Transcript Sex, Gender & Sexuality - Andrew Carvajal Barrister

Sex, Gender &
Sexuality
Sociology of Gender
Conference
TA: Andrew Carvajal
Sexuality, Sexual Identity and Orientation
Yet another one of those complex binaries?

Schwartz and Rutter: the various dimensions
of sexuality
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Sexual behaviour: the sexual acts we engage in
Desire: the motivation to engage in sexual acts
(what turns people on)
Sexual orientation/identity: how people classify
themselves sexually
Sexual behaviour, desire and sexual
orientation may or may not be consistent with
one another
Where do Sex and Gender fit?
Classifying sexuality
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Sexual orientation based on the sexes of
people – heterosexual/homosexual
Sexual orientation based on the genders of
people – gay/lesbian/straight
Gendered sexualities: sexual orientations
which take into account both sexes and
genders of people
Some Examples
Persons in
relationship
Sex
Sex by sex
Gender Gender
by
gender
Male
Woman Lesbian
heterosexual
Woman
1 Male
crossdresser
Male
2 Woman
Female Female
Woman Lesbian
heterosexual
Woman
Gendered sexuality:
1.
Male heterosexual lesbian woman
2.
Female heterosexual lesbian woman
Some Examples
Persons in
relationship
Sex
1 Male
crossdresser
Male
2 Man
Male
Sex by sex
Gender Gender
by
gender
Male
Woman Straight
homosexual
woman
Male
Man
homosexual
Gendered sexuality:
1.
Male homosexual straight woman
2.
Male homosexual straight man
Straight
man
Some Examples
Persons in
relationship
Sex
Sex by sex
Gender Gender
by
gender
Male
Woman Straight
heterosexual
woman
1 Male
crossdresser
Male
2 Female
crossdresser
Female Female
Man
heterosexual
Gendered sexuality:
1.
Male heterosexual straight woman
2.
Female heterosexual straight man
Straight
man
What to make of this?
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What is the purpose of these categories?
Who are these categories useful for?
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Individuals who carry out these sexual
behaviours?
Politicians, lawmakers and lobby groups?
Academics?
Where do we place those individuals who fail
to fit neatly into one category or the other?
BDSM: breaking the binary of
sexuality?
Q: Does sadomasochism effectively challenge
the gender binary, or any of the other binaries
of sexuality? How so?
Yes
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Allows for the alternation of male and female gender
roles
Unattaches gender and gendered behaviour from
biological sex
Ridicules gender roles by over-emphasizing them
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Unlike in other social settings, it allows people to
make rules as they go
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Makes us conscious of how artificial they are
Negotiated gender roles
Emphasizes consent
Alternates giving/receiving, dominance/submission,
and other traits that we find within the gender binary
No
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Exacerbates gender roles, reaffirms them
Imposes a binary, reinforces a polarity of sex
roles
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Dominant/submissive, master/slave,
punisher/punished, etc
Rooted within a language of violence - giving
or receiving it
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Maybe a heterosexual language?