1. Lecture 6 Sexuality and Society 1

2. Sex: A Biological Issue The biological distinctions between females and males Primary sex characteristics Organs used for reproduction Secondary sex characteristics Bodily development that distinguishes mature males and females 2

3. Sex and the Body Intersexual people (hermaphrodites) Possessing some combination of female and male genitalia Transsexuals People who feel emotionally linked to one sex, but are biologically the other Often expressed feeling is “trapped in the body of the wrong sex” Disregard conventional ideas about how males and females look and behave 3

4. Thomas Beatie, a transsexual, gave birth to three children as a legally recognized male. He recently underwent the final stages of his female-to-male gender reassignment surgery Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/pregnant-man-thomas-beatie-undergoes-final- surgery-amid-separation-wife-440210#; http://www.google.com/search?safe=off&q=thomas%20beatie&um=1&ie=UTF- 8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=m6_HUaSdHJT29gSD4IH4Aw& biw=1600&bih=771&sei=ILLHUcjbAoXY9QSv5IHgCQhttp://www.ibtimes.com/pregnant-man-thomas-beatie-undergoes-final- surgery-amid-separation-wife-440210# http://www.google.com/search?safe=off&q=thomas%20beatie&um=1&ie=UTF- 8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=m6_HUaSdHJT29gSD4IH4Aw& biw=1600&bih=771&sei=ILLHUcjbAoXY9QSv5IHgCQ 4

5. Sex: A Cultural Issue Cultural variation Showing affection and sexual position vary from culture to culture Restrictions placed upon openness What part of your body would you cover? The incest taboo Found in every society Forbidding sexual relations between relatives 5

6. The Sexual Revolution 1960s: A new openness toward sexuality Birth-control pills Double standard challenged Premarital and extramarital sex Men & women almost equal in premarital sex American youth broadly accept premarital sex 75% of men & 90% of women remain faithful 6

7. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Sexual Revolution: Closing the Double Standard A larger share of men than women reports having had two or more sexual partners by age twenty. But the sexual revolution greatly reduced this gender difference. Source: Laumann et al. (1994:198). 7

8. Sexual Attitudes in the US The sexual counterrevolution The return to sexual responsibility Limited partners STDs Premarital sex 8

9. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Contraceptive Use in Global Perspective Sources: Data from United Nations (2008) and Population Reference Bureau (2011). 9

10. Sexual Attitudes in the US Premarital sex Sex between Adults Extramarital Sex Sex over the Life Course 10

11. Sexual Orientation Heterosexuality “Hetero:” the other of two Homosexuality “Homo:” the same Bisexuality Strong attraction to both sexes Asexuality No sexual attraction Roots of sexual orientation Mounting biological evidence for genetics Can’t discount social influences Go to page 139 11

12. Sexual Orientation What Gives Us a Sexual Orientation? Sexual Orientation: A Product of Society Sexual Orientation: A Product of Biology How Many Gay People Are There? The Gay Rights Movement 12

13. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Sexual Orientation in the United States: Survey Data Share of the Population That Is Bisexual or Homosexual 13

14. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Sexual Orientation in the United States: Survey Data Attitudes toward Homosexual Relations, 1973–2010 14

15. Sexual Controversies Pornography Sexually explicit material intended to cause sexual arousal Pornography in the U.S. is $5 billion/year industry Criticized for moral and political reasons Teen pregnancy U.S. has highest rate compared to other high-income countries Sex education: solution or problem? 15

16. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Teenage Pregnancy Rates across the United States The map shows pregnancy rates for women aged fifteen to nineteen in 2010. In what regions of the country are rates high? Where are they low? What explanation can you offer for these patterns? 16

17. Prostitution Social and cultural ties Strongest in low-income countries where: Patriarchy is strong Opportunities to earn a living are restricted A “victimless crime?” Police stage only occasional crackdowns. The sex trade subjects many women to kidnapping, emotional abuse, & violence 17

18. Sexual Violence and Abuse Rape A violent act that uses sex to hurt, humiliate, or control another person Date rape (or acquaintance rape) Forcible sexual violence against women by men they know Accounts for 2/3rds of all rape Myths about rape Rape always involves strangers Women provoke their attackers Rape is simply sex 18

19. The Abortion Controversy Roe v.Wade (1973) Established legal access to abortion Pro-choice Support a woman’s right to choose abortion Pro-life Oppose abortion as morally wrong Circumstances of the pregnancy Makes a big difference in how people see this issue 19

20. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. When Should the Law Allow a Woman to Choose Abortion? The extent of public support for legal abortion depends on how the issue is presented. Source: NORC (2011:397–399). 20

21. Sources Conley, Dalton. 2011. May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist (Second Edition). New York: W. W. Norton & Company. Macionis, John J. 2012. Society: The Basics (Twelfth Edition). Boston, MA: Pearson 21