Comparing Hunt and Kinsman on Sexuality and Moral Regulation

This report provides a comparative analysis of Alan Hunt's "Governing Morals" and Gary Kinsman's work, as presented by Amanda Glasbeek, "The Creation of Homosexuality as a Social Problem." It explores how both authors address the issue of sexuality and moral regulation within society. The report discusses Hunt's focus on governmental techniques to control the populace, particularly in relation to sexuality and traditional gender roles, and Kinsman's perspective on homosexuality being perceived as a social problem due to its non-conformity to societal norms. The analysis highlights the differing views on regulation, commonalities, and the effectiveness of each author's approach, ultimately concluding that Hunt's work effectively illustrates the interplay between public and personal spheres in the context of moral regulation. The report references key concepts like moral policing, societal norms, and the influence of governing bodies on individual behavior and sexual orientation.

Running head: HOMOSEXUALITY
Homosexuality
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Sexuality and moral regulation........................................................................................................2
Introduction..................................................................................................................................2
Discussion....................................................................................................................................2
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................4
References:......................................................................................................................................6

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Sexuality and moral regulation
Introduction
The traditional distinction of the gender has caused a problem within the human community.
The culture of the societies have allowed space for the existence of only two recognized genders
that is of the male gender and female gender. However, in the contemporary society, many
individuals have come to the lime light who have not conformed to such traditional distinction of
gender (Krinsky, 2016). They have an inclination towards another gender which have not been
accorded to them at birth. The purpose of this paper is to understand the aspect of sexuality and
that of moral regulation. In this context, the paper has made reference to “Governing Morals’ of
Alan Hunt and Gary Kinsman, “The Creation of Homosexuality as a Social Problem.” as written
by Amanda Glasbeek.
Discussion
Alan Hunt, within his work titled “Governing Morals” has largely adhered to the principal
set by Foucault. The Foucaultian philosophy states that there are certain techniques which are
adhered to by the government of a society in order to govern the common people of that
community. Such governments usually fail to understand the positive or the adverse impacts of
such principals of governance on the governing body (Petrazycki & Trevino, 2017). As a result
of this, the individuals of the society are often faced with many problems that they are unable to
solve.
One of the problems which have been referenced to by Alan Hunt is that of sexuality and
moral regulation. The non-conformity of a certain section of the human population to the
traditional roles of male and female, has led to the generation of the idea of ‘moral policing’

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(Dobzhansky, 1961). In other words, the other members of the community, who actually adhere
to the traditional gendered roles, have arisen as a strong critique to the idea of fluid sexuality.
They are of the idea that the non-conforming individuals are essentially is guided in their
orientation and that this aspect of theirs can be ‘healed’ (Cronin, 2017). As a consequence of
this, Alan Hunt has talked about the perpetuation of traditional values and customs which seeks
to change the personality of the individuals to an acceptable form within the society.
Alan Hunt is considered to be the first historian who has written on the issue of moral
regulation and state politics. He believes that there are some people of the society who act to find
a problem within the values, norms and culture of another person and under take measures to
impose certain moral regulations on them. Such moral regulations are meant to bring about a
desired change in the behavorial pattern of the individual.
In this regard, Alan Hunt has observed the various social purity movements which have
occurred in the regions of the United States of America and that of Britain. It is important to note
that Britain and the United States of America are considered to be two of the most advanced
nations of the world in terms of their social norms and adherence to the aspect of liberalism.
However, the native population of these countries have shown immense resilience to the
acceptance of the changed sexuality of the other individuals of the community.
Thus, through his work on “Governing Morals”, Alan Hunt has been able to show case the
active activities which have been undertaken by both the governing bodies and the members of
the society towards the issue of sexuality. The sexuality of a person is considered to be falling
under the purview of their personal sphere (Eversman & Bird, 2016). However, as Foucault had
opinionated, the personal activities of an individual of the community was also within the
domain of the governing bodies by virtue of their authority.

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Another work which has also harped on the issue of sexuality is that of Gary Kinsman, “The
Creation of Homosexuality as a Social Problem” as written by Amanda Glasbeek. She has
opinionated that the aspect of homosexuality is considered to be a social problem since it is not
accepted by the society (Kinsman & Men, 2018). The homosexuals fall outside the purview of
the traditional gendered roles which are ascribed by the community.
The ascription of the term ‘problem’ to the issue of homosexuality is what constitutes the
main problem. In this work, Gary Kinsman has tried to emphasis on the mental outlook of the
individuals of the community to the issue of homosexuality. They are under the impression that
the traditional norms and customs to do allow for the homosexuals to exist in the community.
Homosexuals are considered to be danger to the community (Gentile, Kinsman & Rankin, 2017).
The sheer number of homosexuals which are found guilty of crime of seducing the boys or the
girls of the society have caused an alarm to the elderly population. They are condemned by the
community rather than making a space for them to live in peace with their own sexual preference
(Anderson & McCormack, 2016).
After a comparative analysis, it can be seen that the writing of Alan Hunt is more effective.
It talks about the issue of governing bodies and their attempts to change the behavior of the
individuals. Thus, it shows the invasion of the public sphere in to the personal (Smoczyński,
2016).
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be stated that the aspect of sexuality has always been sought to be
regulated by the individuals of the community. The prevailing culture and its norms have not
allowed the people to accept anything which is outside of its purview. Thus, the elements of
homosexuality, gender fluidity and that of an inclination towards a different gender orientation,

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have all been rejected vehemently by such members of the society. Such rejection has usually
taken the form of a need of moral regulation. In other words, the society is under the assumption
that of the correct morals and ethics are imparted to such misguided souls, then perhaps they
would conform to the traditional gender identities again. This has been highlighted by the work
of the two authors as discussed within the course of the paper.

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References:
Anderson, E., & McCormack, M. (2016). Bisexuality as a Unique Social Problem. In The
Changing Dynamics of Bisexual Men's Lives (pp. 49-67). Springer, Cham.
Cronin, M. G. (2017). Growing pains: Sexuality, Irish moral politics and capitalist crisis, 1920–
40. In Impure thoughts. Manchester University Press.
Dobzhansky, T. (1961). Man and natural selection. American Scientist, 49(3), 285-299.
Eversman, M. H., & Bird, J. D. (2016). Moral Panic and Social Justice: A guide for analyzing
social problems. Social work, 1-8.
Gentile, P., Kinsman, G., & Rankin, L. P. (Eds.). (2017). We Still Demand!: Redefining
Resistance in Sex and Gender Struggles. UBC Press.
Kinsman, G., & Men, M. L. (2018). Gay Men: The Challenge of Homophobia. Contemporary
Perspectives On Masculinity: Men, Women, And Politics In Modern Society, 137.
Krinsky, C. (Ed.). (2016). The Ashgate research companion to moral panics. Routledge.
Petrazycki, L., & Trevino, A. J. (2017). Law and morality. Routledge.
Smoczyński, R. (2016). Mapping new research directions in the sociology of moral panic. Studia
Socjologiczne, 222(3), 9-29.