Concept of Sexuality

Sex is a biological distinction that develops prior to birth. Sex refers to the biological distinction between females and male.

Gender is the meaning that a society attaches to being female or male. It is a dimension of social organization, shaping how we interact with others and how we think about ourselves.

Sexuality is a biological issue

  • Sex is determined at conception as male sperm joins a female ovum.
  • Male and females have different genitals.
  • Intersexual people have some combination of male and female genitalia.
  • Transsexual people feel they are one sex although biologically they are other.

Sexuality is a cultural issue

  • Sex is a matter of cultural meaning and personal choice rather than biological programming. Sexual practices vary considerably from one society to another.
  • The incest taboo exists in all societies. But specific taboos vary from one society to another.
  • Sexual Orientation is a person’s romantic and emotional attraction to another person. Four sexual orientation are:
  1. Heterosexuality: ( Sexual attraction to someone of the other sex)
  2. Homosexuality: (Sexual attraction to same sex)
  3. Bisexuality: ( Sexual attraction to people of both sexes)
  4. Asexuality: (Lack of sexual attraction to people of either sex)

Sexual Issues ( Pornography, Teen Pregnancy, Prostitution and Sexual Violence, and Sexual Abuse)

  • Pornography is sexually explicit material intended to cause sexual arousal. It is very popular in the United State.
  • Teen Pregnancy, pregnancy among unmarried teenage women, once a social taboo.
  • Prostitution is the selling of sexual services. Often called “the world’s oldest profession”. It has been widespread throughout recorded history. Most prostitutes are women, and they fall into different categories:
  1. Call Girls are elite prostitutes, typically young, attractive, and well-educated women who arrange their own dates with clients by telephone.
  2. In the middle category are prostitutes who are employed in massage parlors under the control of managers.
  3. At the bottom of the hierarchy are streetwalkers. Women and men who work the streets of large cities around the country.

Sexual Violence is the general term we use to describe any kind of unwanted sexual act or activity. Rape is one type of sexual violence. Rape is a violent crime in which victim and offender typically know one another.

Sexual Abuse is usually undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another.

Deviance and Crime

Deviance is the recognized violation of cultural norms. Norms guide almost all human activities, so the concept of deviance is quite broad. One category of deviance is Crime; the violation of a society’s formally enacted criminal law.

Crime is the violation of criminal laws enacted by a locality, a state. Or the federal government. There are two major types of crime: Crimes against the Person, also called violent crimes, are crimes that direct violence or the threat of violence against others. It includes murder. Crime against Property, also called property crimes, is crimes that involve theft of property belonging to other.

Conformity and Sanction

Conformity is the extent to which an individual complies with group norms or expectations. It is a type of social influence through which group members come to share similar beliefs and standards of behavior. Conformity is also the process that establishes boundaries between groups.

Sanctions are mechanism of social control. Sanctions can be formal and informal. Formal sanctions are imposed through formal means by institutions upon individuals. Informal sanctions are imposed by individuals or groups without the use of formal, institutional system