Sex and sexuality is one of the most important issues pertaining to women and gender studies. While sex refers to an individual’s gender, sexuality refers to an individual’s expression as a human being, which begins at birth and continues until death (Weeks 9). Sexuality is also defined as the relationship between an individual’s gender role and identity, body image, sexual orientation and relationships (Weeks 7). In other words, sexuality constitutes an individual’s values, attitudes, behavior and knowledge, and is mostly influenced by the family, culture and society. Some of the major sources of sexuality are parents, friends, media, culture and environment. With the advent of the feminist movements, the issue of sex and sexuality has become a complicated area of discussion as various feminists have challenged several stereotypes to defy the norms of an individual’s sexuality. The conceptual understanding of sex and sexuality has led to distinct ideologies depending on the diverse views of feminists.
The sexuality of women has been ascertained by the obligations of developmental programs engaging the aid of cultural feminists. The second wave feminist movement drew a multitude of abstract possibilities of the distinction between male and female, men and women, and homosexuals and heterosexuals (Weeks 360). Feminists have pointed out sexuality as the existence of tensions between individual choices made by women, and societal norms that define women’s power and social position. Sexuality is a host to gendered assumptions in the social and cultural context as various feminists consider it as a socially constructed phenomenon (Sheppard, and Mayo Jr. 260). Sex and sexuality are historically distinct and constantly transforming over time, which indicates that it is a complex form of human behavior. Some of the feminists also argued sexuality as an important aspect of life, which helps to explore the relationship between the societal context and an individual’s sexual commitment. Sex and sexuality are also determined by cultural scenarios, which prescribe different forms of sexual conduct, while interpersonal scripts shape an individual’s relationship to the wider context of sexual meaning and interactions (Sheppard, and Mayo Jr. 261).
An individual’s sexuality stabilizes after the attainability of an adequate degree of socio-sexual competences, which require a certain level of renegotiation when an individual shifts to a new culture. According to symbolic interactionists, sexuality is flexible and is majorly dependent on an individual’s active engagement with the encompassing culture (Weeks 353). On the other hand, materialist feminists define sexuality as the relationship between men and women, in which the power and selfhood of women are taken over by men. Feminists also argue that such a relationship comprises of gender division at the fundamental level due to the dominance of men over women (Weeks 374). The division between men and women in terms of sex and sexuality is not only symbolic, but also political, which in turn leads to social contingency. Furthermore, various social processes that involve power relations result in the emergence of hierarchical distinctions between men and women (Sheppard, and Mayo Jr. 262).
Material feminists consider sex as an essential element for the investigation of sexuality. Various categories of sexuality, such as homosexuality and heterosexuality have no definite meaning in the absence of gendered underpinnings. Social constructionism ignores the existence and significance of sex and sexual identity, and usually downplays individual forms of action, which are integral to the restructuring of power relations at the macro level (Sheppard, and Mayo Jr. 263). On the contrary, various French feminists argue the categorization of sex and sexuality hierarchically and oppositionally as gender distinction exists solely due to men’s appropriation over women’s labor power. An individual’s sense of sexuality does not result from the integration of internal and external factors rather from the processes that interpret an individual’s frequent interaction with the surroundings (Weeks 414).
Queer politics play a significant role in the discussion of sex and sexuality as they expand an individual’s understanding of gender identity by ignoring the fixed classes of people, rather exploring how such identity categories regularize the acceptance and rejection of individuals within the society (Przybylo, and Cooper 299). Various queer theorists argue that irrespective of sex and sexuality, individuals are considered inherently perverse. The theorization of asexuality has witnessed significant importance as most of the feminists consider the concept as dysfunctional sexuality. According to authors, asexuality refers to the community of individuals, who do not experience any kind of sexual attraction (Przybylo, and Cooper 301). Asexual individuals belong to different cultural backgrounds, genders, classes, races and relationships. Asexual individuals are integral to the debate of sex and sexuality as they have gathered great public attention in the recent years, thereby redefining the concept of sexuality (Przybylo, and Cooper 297).
It is essential to understand how sexuality is surrounded by its own realm of internal politics, oppression and inequalities. Since sexuality is similar to any other human behavior, it comprises various conflicts of interest and overt politicization. During the 1950s, the United States witnessed major shifts in the constitution of sexuality as executive orders and Congressional investigations aimed at rooting out homosexuals (Weeks 142). A systematic surveillance of homosexuals continued until the 1970s, which later extended to obscenity and prostitution, as states and municipalities began to pass new restrictions on sexuality. Various feminists have emphasized on the significance sexual essentialism, which defines sex as a natural force that is prevalent prior to social life and influences institutions. The creation of constructive alternatives to sexual essentialism criticizes the significance of conventional understanding of sexuality (Beasley 164). Theorists also argued that human sexuality is incomprehensible solely on biological terms as sexual politics are understood in terms of crucial phenomena, such as neighborhoods, urban conflicts, populations and migration.
Theorists have also emphasized on the issue of sex negativity, which is a destructive force that assumes sex as guilty (Beasley 56). In certain cultures, sex is considered sinful in all cases except marriage, love and reproduction. Sex and sexuality have also witnessed psychiatric condemnation as they involve emotional aggression and immaturity, which upon applying to individuals results on the basis of their sexual orientation leads to adverse impact. In the recent years, modernization of sex has led to the evolution of sexual ethnogenesis that causes sexual stratification (Beasley 138). A majority of countries have placed serious restrictions on the prohibition of illegal sexual practice, as it is a major hindrance to the society. Furthermore, there are several countries that have condemned different forms of sexual orientation, in spite of homosexuals appealing the governments to approve their sexual orientation.
Works Cited
Beasley, Chris. Gender and sexuality: Critical theories, critical thinkers. Sage, 2005.
Przybylo, Ela, and Danielle Cooper. "Asexual Resonances Tracing a Queerly Asexual Archive." GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies 20.3 (2014): 297-318.
Sheppard, Maia, and J. B. Mayo Jr. "The social construction of gender and sexuality: Learning from two spirit traditions." The Social Studies 104.6 (2013): 259-270.
Weeks, Jeffrey. Sex, politics and society: The regulations of sexuality since 1800. Routledge, 2014.
