Test 2 — Chap 6 – Flashcards
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Sex
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biological and physical distinction between females and males
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Culture and Attractiveness
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-culture sets the standards -attractiveness underlines our choices about reproduction -all of the people pictured here are considered beautiful by members of their own society -ex: our culture tells us if someone is beautiful
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Primary sex characteristics
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-organs for reproduction -genitals
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Secondary sex characteristics
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-bodily development that distinguishes mature males and females -apart from the genitals
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Intersexual people - Hermaphrodites
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-possessing some combination of female and male genital -very rare and natural -during birth, you have both male and female parts
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Transsexuals
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-people who feel emotionally linked to one sex, but are biologically the other -often expressed feeling is "trapped in the body of the wrong sex" -disregard conventional ideas about how males and females look and behave -crossing over
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Gender reassignment
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surgical alteration of their genitals and breasts, usually accompanied by hormone treatments
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sexuality has a ----- foundation
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biological
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The case with Thomas Beatie
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-became pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl, since then he has given birth to 2 additional children -Beatie, who was born a woman, had surgery to remove his breasts and legally changed his sex to bear children
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Cultural variation
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-showing affection and sexual position -notions of modesty -restrictions placed upon openess
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The incest taboo
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-a norm forbidding sexual relations or marriage between certain relatives -found in every society -rooted in biology -necessary element of social organization in human species
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The sexual revolution....20s, 48, 60s
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-over the course of the past century, social attitudes in the US have become more accepting of most aspects of human sexuality 1920s: roaring twenties 1948: kinsey research 1960s: a new openness toward sexuality -birth control pills -double standard challenged
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Premarital and extramarital sex
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-men and woman almost equal in premarital sex -american youth broadly accept prematrial sex -75% of men and 90% of women remain faithful
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The sexual counterrevolution
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-a controversial call for a return to "family values" -also a change from sexual freedom/responsibility back toward what critics saw as the sexual responsibility valued by earlier generations -limited partners -stds -premarital sex
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Sex between adults
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- 1/3 have sex a few times a year or not at all -1/3 have sex once to a few times a month -1/3 have sex with a partner 2 or more times a week
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sexual orientation
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-a person's romantic and emotion attraction to another person -although a larger share of men than women report having had 2 or more sexual partners by age 20, the sexual revolution greatly reduced this gender difference
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roots of sexual orientation
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-mounting biological evidence for genetics -social influences cannot be discounted
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sex over life course
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-by mid 20s about 90% of women and men report being sexually active w a partner at least once during the past year -young adults report the highest frequency of sexual intercourse at 84 times per year -this number falls to 64 times for adults in their 40s and declines further to about 10 times per year for adults in their 70s
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How many gay people are there?
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about 10% of the population but it depends on your definition of "gay"
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Heterosexulaity
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-"hetero": the other -sexual attraction to someone of the other sex
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Homosexuality
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-"homo": the same -sexual attraction to someone of the same sex
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Bisexuality
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strong attraction to both sexes
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Asexuality
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lack of sexual attraction to people of either sex
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Transgender
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appearing or behaving in ways that challenge covential cultural norms concerning how females and males should look and act
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Gay Rights Movement
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-public attitudes moving toward greater acceptance -homosexuality no longer defined as an illness -used to be defined as a mental illness but now is a different lifestyle choice -use of term homophobia
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Homophobia
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discomfort with people that are gay, lesbian or bisexual
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Sexual controversies
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teen pregnancy -us had highest rate compared to other high-income countries -pregnancy among unmarried teenage women, once a social taboo, has become part of the mass media
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Pornography
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-sexually explicit material intended to cause sexual arousal -supreme court gives local communities the power to decide what violates community standards -pornography in the US is a $10 billion/year industry -pornography is criticized for moral and political reasons -believed that it is victimizing women
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Prostitution
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-selling of sexual services -form of economic livehood -the world's oldest profession
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social and cultural ties of prositution
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-most common in poor countries where: patriarchy is strong and opportunities to earn a living are restricted
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types of prostitution
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-"call girls" -workers in controlled parlours -"street walker"
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Prositution- a "victimless crime?"
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-police stage only occasional crackdowns -the sex trade subjects many women to kidnapping, emotional abuse, and violence
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myths about rape
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-rape always involves strangers -women provoke their attackers -rape is simply sex -women might not report it because they ask for it in a way, like clothing
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rape
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-the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will -a violent act that uses sex to hurt, humiliate, or control another person -expression of power, not sex
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date rape (or acquaintance rape)
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-forcible sexual violence against women by men they know -accounts for 70% of all rape -high danger on college campuses
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The campus culture of hooking up
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-1st- most couples who hook up know little about each other -2nd- a typical hookup involves people who have been drinking alcohol, usually at a campus party -3rd- most women are critical of the culture of hooking up and express little satisfaction with these encounters
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Theories of Sexuality
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-structural-functional -symbolic-interaction
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Structural-functional analysis
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-functionalists -need to regulate sexual behavior -latent functions: intimacy, bonding Evaluation: -helps us see the important part sexuality plays in the organization of society -sometimes ignore gender
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Symbolic-interaction analysis
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-the social construction of sexuality -sexual practices vary from culture to culture Evalution: -constructed character of familiar social patterns revealed -not all sexual practices are so variable so broader social structure may be missed
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Social conflict and feminist theories
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-focus on social issues=rape -highlights dimensions of inequality -shows how sexuality reflects patterns of social inequality and helps perpetuate them -Queer theory Evaluation: -shows that sexuality is both a cause and effect of inequality -suggests that many people do not see sexuality as a power issue
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Queer theory
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-body of research findings that challenges the heterosexual bias in US society -group of people that think if you are homosexual then you are abnormal
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abortion
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the deliberate termination of a pregnancy
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The abortion controversy
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-Roe vs. Wade established legal access to abortion -circumstances of the pregnancy makes a big difference in how people see this issue ex: if you get raped or if baby is going to have a disability
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pro-choice
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supports a woman's rights to choose abortion
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pro-life
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opposes abortion as morally wrong
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The campus culture of "hooking up" involves sexual relationships between partners who ________
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know little about each other
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The ways in which sexuality is linked to social inequality is highlighted by ________
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the social-conflict approach
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If you were to study the changing meaning of virginity over the last century in our society, you would discover that the norm stating that people remain virgins until marriage ________
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has become weaker
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Sexual attraction to people of both sexes is called ________
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bisexuality
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The sexual counterrevolution had begun in the United States by ________
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1980
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Sexual attraction to someone of the same sex is called ________
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homosexuality
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The text suggests that the most widely contested issue involving sexuality in the United States in recent years has been ________
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abortion
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Which of the following concepts refers to genitals that distinguish females and males?
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primary sex characteristics
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The development of breasts in females and deeper voices in males are examples of ________
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secondary sex characteristics
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Which concept refers to humans who have some combination of female and male sexual characteristics?
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intersexual
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Criticism of the social-conflict approach's view of sexuality would include the fact that ________
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sexuality is not a power issue for everyone
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The majority of evidence indicates that sexual orientation is rooted in ________
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human biology, although social experience plays some role
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From a global perspective, prostitution is most common in ________
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poor nations, where women have fewer economic opportunities
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A common myth is that ________
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in most cases of rape, the victim does not know the attacker
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Queer theory is a growing body of knowledge asserting that ________
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there is a heterosexual bias in U.S. society
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Prostitution is regarded by many people in the United States as a ________
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victim less crime
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The more global our view of sexuality ________
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the more variety we see in the meanings people attach to sexuality
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According to the Laumann study of sexual patterns among U.S. adults, ________
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there are striking differences in sexual experience within the U.S. population
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Based on what you know about the history of human sexuality, once a society gains birth-control technology ________
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social norms regarding sexuality become more permissive
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About what share of the states in this country have laws that permit marriage between first cousins?
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half of the states
