CHAPTER 9
 Sexuality—A
theme found almost
everywhere
 Sex
industry—A multibillion-dollar business
 U.S.
culture—Sex as taboo
SEXUALITY IS EVERYWHERE
MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR SEX INDUSTRY
Phone Sex Industry
SEX AS TABOO
Taboo Topics
SEX: A BIOLOGICAL ISSUE
 SEX
 The
biological distinction between
females and males
 Biologically:
the way humans reproduce
SEX AND THE BODY
 PRIMARY
SEX CHARACTERISTICS
Reproductive
organs such as:
Testes (males)
Ovaries (females)
SEX AND THE BODY
 SECONDARY
Bodily
SEX CHARACTERISTICS
development such as changes in:
Voice range and timbre (tone)
Muscularity
Distribution of hair and adipose tissue
GENDER
 Sex
is not the same as gender
 Gender
is an element of culture
 Traits & behavior a culture attaches to
being male or female:
Masculine
Feminine
"WHAT A GOOD BOY"
THE BARENAKED LADIES

When I was born, they looked at me and said:
“What a good boy, what a smart boy, what a
strong boy!”

And when you were born, they looked at you
and said: “What a good girl, what a smart girl,
what a pretty girl!”
MASCULINE CHARACTERISTICS
 Strength
 Boldness
 Assertiveness
 Self-centeredness
 Powerful
 Individual
achievement
 Independence
 Logical
MASCULINITY
MASCULINITY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3exzMPT4n
GI
 Crisis in Masculinity

FEMININE CHARACTERISTICS
Sensitive
 Gentle
 Emotional
 Weak
 Submissive
 Sexy
 Nurturing
 Dependent

FEMININITY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTlmho_Ro
vY&feature=related
 Killing Us Softly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hibyAJOSW
8U&feature=related
 Dove Commercial

11/20 FEMININE?
SEX: A CULTURAL ISSUE

Sexuality has a biological foundation

Sexuality is also a cultural issue
 Biology
does not dictate specific ways
of being sexual.
SEXUALITY AND CULTURE
 Cultural
norms & values influence:
 Who
engages in sexual behavior
 With
whom
 Under
what circumstances
 Behaviors
CULTURAL VARIATION
CULTURAL VARIATION: CUBAN POSTER
SEXUALITY IN OTHER CULTURES

Thonga of Africa don't kiss.
 Sight
of two people kissing invokes laughter
 Remarks, "Look at them; they eat each other's
saliva and dirt.“

Not uncommon for Aranda of Australia to
copulate 3 to 5 times nightly
 Sleeping
activity
for short intervals in between sexual
SEXUALITY IN OTHER CULTURES

In Mangaia, an island in South Pacific, sex is
actively encouraged.

Mothers proud of daughters’ multiple sex
partners

Average "good" girl has had 3-4 boyfriends
between the ages of 13 and 20
SEXUALITY IN OTHER CULTURES

Bali, and the Lepcha of Sikkim
 No elaborate rituals or practices of
seduction.
 If someone desires sex, just ask
True for both men and women

If a Goajiro woman of Colombia, trips a man
during a ceremonial dance
 He is required to have intercourse with her.
SEXUALITY IN OTHER CULTURES

In Oman, Yemen and United Arab Emirates,
clitorectomies (surgical removal of clitoris)
commonly performed on girls
 Generally
performed between infancy and
adolescence

Reasons:
 Tradition
and Religious beliefs
 Curb sexual desire
 Protect virginity
 Prevent immorality
SEXUALITY AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Every
society controls sexuality
Through
Family
Religion
Law
social institutions:
SEXUALITY AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE
 Example:
 Strongest
sanctions against premarital
sex are in patriarchal societies
 Banning
promiscuity may function to
establish paternity for inheritance
SEXUALITY AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE
 Dr.
Janell Carroll (Hartford University),
in her book “Sex Around the World“
 U.S.
has highest rate of teen
pregnancy in the world
Possibly due to sex education and
abstinence-only controversy
COMPARISON OF TEEN BIRTH RATES
SEXUALITY AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE
 According
to Carroll, differences in sexual
behaviors, attitudes, and values are
related to social structures:
 Economy
 Medicine
 Education
 Family
 Religion
THE MEANING OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR
 In
U.S.: Personal Fulfillment Emphasized
 Emotional
& physical fulfillment
 Sexual satisfaction
 Concern with foreplay & orgasm for both
parties
 Concern with sexual technique
 Goods & services to enhance sexual
pleasure
THE MEANING OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR
 Other
societies, emphasize Procreation
 Primarily
vaginal intercourse
 Little
or no foreplay
 Lack
of concern for female experience
 Examples:
 China
 Iran
THE INCEST TABOO
A
norm forbidding sexual relations or
marriage between certain relatives
 “Cultural
 Biological
Universal”
reason– Reproduction between
close relatives of increases the odds of
producing offspring with mental and
physical problems
INCEST TABOO
 Social
reasons—Controlling sexuality
between close relatives is necessary
element of social organization
 Limits
sexual competition in families
 Reproduction
between close relatives would
confuse kinship
 Integrates
the larger society
 Always
 U.S.
been a contradiction
culture is individualistic
 People
have freedom to do what they wish as long
as there is no direct harm to others
 Privacy
makes sex a matter of individual freedom
and choice
REGULATING SEXUALITY
 In
the U.S. sexuality is both restrictive and
permissive
 Restrictive
 People
view sex as a sign of personal
morality
 Permissive
 Sex
is a part of the mass media
Sexual Revolution
 Increased
sexual activity overall
Changed women’s behavior more than
men’s
 Greater
openness about sexuality
develops as:
 Societies become richer
 Opportunities for women increase
Three
major approaches
Structural-functional
Symbolic
analysis
interaction analysis
Social-conflict
analysis
STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS

Need To Regulate Sexuality
 Culture
and social institutions regulate with whom and
when people reproduce
 Allowing
sexual passion to go unchecked would
threaten family life
 No
society permits a completely free choice of sexual
partners
 “Legitimate”
reproduction (within marriage)
 “Illegitimate” reproduction (outside marriage)
SYMBOLIC INTERACTION ANALYSIS

Studies society and social creation of reality
through
Interaction between individuals is negotiated
through shared meaning:
 Verbal communication
 Symbols
 Gestures
 Nonverbal communications

SYMBOLIC INTERACTION ANALYSIS
 Creating
reality:
 Defining the situation
 Defining the relationship
 Creating the self
 Goffman:
 Learning
Dramaturgy
sexual scripts
 Presentation of Self/Impression Management
 Costumes
 Props
SYMBOLIC INTERACTION
Body Language
SOCIAL-CONFLICT ANALYSIS
 Sexuality
reflects and perpetuates patterns of
social inequality
 Women
subject to greater sexual
regulation than men
 Society’s
“double standard”
Example:
 Would women be involved in prostitution if they
had economic opportunities equal to that of men?
