Sociology - Chapter 6 Sexuality June 2019

Sexuality
Chapter 6
Sexuality
SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Sexuality
Concept
•Understand the Concept of 3rd Gender
•Understand Cultural Variations on Sexuality
•Understand the History of Sexual Revolution
•Understand Theoretical Approaches to Explain Sexuality
Application
•Will be able to understand cultural relativity in selection
of partners and make sense of your society
•Show interest to champion the human rights of LGBTs

Sexuality
Jefferson High School, 832 Students

Biological Basis of Sexuality
Sex: A Biological Issue

Sex refers to the biological codes that guide physical development.
A female ovum and a male sperm, each containing twenty-three

matching chromosomes (biological codes that guide physical
development), combine to form an embryo.
The mother contributes an X chromosome. Father contributes either an

X or a Y. If the father contribute an X chromosome, a female (XX)
embryo created. Y from the father produces a male (XY) embryo.
In male, the growth of testicular tissue produce large amounts of

testosterone, hormone that triggers the development of male genitals.
If little testosterone is present, the embryo develops female genitals.

Differences between Male and Female Chromosome

The Biological Basis for Sex
Primary Sex Characteristics - the genitals, organs used for

reproduction. At puberty, as people reach sexual maturity, additional sex
differentiation takes place.
Secondary Sex Characteristics - bodily development, apart from the

genitals, that distinguishes biologically mature females and males.
Mature Females – have wider hips for giving birth, milk-producing breasts
for nurturing infants, and deposits of soft, fatty tissue that provide a
reserve supply of nutrition during pregnancy and breast feeding.
Mature Males – have more muscle in the upper body, more extensive
body hair, and deeper voices.

What is the difference between the Sex and Gender?

Gender is an element of culture and refers to personal traits and
patterns of behavior a culture attaches to being male or female.

Is there such thing as the 3rd Gender?
Intersexual People
• People whose bodies (including genitals) have both female and
male characteristics
Hermaphrodite
• Has both female ovaries and male testis
Our culture demands that sex be clear-cut

• Some respond to intersexuals with confusion or disgust
What do some society label them?

• For the Pokot they are called Serrer (Genderless)
• For the Navajo, they are seen as cool (Male, Female, Nadles)

Is there such thing as the Gender Confusion?
Transexuals
•People who feel they are one sex even though biologically
they are the other
•Occurrence: 2 in Every 1000 People
Transgender People
•Disregard conventional ideas about how females and males
should look and behave
Gender Reassignment
•Surgical alteration of the genitals, usually accompanied by
hormone treatments

The 3rd Gender
Case Study: Geena Rocero

The 3rd Gender
The LGBT Debate

The Science Argument The Religious Argument
Dean Hamer and Charles Thomas The Bible
(1993)
"If a man lies with a male as with a
Some X chromosomes contain a gene, woman, both of them have
Xq28, that increases the likelihood of committed an abomination; they shall
an individual to be homosexual. surely be put to death; their blood is
upon them." Leviticus 20:13
Alan Sanders et al (2017)
Al Quran
The research of 1,077 homosexual "...For ye practice your lusts on men
men and 1,231 heterosexual men. A in preference to women: ye are
gene named SLITRK6 on chromosome indeed a people transgressing
13 was identified – different for gay beyond bounds.... And we rained
men down on them a shower (of
brimstone)“ Sura 7:80-84

The 3rd Gender
Societies that accepts the 3rd Gender Concept
Native American literature (Plains Between Great Lakes and California)
113 Native American groups recognized 3rd Gender as a social

Alternative. Also known as the Two-Spirits
Lakota
– Winkte possess both masculine and
feminine spirits
Zuni of Southwestern US
– We’wha as recognized 3rd Gender
Cheyenne
– Hemanah is Half women, half men

The 3rd Gender
Societies that accepts the 3rd Gender Concept

Traditional Bugis society recognizes five
genders
•Oroané are comparable to cisgender

men
•Makkunrai to cisgender women
•Calalai to trans men
•Calabai to trans women
•Bissu are androgynous or intersex
“There are five genders, and we don’t need to

separate people by their gender because
everything must live in harmony. If one of the
genders are separated, then the world will
become unbalanced.” – Pawang Matoa
for National Geographic.

The 3rd Gender
Societies that accepted the 3rd Gender Concept
http://www.misstiffanyuniverse.com/contestants.php

The 3rd Gender
LATEST DEVELOPMENT
Facebook Allows Up to 58 Classification of
Gender
Source: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2014/02/heres-a-list-of-58-gender-options-for-facebook-users/

The 3rd Gender
Societies that rejected the 3rd Gender Concept

Sexuality : Cultural Variations
What is considered sexy or beautiful?
NEOTENY INDEX: A youthful or neotenous face is one that

combines a high ratio of neurocranial to lower-facial features
with a small nose and ears and full lips. Doug Jones (1995)

Kendra Schmid Golden Ratio (2008)
The ideal result—as If the numbers are On a perfect face, Dr.

defined by the golden equal, a person is Schmid says the length
ratio—is roughly 1.6, considered more of an ear is equal to the
which means a beautiful beautiful. length the nose, and the
person's face is about 1 width of an eye is equal
1/2 times longer than it to the distance between
is wide. the eyes.
Source: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1098&context=csearticles

Beauty is the Composite of All Average Looks

The 46/36 Ratio
Research by Pamela Pallett, Stephen Link and Kang Lee
“Prof Lee - changing a person’s hairstyle was one way in which the ratios could
be manipulated.”
Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2814183/
The Neoteny Index
Brooke Shields

BEAUTY: IS there a cultural differences?
Lucy Liu Meg Ryan

BEAUTY: IS there a cultural differences?
Charles Bronson Remington Steele Leonardo DiCaprio

The Beautiful Padaung Women

of Burma

The Gorgeous Mursi Woman

of Ethiopia

The Sexy Hottentots of Africa

Sexy Foot of Ancient Chinese

The Most Sexy Part of Women in Ancient China

Qing Dynasty sex manuals listed 48 different ways of playing with women's
bound feet. Some men preferred never to see a woman's bound feet, so
they were always concealed within tiny "lotus shoes" and wrappings.

2008 Anti-Porn Law in Indonesia

Hundreds of people have rallied in the Hindu-majority holiday island of Bali against a
tough anti-pornography law branded by critics a threat to religious freedom.

Cultural Variation on Sexuality

Alfred Kinsey and his colleagues (1948) found that heterosexual
couples in US have intercourse in a single position—face to face, with
the woman on the bottom and the man on top.
Islands in the South Seas, most couples never have sex in this way. In
fact, when the people of the South Seas learned of this practice from
Western missionaries, they poked fun at it as the strange “missionary
position.”
Showing of Affection in Public
•The Americans kiss in public

•The Chinese kiss only in private
•The French kiss publicly, often twice (once on each cheek)
•The Belgians kiss three times (starting on either cheek).
•The Maoris of New Zealand rub noses
•Most people in Nigeria don’t kiss at all.
What is Modesty?
Modesty, too, is culturally variable. Helen

Colton in her book The Gift of Touch
(1983) describe the differences.
Question
If a woman stepping into a bath is

disturbed by someone entering the
room, what body parts do you think she
would cover?

Answer

Sexually Restrictive Culture
Cheyenne Indians of the American Plains

• Total abstinence from sexual behaviours
• Courting process lasts around 5 Years
• Premarital and extramarital sex is rare
Dani of New Guinea

• Cheyenne were punished but Dani uninterested in sex
• No sexual relationships first 2 years of marriage
• 4 to 6 years of postpartum sexual abstinence
• No other sexual outlets such as extramarital sex or homosexuality

Sexually Expressive Culture
Example of Sex Positive Groups
a. The !Kung of Africa

b. Trobriand Islanders
c. The Tikopia
d. Mangaians of Polynesia
•Encourage sexual experiences

before Sex
•Trial Marriages are PERMITTED
The Tikopia Ladies

The !Kung of Africa : Permitted to be engaged in heterosexual and

homosexual activity. Discreet extramarital sex is allowed. Conversations
about sexual exploits common
”if a woman doesn’t have sex, her thoughts get ruined and she is always angry”

The Mangaia Islanders have Sex Positive Culture

Casual sex with different partners, and frequent intercourse with multiple orgasms (as many as
three climaxes nightly), are perceived as normal.“
Mangaian parents encourage their daughters to have sexual experiences with several men so
that they can find a marriage partner which is suitable.
Boys aggressively seek out girls, typically having coitus every night. The average boy may
have ten or more girlfriends before marriage.

Global Perspective on Pornography
Visit: http://internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com/internet-pornography-statistics.html

Global Perspective on Prostitution

Pornography and Prostitution:

A Regional Perspective
Based on your selected region, discuss the societal

norms as compared with other countries

Sexual Revolution And Counter Revolution
The Sexual Revolution in US
Profound changes in sexual attitudes and practices over the past

century. Was called the “Roaring Twenties” but slowed during the
Great Depression and World War II
Alfred Kinsey set the stage for the Sexual Revolution

 National uproar resulted from scientists studying sex
 People were uneasy talking sex about even in privacy
Kinsey’s books encouraged a new openness toward sexuality
Sexual revolution came of age in the 1960s
Baby boom generation was the first cohort in U.S. history to grow up with
the idea that sex was part of people’s lives. Technology played a part
such as Birth Control Pill

The Kinsey Report

Alfred Kinsey and colleagues
paved the way for a deeper
exploration into sexuality among
the public, as well as liberating
female sexuality. For example,
Kinsey's work disputed the notions
that women generally are not
sexual and that female orgasms
experienced vaginally are superior
to clitoral orgasms.

The Sexual Counterrevolution
In 1980s, the climate of sexual freedom was criticized as evidence of

moral decline in US, and the era sexual counterrevolution began.
Sexual counterrevolution was a conservative call to
•Return to “family values” and sexual responsibility
•Rejection of cohabitation and unmarried couples having children.
Whether for moral reasons or concerns about sexually transmitted
diseases, more people began limiting their number of sexual partners or
choosing not to have sex at all.
Current Trend in Japan

Japan’s National Fertility Survey showed that > 40 percent of never-
married Japanese 18-34-years-old reported no experience of
heterosexual intercourse. BBC’s 2013 documentary titled “
No Sex Please, We are Japanese” highlights the Fertility Crisis.


The Decline of Sexual Interest in Japan today

Malay Girls in 1970s

Rose Chan – Queen of Striptease 1950s

Approaches to Understand Sexuality
Structural-Functional Theory
Society regulates sexuality as it has important consequences. With

whom we can reproduce?
•Sexual passion to go unchecked would threaten family life such as

raising children.
•Married person now allowed to have sex with someone other than
his or her spouse. Incest taboo exists everywhere shows that no
society permits completely free choice in sexual partners.
• After technology to control births exist -

sexual norms become more permissive.
Now accepted as a form of intimacy and
recreational activity

Latent Functions: The Case of Prostitution
We often see prostitution is harmful because it spreads disease and

exploits women. However, it has several benefits according to Kingsley
Davis.
 Prostitution can meet the sexual needs of

a large number of people who have no
access to sex (poor or unattractive men).
 Men favour prostitution because they

want sex without the “hassle” of a
relationship.
“Men don’t pay for sex; they pay so they can

leave”

The Social-Conflict Theory
Feminism, a social-conflict approach focusing on gender inequality,

links sexuality to the domination of women by men.
Sexuality: Reflecting Social Inequality
Enforcement of prostitution laws – police more

likely to arrest (less powerful) female prostitutes
than (more powerful) male clients.
Lack of economic opportunities – sex workers

- more women compared to men, people of color
compared to whites, and gays and lesbians
compared to heterosexuals.

Sexuality: Creating Social Inequality
Degradation of Women
Sexuality can and does degrade women. Pornography typically shows
women focused on pleasing men, it supports the idea that men have
power over women.
US language usage – describes sexuality in terms of sports (men
“scoring” with women) and violence (“slamming” and “banging”)
Queer Theory
Our society is characterized by heterosexism - a view that labels anyone

who is not heterosexual as “queer.”
This view victimizes a wide range of people, including gay men, lesbians,
bisexuals, inter-sexuals, transsexuals, and even asexual people.

Symbolic-Interaction Theory
All social patterns involving sexuality are changing.
The Concept of Virginity
Traditional society - Women must be virgin before marriage. This serve

as a guarantee that the bride-to-be is not carrying another man’s child.
Today with birth control, attitudes toward sex become more permissive
and virginity is no longer important.
Sex Education For Children
Traditional society - childhood was a time of innocence in sexual

matters. Today, more society believe that children should be educated
about sex by the time they are teenagers so that they can make
intelligent choices about their behaviour as they grow older.

Sexuality and Cultural Context
Around the world, different societies attach different meanings to

sexuality.
Sexual Experimentation in New Guinea
Ruth Benedict observed that Melanesians of New Guinea tolerate

young children engaged in sexual experimentation. They believe such
sex cannot lead to reproduction.
Male Circumcision of Infant Boys
The practice of removing all or part of the foreskin of the penis is

common in Muslim world. For girls it is Female Genital Mutilation.
However, now WHO is objecting such practices as risky.

Sexuality and Cultural Context
Nudity among Dayaks and Balinese
Contact with Abrahamic religions such as Christianity and Islam changes

the meaning of “public decency”.
Genesis 3:7: "Then the eyes of both were opened and they realized that they
were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for
themselves."
Kanamara Penis Festival
Kanamara Matsuri was also known as the Festival of the Steel Phallus.
The Kanayama Shrine offers divine protections for business prosperity,
and for the clan's prosperity. For married couples, they pray for fertility,
easy delivery and harmonious marriage. For sex workers - prayer for
protection against STDs.
Video: Bali in 1950s

Video: Kanamara Festival

Sexuality
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Sociology - Chapter 6 Sexuality June 2019

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Sexuality

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Jefferson High School, 832 Students

Sex: A Biological Issue

A female ovum and a male sperm, each containing twenty-three

The mother contributes an X chromosome. Father contributes either an

In male, the growth of testicular tissue produce large amounts of

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Differences between Male and Female Chromosome

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

The Biological Basis for Sex

Primary Sex Characteristics - the genitals, organs used for

Secondary Sex Characteristics - bodily development, apart from the

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

What is the difference between the Sex and Gender?

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Is there such thing as the 3rd Gender?

Our culture demands that sex be clear-cut

What do some society label them?

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Is there such thing as the Gender Confusion?

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Case Study: Geena Rocero

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

The LGBT Debate

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Societies that accepts the 3rd Gender Concept

Native American literature (Plains Between Great Lakes and California)

113 Native American groups recognized 3rd Gender as a social

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Societies that accepts the 3rd Gender Concept

•Oroané are comparable to cisgender

“There are five genders, and we don’t need to

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Societies that accepted the 3rd Gender Concept

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Societies that rejected the 3rd Gender Concept

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

What is considered sexy or beautiful?

NEOTENY INDEX: A youthful or neotenous face is one that

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Kendra Schmid Golden Ratio (2008)

The ideal result—as If the numbers are On a perfect face, Dr.

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Beauty is the Composite of All Average Looks

Research by Pamela Pallett, Stephen Link and Kang Lee

The Neoteny Index

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

BEAUTY: IS there a cultural differences?

Lucy Liu Meg Ryan

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

BEAUTY: IS there a cultural differences?

Charles Bronson Remington Steele Leonardo DiCaprio

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

The Beautiful Padaung Women

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

The Gorgeous Mursi Woman

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

The Sexy Hottentots of Africa

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Sexy Foot of Ancient Chinese