Sexualities 1 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

 By late-19 th and early 20 th centuries  Two major categories of sexuality developed: 1. Heterosexual 2. Homosexual 2

 Sexual identity:  Set of sexual practices and attitudes  Formation of identity as heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual  Helps define who we are 3

 Sexual Acts: Socially approved & socially disapproved activities  Approved within marriage to procreate  Disapproved (all other sexual acts)  Sexual acts always existed  Sexual identities did not 4

 1868, Early sex-law reformer, Karl Maria Kertbeny  Created and first used four new terms: 1. Monosexual--Masturbation 2. Homosexual--Erotic acts performed by men with men and women with women 3. Heterosexual--Erotic acts of men and women with each other 4. Heterogenit-- Erotic acts with animals The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., © 2008 All Rights Reserved5

 Heterosexual or “Normal sexualitat”  Most of the population  Strongest sex drive (Uncontrolled)  "unfettered capacity for degeneracy”  Procreative (natural) & non-procreative sex (unnatural) The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., © 2008 All Rights Reserved6

 Non-procreative sex  Homosexual behavior  Masturbation (self-defilement)  Sexual assault of male & female minors  Incest  Bestiality The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., © 2008 All Rights Reserved7

First known appearance of ”homosexual” in print:  1869 pamphlet by Austrian-born novelist Karl-Maria Kertbeny  Human rights activist The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., © 2008 All Rights Reserved8

 Karl-Maria Kertbeny:  Against adoption of "unnatural fornication" or anti-sodomy law in Germany  Believed law violated human rights  Men should be free to do with their bodies as they pleased  As long as others were not harmed  Believed attraction to same sex was inborn and unchangeable The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., © 2008 All Rights Reserved9

 Kertbeny's terms categorized people & acts based on:  Erotic character of the acts and  Biological sex of person with whom they were interacting  Major paradigm shift from the procreative/non-procreative standard The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., © 2008 All Rights Reserved10

 In 1886, Richard von Krafft-Ebing used terms homosexual and heterosexual in his book Psychopathia SexualisRichard von Krafft-EbingPsychopathia Sexualis  Diagnosis for mental illness  Krafft-Ebing's book very popular  Heterosexual" & "homosexual" became most widely accepted terms for sexual orientation The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., © 2008 All Rights Reserved11

Emergence of “Heterosexuality” & “Homosexuality” Opposite sex attraction considered normal Beginning in late 19 th century, homosexual person was thought to be mentally ill Homosexuals labeled mentally ill until American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from list of mental disorders 12

 The Social Constructionist Perspective  The Integrative Perspective  Queer Theory The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., © 2008 All Rights Reserved13

 Social constructionist perspective:  Human sexuality entirely socially constructed  Male and female sexual roles are preferred  Integrative perspective:  Sexuality determined by both social & biological factors 14

 Kinsey report – 1948 bestseller based on thousands of interviews with men and women  Half of men in his sample reported erotic feelings towards men  One-third had at least one sexual experience with another man  Kinsey concluded that 10% of males were “more or less exclusively homosexual”  For at least 3 years between ages

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 Human sexual identities determined by both social and biological factors  Some twin studies link genetics to sexual orientation  Disagreement:  How much society determines sexual identities 17

 Identities are:  Shifting  Unstable  Arbitrary  Not meaningful to label people:  Gay  Lesbian  Heterosexual 18

 Challenge to conventional understanding of sexuality  Not a scientific theory but a critical standpoint  Views sexual life as artificially organized into categories  Reflecting the power of heterosexual norms 19

1. Inequalities based on labels are oppressive 2. Boundaries of sexual identities are more fluid than people think they are 3. Categories often based on “morality” 20

 Some sociologists question concept of family   Emerging families include:  Friends and relatives that gays construct as “family” for intimacy and care  Family of choice:  Formed through voluntary ties among individuals not biologically or legally related 21

 Definition of LAT:  Couples who cohabit or have marriage- like relationships, but live in separate households  Heterosexual or homosexual, married or unmarried  Two types of LAT:  Constraint (e.g., job related)  Choice (preferred living arrangement) 22

 Flexibility allows people to:  Give and receive care  That fits their preferences & constraints 23

 Three eras of sexuality and marriage  1. Before Sex was only for procreation  2. From 1890 to Sexual attraction and romantic love acceptable  3. From 1960 to today -Rationale for restricting sex to married couples is weakened The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., © 2008 All Rights Reserved24

 Extramarital sex – Sexual activity by married person with someone other than his or her spouse  Sexual monogamy – Having one sexual partner  Still the norm 25

 Women report more frequent sex before marriage now than in the past  Men’s frequency did not appear to change much The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., © 2008 All Rights Reserved26

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 Trends  Modest decline in sexual behavior occurred in 1990s ▪ Particularly with males ▪ Condom use increased  Adolescent sexual activity more common now than in mid 20th century  For males and females—very similar today  Greatest increase occurred in 1970s and 1980s 28

 One consequence of cultural changes in sexuality is:  Increase in childbirth outside of marriage  Adolescents are more sexually active  People are marrying later  Increases stage of life when young adults can have children outside marriage 29

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 Although only 13% of teens have ever had vaginal sex by age 15  Sexual activity is common by the late teen years  By their 19th birthday, seven in 10 teens of both sexes have had intercourse The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., © 2008 All Rights Reserved31

 On average, young people have sex for the first time at about age 17  Do not marry until their mid-20s  Young adults at increased risk of unplanned pregnancy  And sexually transmitted infections (STIs) for nearly a decade The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., © 2008 All Rights Reserved32

 Teens waiting longer to have sex than in the recent past  In 2006–2008:  11% of never-married females aged 15–19  and 14% of never-married males that age had had sex before age 15  Compared with 19% and 21%, respectively, in 1995 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., © 2008 All Rights Reserved33

 However, after substantial declines in the proportion of teens who had ever had sex between 1995 and 2002  The level did not change significantly from 2002 to 2006–2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., © 2008 All Rights Reserved34

 In 2006–2008, most common reasons sexually inexperienced teens gave for not having had sex was:  First, “against religion or morals” (42% among females and 35% among males)  Second and Third most common reasons for females were:  “don’t want to get pregnant”  “haven’t found the right person yet.” The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., © 2008 All Rights Reserved35

 What is the “Problem”?  Marriage rates have decreased faster than birthrates  Lack of marriage before birth ▪ 5 of 6 adolescents that get pregnant are not married 36

 Complete fewer years of education  Have low paying jobs  More likely to depend on public assistance  Less likely to have stable marriages 37