Essay on Sexuality and Sexual Identity - 2559 Words

Sexuality and Sexual Identity Alfred C. Kinsey argued in 1948 that It would encourage clearer thinking on these matters [of labeling homosexuals] if persons were not characterized as heterosexual or homosexual, but as individuals who have had certain amounts of heterosexual experience and homosexual experience. Instead of using these terms as substantives (real and apparent entities) which stand for persons, #8230;they may be better used to describe the nature of overt sexual relations, or of the stimuli to which an individual erotically responds. Here I shall look at this statement regarding sexuality and gender from a sociological perspective on deviance. In this discussion I will†¦show more content†¦The reinforcement of gender roles and boundaries through societal constructs is shown in Woodhouses discussion of transvestites or cross-dressers. Cross-dressing heterosexual men (dressing in womens clothing) pose a threat to traditional society that presents male and female gender categories as immuta ble categories that have no room for malleability. On a social and cultural level the two groups (male and female) are mutually exclusive#8230; (Woodhouse, p. 117). This is maintained and strictly enforced in our male-dominant society through approval of masculinity and disapproval of femininity. Outside of the closely demarcated boundaries of the drag act or the fancy-dress party, men cannot appear in any item of womens clothing without immediate loss of the superior status attached to the male and the full imposition of ridicule and censure (Woodhouse, p. 119). We see examples of this ridicule from very early childhood and adolescence with boys being scorned and called a sissy for playing with dolls or expressing feminine traits which are reserved for the secondary, inferior female role and should be eradicated (Woodhouse, p. 119). There is a vice-grip on the primacy of masculinity which refuses to let go of pointing out that which is not masculine, and giving it a value. An y man who is effeminate cannot be heterosexual, there must be something wrong with himShow MoreRelatedGender, Sexuality And Sexual Identity3292 Words   |  14 PagesAustralian schools in regards to issues of gender, sexuality and sexual identity. For students to thrive in their learning experience, schools need to provide a safe nurturing environment, free from harassment, aggression, violence and bullying. 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