Class Notes
Professor Henry Schissler
Chapter Seven – Part B


Human Sexuality – Key Concepts

Sex – anatomical or other biological differences between males & females that originate in the human gene

Gender – is the socially constructed aspects of differences between women & men; the cultural ideals of and stereotypes of masculinity & femininity

Gender Identity – how individuals come to think of themselves as male or female and learn to act accordingly

Gender Roles – expectations regarding the proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of males & females; they are evident not only in our work and behavior but in how we react to others.

Traditional gender-role patterns continue to be influential in socialization of children. Boys must be masculine – active, aggressive, tough, daring, and dominant. Girls must be feminine – soft, emotional, sweet, and submissive. Children’s toys reinforce these patterns of socialization.

Homophobia (fear of or prejudice against gays/lesbians/bisexuals) contributes significantly to rigid gender-roles. Because many still associate gay men with “femininity” and lesbians with “masculinity”, persons who deviate from their traditional gender role may be considered gay. Despite growing acceptance of the gay/lesbian/bisexual community, continuing stigma attached to homosexuality places pressure on all men (whether gay or not) to exhibit only narrow “masculine” behavior and on all females (whether lesbian or not) to exhibit narrow “feminine” behavior.

Socially constructed men’s roles influence how a boy or a man comes to view his role in society. Five typical aspects of the male gender role are –
1. Anti-Feminine Element – show no “sissy stuff,” including any expressions of openness or vulnerability
2. Success Element – prove one’s masculinity at work and sports
3. Aggressive Element – use force in dealing with others
4. Sexual Element – initiate and control all sexual relations
5. Self-Reliant Element – keep cool and unflappable



Social Construction of Sexual Activity

Sexuality – the ways in which people construct their erotic or sexual relationships, including the norms governing sexual behavior

Sexual Scripts – culturally learned ways of behaving in sexual situations

(A Cultural Universal is that all societies have restrictions on sexual activity)

Societal expectations concerning sexual behavior are defined in the culture’s values and norms, and reinforced by its Social Institutions:
Psychology (sexual disorders)
Religion (purpose of, restrictions around sexual activity)
Law (polygamy, interracial marriage, gay marriage)

Societal statements about sexuality affirm that:
Sex is wrong unless............
Sex is wrong until...........

These societal statements portray sex as destructive, as deviant, unless certain conditions are met. They affix negative labels onto sexual expression and, specifically, on “the sex act” (which is a socially constructed belief about what “real sex” is).

Sex is deviant first, and OK second (when certain conditions are met).

This can be viewed as a form of social control, and the containment of “pleasure seeking behavior” in society.

But it can also be viewed as socializing individuals to believe that sexual expression is only conditionally OK. It sends a powerful macro-level message about human sexuality that may be a cause of the many sexual disorders identified by psychology and of other types of sexual acting out behavior (pornography, prostitution, adultery).

Sexual Attractiveness – Social Construct that determines what constitutes a sexually attractive individual in a particular culture; this varies greatly from culture to culture and throughout history

• Adults react more leniently to the “bad behavior” of attractive children.
• Teachers evaluate cute children of either gender as “smarter” than unattractive children.
• In mock jury trials, attractive male or female defendants consistently receive lighter sentences.
• Adults who are perceived to be sexually attractive are consistently viewed as more trustworthy, honest, and competent.
• An early criminal justice theory stated that an “ugly” person was the most likely suspect to have committed the crime



Societal & cultural values account for our perception of and our attitude towards what is appropriate and accepted behavior in many areas of “human sexuality” –

• Appropriate level of sexual activity and varieties of sexual expression

• Appropriate degree of experimentation, including variations on traditional couplings

• Women as “sex objects” and men as “sex objects”

• The Denial of Pleasure-Seeking Behavior

Reality Principle (Freud) – members of a society renounce a substantial part of desire for immediate pleasure in order to do the kind of work necessary for society to operate smoothly.



The Cultural Landscape: What’s Morally Wrong

Divorce 26% - Morally Wrong
Death Penalty 28%
Gambling 30%
Sex between an unmarried man & woman 36%
Stem cell research, from human embryos 37%
Homosexual behavior 39%
Doctor-assisted suicide 41%
Having a baby outside of marriage 45%
Abortion 47%
Suicide 79%
Cloning humans 86%
Married men & women having an affair 91%
Polygamy 91%

Gallup Organization 7/04






Aspects of Human Sexuality

Social Interaction: The Formation of Pairs
(friendships, romances, and sexual pairings)

We have powerful desires to be with other humans. We spend 75% of our time with other people.

We have a strong need for affiliation (a consistent interest in establishing & maintaining relationships with other people). It has been likened to imprinting, the complex process of human infant attachment. There are overriding biological (instinctual) and some socio-environmental factors involved in this process.

Interpersonal Attraction is a nonspecific positive response toward another person. It is a factor of day-to-day interaction & varies from mild attraction (such as thinking your Personal Trainer is a “nice person”) all the way to deep feelings of love.

Falling In Love and Building Relationships

Macro-level society represents love as a purely emotional experience that cannot be predicted or controlled. But persons you fall in love with (and those who you are attracted to on many levels) can be predicted beyond chance by the following factors:

1) Proximity – A strong determinant of attraction toward others is whether you live near them, work with them, or have frequent contact with them.

2) Mere Exposure Effect – Your attraction to a person is strongly impacted by how frequently you see the person. Attraction can increase, sometimes dramatically, by the Mere Exposure Effect. Conversely, “overexposure” can have the opposite effect.

3) Perceived Physical Attractiveness – The attractions we feel toward people of either gender are based on our perception of their physical attractiveness. While standards of attractiveness vary a great deal between cultures and subcultures, considerable agreement exists within a culture about who is attractive.

Physical attractiveness predicts only early stages of the various types of relationships. When one measures relationships that last a while, other factors come into play, primarily religion, political attitudes, social class background, and race.

4) Similarity – We are attracted to those who are similar or even identical to us in socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, religion, perceived personality traits, and general attitudes and opinions.

There are exceptions. Some of us are not in the majority when it comes to predictability of relationship choices. Psychological needs, attraction to “difference”, Reactive Attachments, and other factors come into play.


Some Of the Other Aspects Of Human Sexuality Include –

• Expectations of desired Body Image in both men and women

• Increasing acceptance of Gay, Lesbian & Bi-Sexual Community

• Gay Marriage

• Interracial Coupling and Recognition of Growing Bi-Racial Community

• Increasing Understanding of Transgender Community

• Needs of Intrasexed Children

• HIV and AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Diseases

• Condom Distribution & Needle Exchange Programs

• Sex Education in Public Schools vs. Abstinence-Only Programs

Definitions of Deviant Sexual Behavior differ greatly from society to society, culture to culture. Macro-level values and norms also differ in sub-cultures and other groups. Western society attempts to categorize many of them as Sexual Disorders in Clinical Psychology (agent of socialization). A few of the many other examples of “deviant sexual behavior” are –

• Swingers

• Prostitution (legal in two Nevada counties)

• Polygamy (legal in certain African & Middle Eastern countries)

• Variations on Monogamy