Transcript SOCIOLOGY: PERSPECTIVE, THEORY, AND METHOD

CHAPTER 6
Society, The Basics
10th Edition
John J. Macionis
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Sexuality is a theme found almost
everywhere
Not just about “having sex”
Few people really
understand sexuality
Attitudes/practices are
diverse
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_______ ________
Over time
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SEX
◦ The biological distinction between
females and males
From a biological viewpoint: the way
humans _________
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Sex of an
_______ guides
its development
 SEX
CHARACTERISTICS
◦ PRIMARY : Organs
used for reproduction
(genitals)
SECONDARY: Bodily
differences in ______ females
& males, excluding genitals
 Gender
is an
element of ______
and refers to
personal traits and
patterns of
_______ a culture
attaches to being
male or female
 Intersexual
People
◦ People whose bodies
(including genitals) have
both _______ and ______
characteristics
 Has both female ovaries
and male testis
 Older term:
Hermaphrodite
 Transsexuals
◦ People who feel they are
one sex even though
biologically they are the
other
◦ ________________
 Disregarding
conventional ideas about
how females and males
should look and behave
“Feel “trapped in
the wrong body”
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Sexuality has a _________ foundation
Like other elements of human nature,
sexuality is also a cultural issue
Almost any sexual
practice shows
considerable
________from one
society to another.
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Incest Taboo
◦ A norm forbidding sexual relations
or marriage between ______ _______
◦ A “cultural universal”
Biology – Reproduction
between close relatives
of any species increases
the odds of producing
offspring with _______
and _______ problems
America’s
cultural
attitudes toward
sexuality has
always been
something of a
__________
Profound changes in sexual attitudes
and practices over the past century
(1920’s – 1960’s)
 Alfred
Kinsey set
the stage for the
_______ ________
 Introduction
of
the birth control
pill in 1960
 The
sexual freedom of the
1960’s and 1970’s were
criticized as evidence of moral
______
 Beginning in 1980 as a
conservative call for a return to
“_______ _____”
 Sexual
intercourse before _______
 Society
remains
divided on the issue
 Premarital sex is
widely ________
among young people
today than from a
generation ago
 Frequency
of sexual activity varies
widely in the U.S. population
 Married
people
◦ have sex with partners
the most
◦ Report the _________
level of __________
with their partners
 ADULTERY
◦ Married people having sex outside of
marriage
◦ Widely __________
◦ Norm of sexual fidelity within marriage has
been and remains a strong element of U.S.
culture
◦ Actual behavior
falls short of the
_______ ______
Patterns of sexual
activity change with
age
 Advancing age is
linked to a decline
in people who are
_________ _______
 Contrary to popular
stereotypes
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SEXUAL ORIENTATION
◦ A person’s romantic and emotional
attraction to _________ _______
HETEROSEXUALITY
◦ Sexual attraction to someone of the other
sex
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SEXUAL ORIENTATION
◦ A person’s romantic and emotional attraction
to another person
HOMOSEXUALITY
◦ Sexual attraction to
someone of the
____ sex
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SEXUAL ORIENTATION
◦ A person’s romantic and emotional attraction
to another person
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BISEXUALITY
◦ Sexual attraction to
people of ____ sexes
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SEXUAL ORIENTATION
◦ A person’s romantic and emotional
attraction to another person
ASEXUALITY
◦ ___ sexual attraction
to people of either
sex
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SEXUAL ORIENTATION: A PRODUCT
OF _________
◦ Argues that people in
any society attach
meanings to sexual
activity
◦ Patterns of
____________ differ
greatly from one
society to another
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SEXUAL ORIENTATION:
A PRODUCT OF
BIOLOGY
◦ Suggests that sexual
orientation is innate
◦ LeVay found small but
important difference in the
______ of the hypothalamus
◦ Genetics may also influence
sexual orientation
 Hard
question to answer
◦ Some social scientists estimate 10%
 Less
than 1%
describe themselves
as bisexual
◦_________reflects
elements of gay and
straight living
Coming out Day
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Change in public attitudes toward
homosexuality is a result of the Gay
Rights Movement
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1973 – American Psychiatric Association
◦ Homosexuality was not an _______ but “a
form of sexual behavior”
 ____________
Discomfort over
close personal
interaction with
people thought to
be gay, lesbian, or
bisexual
Westboro Baptist Church
 Engaging
in sexual intercourse
demands a high level of ___________
 Teenagers
◦ May be biologically
_______ to conceive
◦ Many are not
emotionally secure
Juno
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Sexually explicit material intended to
cause sexual arousal
U.S. Supreme Court gives local
communities the power to decide
what type of material
◦ Encourages a breakdown of morals
◦ Depicts women as “_________”
◦ Encourages _______ against women
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The selling of sexual
services
◦ The “world’s oldest profession”
◦ ____________ ______?
 Gay
prostitutes
◦ Sell sex after having suffered rejection
by family and friends because of their
orientation
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RAPE
◦ Official government definition
 “The carnal knowledge of a
female forcibly and against
her will”
◦ An expression of _______
◦ A violent act that uses ____
◦ 95,000 women report rape
each year (underreported)
◦ Most rapists are heterosexuals
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DATE RAPE …(AQUAINTANCE RAPE)
◦ Refers to forcible sexual violence against
women by men they know
◦ Rape leaves emotional and psychological scars
◦ Affects the victim’s ability to trust others
◦ Danger of date rape
is most high on
_______ _______
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The Need To Regulate Sexuality
◦ Culture and social institutions regulate with
whom and when people reproduce
◦ Allowing sexual passion to go _________
would threaten family life
◦ No society permits a completely ___ choice
of sexual partners
Highlights how people
interact and construct
everyday reality
 Different people
construct different
_________
 Our understanding of
_________ can and does
change over time
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Brooke Shields
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Approach shows how sexuality reflects and
perpetuates patterns of social inequality
Sexuality: Reflecting Social
Inequality
◦ ___________ of
prostitution is uneven
◦ Economic opportunities
unequal to men
◦ Categories most likely
defined and treated as
__________ ________
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Queer Theory
◦ A body of research findings that challenges
the heterosexual bias in U.S. society
◦ Heterosexism
 A view that labels anyone who is not
heterosexual as “_______”
 Bias against
homosexuality and
widely tolerated
 Part of everyday
_______