In summary, there are many sociological issues that contribute to the construction of categories of sexuality and gender identity in our society. The primacy of masculinity versus femininity, the categorizing of deviants as “abnormal” or needing psychiatric “treatment,” and the role of power in American society all contribute to explaining and understanding the role of deviance in our society. There are also several tools that serve to maintain, enforce and reinforce these categories, but the strongest uniting factor is the imputation of negative status for that which is deviant. Kinsey argued that we should avoid applying terms of behavior to individuals. Rather than using terms such as heterosexual and homosexual to describe persons, we should use them “to describe the nature of overt sexual relations.” I think he posed this idea in light of conducting objective, unbiased research and the realization that the use of these terms was too restrictive and limiting to characterize a person based on their sexual behavior. From a deeper look, we have seen that there are many factors that determine how society feels about sexuality. Although I agree with Kinsey’s statement, our world is not designed to look at the issues of sexuality and gender in an unbiased, objective manner. Who knows? One day, it may be.
REFERENCES
(Page numbers from Course Reader
Except Union Tribune and NARTH Articles)
Bayer, Ronald. Homosexuality and American Psychiatry: The Politics of Diagnosis. 1981.
Garber, Marjorie. ViceVersa. 1995.
Hantzis, Darlene M. and Lehr, Valerie. “Whose Desire? Lesbian (Non)Sexuality and Television’s Perpetuation of Heterosexism.” (1994).
National Association For Research and Therapy of Homosexuals (NARTH). “School Sex Education Guidelines: Teaching About Homosexuality.”
San Diego Union Tribune. p. B4. June 4, 1999.
Woodhouse, Annie, Fantastic Women: Sex, Gender, and Transvestism. 1989.