Sexual identities Flashcards
What did homosexuality used to be considered as?
- A perversion
- Mental illness
- Criminal offence
What do feminists argue about the media portrayal of women?
- Women are portrayed as ‘sexual objects’
- Something for men to fantasise over
- Mulvey- ‘the male gaze’
What does Weeks say about the signifiance of sexual identity?
- Sexual identity is less significant fo those of a heterosexual orientation than those of a homosexual orientation, as they are not part of a minority
- (Similar to ethnic and disability identity)
What is sexuality?
Refers to an individual’s sexual orientation
What does Weeks say about sexual identification?
- ‘Sexual identification is a strange thing’
- There are people who identity as gay and are active in the community, BUT do not participate in same-sex sexual encounters
- There are others who do not identify as gay, BUT have same-sex sexual encounters
What does Reiss say about sexual identity?
- ‘Rent boys’ (young male prostitues) identify as heterosexual, despite having sex with men for money
- Actively despise the men they have sex with to counter the act
What does Quinn say about sexual identity
Cross-cultural studies
- Studied same-sex relationships in tribal people
- Native Americans: gay couples= feminine man takes on the role of ‘wife’, lesbian couples= masculine woman takes on the ‘husband’ role
- Sub-Saharan Africans: man-boy marriages, in which young boys are ‘boy-wives’ (12-20), and treated as a female wife. Later on, they have a boy-wife of their own
What do the Kinsey Reports tell us about sexual identity?
Cross-cultural studies
- In 1940s/50s, US homosexual encounters were more common than thought= 37% of men had a same-sex sexual encounter, but only 4% were openly out
What do corss-cultural studies tell us about sexual identity?
- Sexual identity is socially constructed, and is influenced by the norms and values of each culture
- Reflect Plummer’s cultural relativity concept- sexuality is relative from culture to culture, time to time, place to place
What does McIntosh say about sexual identity?
- ‘The homosexual role’
- In Western culture, the role of homosexual males is linked to expectations: effeminate mannerisms, higher voice, attention to appearance
- ‘Out’ males fulfill expectations of the homosexual male
- Married straight men, who admit to having sexual relations with males, do not exhibit signs of homosexuality
How can Becker’s labelling theory be applied to sexual identity?
- Homosexual male (comes out)
- Society sees them as homosexual (society LABELS them as homosexual)
- Individual sees themselves as homosexual (Cooley- ‘looking-glass self)
- Master status= homosexual
- Self fulfilling prophecy
- Homosexual careers (Plummer)
What does Plummer say about sexual identity?
- ‘Homosexual career’= males who have accepted the homosexual label seek others and join a subculture, in which hmosexual characteristics are the norm
- Acceptance and internalisation create the homosexual identity, NOT sexual attraction
What do the ‘Gay Left Collective’ say homosexual identity is associated with?
- ‘Becoming the other’
- ‘Becoming what one has learned to despise’
What does Rich say about sexual identity?
- Women’s sexuality is oppressed by men in a patriarchial society, through marriage
- ‘Compulsory heterosexuality’= women are socialised into a suborinate and heterosexual role (through Oakley’s gender role socialisation)
- Heterosexual identity is forced upon women, and lesbian identity is constructed as ‘abnormal’
Why are sexual identities changing?
- Changes in the law
- Changes in the media
- Changes in social attitudes
