sexuality have upheld a rigid and monolithic societal structure, resulting in the marginalization and dehumanization of millions of individuals who differ from the expected norm. Whether they are ridiculed as freaks, persecuted as blasphemers, or discriminated as sub-human, these individuals have been historically treated as invisible and pushed into vulnerable positions, resulting in cycles of poverty and oppression that remain prevalent even in modern times. Today, while many of these individuals are not publicly displayed as freaks or persecuted under Western law, women, queer, and intersexed persons within our society still nonetheless find themselves under constant
In today’s society things are being expressed and experienced at younger ages, than ever before in our time. Children and teenagers are discovering their sexuality at very early ages. Sexuality is the discovering of who you are and what makes you different from everybody else.
The terms gender and sexuality are can get mistaken for one or the other. Gender refers to the social term that is given to a specific sex. Gender is typically either female or male. The term sexuality refers to people’s sexual interest or desires to other people. Different types of sexuality are heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, and other types. Gender and sexuality can be used to identify their sexuality, communication with others, and learn how to find a community of people that are alike.