Sociology of Gender Sexualities

Chap 8 - Institutions—what are they? o Examples of institutions: American education is an example o A persistent pattern of social interaction aimed at meeting a need of a society that can’t easily be met by individuals alone. - Why are gendered institutions interesting from a sociological point of view? o Because they affirm and enforce gender difference and inequality - What would happen if sports were not organized by gender but by ability? o Beliefs in gender difference and inequality would not be routinely and ritualistically rehearsed through sport. - Why is sanitation (which provides toilets) considered an institution? o It solves a social problem that cannot be easily by individuals working alone. - What did Victorian gender ideology suggest? o Women were more fragile than men and less suited to working for pay - What function do sex-segregated bathrooms serve? o social - What does gender salience mean? o The relevance of gender across contexts, activities, and spaces within an institution - What are norms? o Beliefs and practices that are well known, widely followed, and culturally approved - How do social structures influence our lives? o The social structure is a source of constraint and opportunity for individuals - Why is education a gendered institution? o Because it guides boys and girls into different social spaces - What is the relationship between policies and norms? o Norms are informal unwritten rules o Policies are formal written rules - Know what a policy is and an example of a policy - According to the text, how do liberals and conservatives feel about sex-segregated sports teams? o Both conservatives and liberals tend to support sex-segregated sports teams - If a bunch of 5th graders played flag football, and Lisa is picked first by James who then says, “Lisa’s just like one of the guys”, what does this demonstrate? o How sports affirm the value of masculinity in society Chap 10 - What generation does the baby boomers reflect? o Born after WWII and grew up during the 1950s and 1960s - - - - - - - - - - Have an understanding of what a monogamous relationship and an open relationship are and know examples. o Monogamy: the open practice and encouragement of long-term intimate relationships with only one person o Open relationship: a relationship in which both partnes agree that each may have sexual relations with others. What is the erotic marketplace? o The abstract space in which people are organized according to their perceived sexual desirability According to data from OkCupid, why is men’s desirability less dependent on their physical appearance than women’s desirability? o Because men can offset mediocre looks by being funny, smart, or rich How do gender and age intersect in the erotic marketplace? o The average man prefers to date a woman who is younger; the average woman prefers to data a man her own age or older How can racial stereotypes about black and Latino men’s sexuality be a double-edged sword? o Hypermasculinity is both sexually attractive and sexually frightening What’s the difference between being identified as sexy and sexually subjectified? o To be sexy is to be desired; to be sexually subjectified, you’re told what your internal thoughts and feelings should be What does it mean to say that we privilege the heterosexual male gaze? o Media images are designed to appeal to heterosexual men What is self-objectification? o Learning to think of oneself as an object for the pleasure of others What is the sexual script? o The knowledge, or set of instructions, is called a sexual script, the social rules that guide sexual interaction. Are sexual scripts gendered? (Not just yes or no; more detailed than that) o Yes highly because there’s an assertive masculine role and a responsive feminine role What type of student is most likely to participate in hookup culture? o An upper class white male o Those who like hookup culture are white, wealthy, heterosexual, conventionally attractive, able-bodied, and socially adapt Bystander intervention programs on college campuses are effective in reducing rates of sexual violence because of what? o They teach both men and women how to intervene in specific situations Chapter 10 Sexualities Hookup Culture - One-time nonromantic sexual encounters - Recent study indicates 70% of college students will hookup once before graduation Sex: The Near History of Now - The first birth control pill went on the market in 1960 o In 1960, the Supreme Court granted married people the unrestricted right to use birth control. o The right to use birth control was extended to single people in 1972. o The baby boomers’ desires to find their own way led into the growth of the women’s movement, gay liberation, and the sexual revolution. These movements reinforced permissive attitudes about sex, and the timing was perfect o The Supreme Court legalized abortion in the first and second trimesters in 1973. o Where are we now? - In 1969, a group of trans, gay, and nonbinary individuals protested police harassment in several nights of protest that became known as the Stonewall Riots. - By 1973, “homosexuality” had been removed from the American Psychiatric Association’s list of mental disorders. - Gay men’s communities were devastated by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. - https://www.mheducation.com/highered/ideas/sociology-in-thenews/framinglanguage-about-monkeypox-in-the-medialearning-from-the-mistakes-of-stigmatizationduring-the-hiv-aidsepidemic In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization(2022), the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade(1973), which guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion. Some state constitutions, however, independently protect abortion rights. Sexual Objectification - Life was changing for sexual minorities and trans men and women, too. A number of critical events for these communities occurred, such as the Stonewall Riots, the founding of the Gay Liberation Front, gay pride parades, the removal of homosexuality from the APA’s list of mental disorders, and a record number of people coming out. - Sexual objectification is the reduction of a person to his or her sex appeal. o Both men and women are objectified in popular culture. o Gay men are objectified more than heterosexual men. o Women overall are objectified much more than men. o Can you think of examples of sexual objectification in any shows or films you’ve recently watched? Who was sexually objectified Sexual Liberation - Sexual liberation is viewed as saying “yes,” while saying “no” is considered old-fashioned and regressive. - Saying “yes” grew out of the intersection of the women’s movement and the sexual revolution. - Feminists wanted to undo: o The sexist idea that women didn’t “belong” on the masculine side of the love/sex binary o The androcentric idea that the feminine side of the love/sex binary wasn’t valuable and good Sexual Freedom - The imperative to say “yes” replaces old rules with a new set of rules about sex and sexuality. - Real sexual freedom would be the right to have sex or not, however one liked, and for any reason, without social consequences. The Coital Imperative - The coital imperative is the idea that any couple who are fully sexually active must be having penile-vaginal intercourse. - It reflects our heteronormative and mononormative culture. - It constrains sexual options. - It prioritizes an activity that privileges male orgasms over female orgasms. Divided Desire - To be sexy is to be an object of desire. o Women are sexy; women are desired. - To be sexual is to have the capacity to experience sexual desire. o Men are sexual; men desire. - Do you agree that there is a gendered binary when it comes to desire? Why or why not? The Heterosexual Male Gaze—This privilege of male desire leads to a heterosexual male gaze. Can you think of how this gaze can negatively - Media privileges male desire and assumes a heterosexual male gaze. o Content is designed to appeal to a hypothetical heterosexual man. - Men undergo a process of sexual subjectification. o They are told what their internal thoughts and feelings should be. Self-Objectifying - The heterosexual male gaze means that women are regularly exposed to idealized images of female bodies. - Many women self-objectify. o They internalize the idea that their physical attractiveness determines their worth. o During sex, worrying about how you look can translate into a process called spectating. The Erotic Marketplace - The erotic marketplace refers to the ways in which people are organized and ordered according to their perceived sexual desirability. - Racism and colorism play a role in the erotic marketplace, as does the socially constructed gender of race. Eroticized Inequality - Cultural norms dictate that men be taller, stronger, bigger, older, and more educated than their female partners. - Limited research on women seeking women suggests that they have a slight preference for feminine women. - A larger literature on men who seek men has found preferences for “straight-acting” men. o Men often try to advertise their masculine qualities and conceal their feminine ones, which is known as mascing. Sexual Scripts - A sexual script refers to the social rules that guide sexual interaction. o The scripts of both mixed-sex and same-sex couples have a somewhat rigid ascending order of intimacy. - Sexual scripts are also gendered. o The masculine role is assertive. o The feminine role is responsive. o This creates a push-and-resist dynamic, whereby it’s normal for men to push for sexual activity and for women to stop or slow it down. o *How do our views on gender shape how our sexual interactions are expected to go? Sexual Violence - In the United States, one in three women and one in sex men have experienced sexual violence. - Men are the vast majority of perpetrators, representing 97 percent of people arrested for sexual assault. - Jackson Katz –TED TALKhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTvSfeCRxe8 - Victim blaming is common, and many victims fear coming forward. o Only one out of every three sexual assaults is reported to the police. o Of those reported, only 2 percent will ever lead to a conviction. College Hookup Culture - Hookup culture dominate most college campuses because the men of wealthy, historically white fraternities have an oversized influence on the college party scene. o They throw parties that facilitate nonromantic, one-time sexual encounters. o These parties resonate with our current definition of sexual liberation. Who Hooks Up? - Most students overestimate how often their peers hook up, how far their peers go, and how much they enjoy it. - Fraternity and sorority members hook up twice as much as everyone else. - Students who are nonwhite, poor or working class, and nonheterosexual hook up less frequently. - Men and women hook up at similar rates, but women report higher rates of regret, distress, and lowered self-esteem afterward. - Why are some groups more likely to hook up than others? What factors influence these rates? Why do they think women report higher rates of regret, distress, and lowered self-esteem? Gendered Power - Hookup culture is premised on a stereotypically masculine version of sexuality, which gives men the power in these interactions. o In hookup culture, wanting a romantic relationship is seen as feminine and should be avoided. o What would a hookup culture that embraced the feminine look like? Sexual pleasure - Sexual pleasure is unevenly distributed in hookups; women hooking up with men report 35 percent as many orgasms as their partners. o Men appear to value girlfriends’ pleasure, but not hookup partners’ pleasure. o Women don’t often put their pleasure first in a hookup. Conclusion - The women’s movement, gay liberation, and the sexual revolution established a new set of rules for sexuality, including an imperative to say yes to sex. - Sex reflects our cultural values and is shaped by interactional and institutional forces. o Though it can feel deeply personal, in many ways it’s not.