Gender and Sexuality Assignment
Added on 2020-04-01
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Higher EducationReligion
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Gender and Sexuality 1GENDER AND SEXUALITYNameCourseProfessor’s NameUniversityCity (State)Date
Gender and Sexuality 2Gender and SexualityGender Gender is the cultural or social distinction that identifies one as being male or female. Some expectations are shared widely of how boys and girls, as well as how men and women should behave. The expectations put on people of different genders are not permanent but keep changing since are constructed continually (Spence 2007). They are also reinforced through the various interactions between people and the economic and political dynamics of different places. Gender can also be defined as one’s sense of who they are that is not about what their genes, characteristics, and hormones depict (Choi et al. 2012).IDS organization, which works to assist women and girls from various communities in India that are marginalized, defines gender as “a continuum in which there are different degrees to which one transgresses or breaks the social norms related to the ‘ideal’ woman and man.” (Rolleri 2013). There are strict standards which are created by individual societies that are expected to be strictly upheld by both genders. These cultures use a system of privileges or punishments to ensure the norms are followed. They not only police the norms, but they also ensure that they are internalized.Different researchers say that gender and sexuality are not separate and distinct, but they are very closely related. Society has shaped the right and wrong ways to live and act as women and men (Rolleri 2013). These ways of behaving then influence people’s beliefs and sexual practices as either right or wrong. Incidentally, there are ideologies from different people that women should be chaste and pure. These beliefs can, in turn, lead to honor killings, female genital mutilation, and even restrictions on the movement of women. Additionally, expectations that men should be macho could lead to an acceptance of sexual violence instead of being
Gender and Sexuality 3condemned. Many places across the world, refer to a man as being a ‘real’ man if he behaves in aheterosexual manner and acts about the gender stereotypes in that region (Kurpisz et al. 2016).SexualityHuman sexuality, on the other hand, refers to the sexual interests of individuals and their attraction to other people. It is one’s ability to have sexual feelings and erotic experiences. Sexuality is beyond straight or gay. Some people are bisexual, and others view sexual attraction as being fluid and find labels to be too fixed. These are people who identify themselves as queer. Finally, some people identify as asexual. This means that they do not have sexual feelings towards any gender. However, these people can still form relationships with other people(Emmerink et al. 2017). Just like gender, the views of society on human sexuality are constantly changing. Human sexuality is controlled by social norms, the status quo, and the expected behavior. All societies have varying beliefs about homosexuality, the age under which one can consent to havesex, premarital sex, masturbation, and different sexual activities (Lefkowitz et al. 2014). People are informed of the norms in the society by their peers, schools, parents, religion, and media.As children grow up, the messages that they receive concerning sex are significant into how they develop sexually and sexually express themselves. There is a debate concerning who should teach children sex matters, what they should be taught, how and when they should be taught. This is because the way sex is depicted to people at a young age influences how they view it in the future both as men and women (Leclerc et al. 2015).There are various ways in which sexuality can be expressed. These are in the forms of; beliefs, desires, attitudes, fantasies, roles, practices, relationships, and thoughts. These different
Gender and Sexuality 4ways can be seen in physical, emotional, biological, and sociocultural mannerisms. Socioculturalmannerisms refer to how the society and cultures influence one’s sexuality. Some researchers assert that one determinant of sexual behavior is genetics. However, others believe that environment is a significant determinant of sexual conduct (Elliott & Umberson 2008). Very many aspects of life affect and are affected by human sexuality. These are; legal, political, cultural, and philosophical. Moreover, sexuality interacts with matters such as ethics, spirituality,morality, and religion.Societal Gendered Norms and SexualityGender and sexuality relate in different ways. Gender norms primarily influence sexuality. The expectations that a given society has concerning how men and women should behave affects their feelings, attitudes, and sexual behaviors. These expectations that the society holds are based the belief that there are only two genders which are males and females. As such, they are expected to conduct themselves in different manners based on their biological sex. Development policy has a primary assumption that one’s gender is linked to their biological sex and those who receive development interventions are heterosexual. This assumption brings aboutheteronormativity. This is the belief that the natural and the normal way of a sexual relationship as well the foundation under which a family is formed is a heterosexual marriage between a woman and man (McNicoll et al. 2017). There is a wide distinction between the expectation about sexuality and the gendered norms. The pressures that people have to conform to the social norms in society can negatively affect both men and women. For instance, in some societies, women may be compelled to get married to people they may not know or much older than they are. This may then lead to incidences such as marital rape. In other societies, women may be forced to go through female
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