SOCIOLOGY - BODY, SEX, AND SOCIETY

SOCIOLOGY - BODY, SEX, AND SOCIETY Question 2 In analyzing the extent to which sexual identity can said to be constructed, the work

by Gaynor (2018) is a good entry point. As per this author, it is almost impossible to extricate questions regarding identity – of any kind – from the societies in which people live.

Therefore, proponents of theories such as social constructionism would argue that the characteristics that have historically been thought to be unchangeable and only a result of biological functions are actually products of the social and historical contexts in which people live. For this reason, concepts that could be related to sexuality such as ‘women’ and ‘men’ are not only created through the institutions of culture and society, but are also developed, changed, and reproduced within them.

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The fact that all identities are developed within society could is therefore the main premise that could be used to argue that, fundamentally, sexual identities are a result of the societies in which people exist. According to Gaynor (2018), the question of the place from where sexual orientation emerges is linked to science, culture, and ideology. Even so, this author acknowledges that, in spite of this inextricable and often divisive tangle, there seems to be a consensus – from different disciplines and viewpoints – on the idea that sexual orientations and identities are a modern invention that people could either choose to identify with or decide not to identify with.

Notably, MacLeod and McArthur (2019) acknowledge that it is impossible to consider the question of sexual identities as sexual constructs without referring to the work by Michael Foucault. In his seminal text titled The History of Sexuality, Foucault’s main idea is that the dominant ideas in Western society regarding sexuality have undergone a significant shift in the past few centuries, even though their origins can be traced to the Victorian era (Foucault, 2019). To his understanding, deviant sexual identities have always existed. However, in the modern era, there are two related ideas that set the practice of sexuality apart. The first idea concerns the fact that the sexual desires that people have tend to reveal who they are. The second proposition is that there is a necessity not only to seek truth out, but also to express it in some form, fashion, or manner. In this context, then, sex is not just about what people do.

Instead, it becomes a symptom of one’s sexuality. Sexuality also became a phenomenon that could be controlled by the society and categorized as either normal or abnormal.

It is worth noting that, as a result of the above propositions, Western society has embraced heterosexuality as the norm. Even so, as the work of Foucault (2019) demonstrates, the term ‘homosexual’ was an invention that was developed in order to create an alternative to what was understood to be normal sexual behavior, that is: a man and a woman engaging

in sexual relations. During the Victorian period that lasted from 1837 to 1901, the queen had the intention to prevent the male aristocracy from having sexual relations with other men. It is important to note that, even though the practice of homosexuality was generally frowned upon, it was still practiced. Even so, during this time, there was no specific word that described the act of men having sexual relations with each other and Queen Victoria instructed her physicians to study this phenomenon in the aim of developing specific terminology for it. It was only when the term ‘homosexual’ had been developed that it’s opposite, ‘heterosexual,’ was developed. In this regard, the entire concept about heterosexuality was always an invention.

Foucault (2019) argues that the trajectory of sexuality during the Victorian age is what has gone on to define what is understood as sexuality not just in the Western world but, due to globalization, in other parts of the world. In Queen Victoria’s Britain, homosexuality would therefore go on to become medicalized. Indeed, as Foucault (2019) notes, there were doctors who were specially charged with developing a cure for it. Ultimately, the practice of homosexuality was outlawed. It is for this reason that, in British colonial states, homosexuality was illegal. This British legacy is also evident in the fact that, out of the 53 commonwealth countries, 41 of the countries continue to outlaw homosexuality even after the British colonial period came to an end. The fact that homosexuality was a construct – and an outlawed one at that – also becomes clear in the fact that homosexuality had a different approach when it came to women. During Queen Victoria’s time, the general understanding was that women did not have sex with other women. For this reason, the legal infrastructure developed at this time was more lenient towards female same-sex sexual relations.

When heterosexuality was constructed as the norm, Western society came to embrace a way of being that judged gender as well as sexual relations according to heterosexual norms. All of these norms came to develop heteronormativity. In a heteronormative society,

there is an expectation that heterosexuality will be understood as normalcy (Elden, 2016). In this regard, every other sexual inclination, including homosexuality, has to justify itself and legitimize itself. Thus, the ways of life that are associated with homosexuality are also constructed. The rituals of ‘coming out,’ and embracing alternative familial and living structures are also constructed as a reaction to heteronormativity.

In sum, then, what emerges is that sexual identities – and the performance of sexual identity – is deeply linked to the societies in which people live as well as the societies from which they emerge. From the Victorian era, the construction of sexual identity was done in the aim of furthering the interests of particular groups of people. By outlawing homosexuality, heterosexuality became the default primary and normative sexual identity for society. Even though there was the understanding that homosexuality has always been practised throughout history, its repression resulted in people practicing deviant sexualities to be regarded as the other. It is in this way that heteronormativity became the standard and every other deviation from it the anomaly. Indeed, as the work by authors like Foucault has demonstrated, it would be difficult to completely remove sexual identity from history as well as from society. Everything in a particular society influences people’s attitudes and practices with respect to sex.

Question 3 In her attempt to develop a critical analysis of pornography, Mari Mikkola (2019) suggests that the endeavour has to beginning with a definition of the phenomenon. In this author’s view, definitions provide a parameter that provide a guideline for a particular discourse. However, in attempting to develop a working definition of pornography, she implies that there could be several definitions depending on the cultural context from which one comes. Additionally, it would be difficult to develop an all-encompassing understanding of pornography. Even so, it is arguable the most basic understanding of pornography makes reference to the fact that, fundamentally, the phenomenon consists of printed or visual material that contain explicit descriptions or depictions of sexual organs or sexual activity.

Invariably, the intention behind such descriptions or depictions is to elicit or stimulate erotic feelings.

It is worth noting that the problematization of pornography lies in the fact that its aim is typically to elicit erotic feelings as opposed to emotional or even aesthetic feelings.

According to an author like Audre Lorde (2020), pornography is a direct denial of the power that could be found in true connection between consenting individuals. In her view, the pornographic is that which suppresses true feelings and emotions. By the same token, authors such as Jeffreys (2018) argue that there have been concerted efforts against pornography by the feminist movement. As per feminists, pornography ultimately led to violence against women and created a situation where, for men, sexuality and violence were inextricably linked. They also maintained that the normalization of pornography has also developed an attitude where the victimization and subjugation of women was not only eroticized, but also perpetuated. In effect, then, it was a manner in which patriarchy was said to contribute to the systemic subordination of girls and women.

It is not all feminists, however, who agree with the position that pornography does more harm than good. There are those who criticize anti-pornography feminists by perpetuating the idea that women are essentially victims who are unable to practice their agency. This faction of feminist scholars argues that such criticism of pornography plays into the interests of patriarchy by centering the experiences of men (Mikkola, 2019). In addition to this, there is also the inadvertent portrayal of women as objects rather than subjects. They are made out to be people who are acted upon and not necessarily acting. To this extent, the criticism of pornography fails to acknowledge that the participation of women in the phenomenon may actually be out of choice and not necessarily in the capacity of victimhood.

Even so, despite this continuing discourse regarding pornography, it is notable that there is a significant demand for it. Mikkola (2019) suggests that, despite the fact that feminists have been agitating against it for years, recent figures show it to be a fast-growing industry that has created substantial revenue for some Western countries. Furthermore, the numbers demonstrate that the most regular users of pornography tend to be male. Cawston (2018) argues that, according to the people who identify with the anti-pornography faction, the pornography is wrong because it is inherently harmful in three key ways. The first way that pornography is harmful is because harm is endemic to its production. As per this view, it is impossible to create pornography under harmless circumstances. By eradicating feeling and emotion from pornography, the effect is to recreate an emotion and offer it for consumption.

Further, pornography requires the perpetuation of low wage labour, secrecy, money laundering, and the enabling of an environment that is hyper-sexual and essentializing.

The second way in which pornography is said to be harmful is because its existence increases the likelihood that there will high rates of rape and violence against girls and women. Due to the fact that pornography divorces real feeling and emotion from sexual relations, then the effect is that it is pain and other humiliating acts that lead to sexual arousal

for the consumers of pornography (Cawston, 2018). The ultimate consequence of this attitude towards sex is that it normalizes violence and humiliation as a part of sex. When attitudes gleaned from pornography are recreated by people in their real-life relations with their sexual partners.

The third way in which pornography perpetuates harm is through its apparent promotion of gender inequality (Cawston, 2018). In many cases, the women who participate in pornography act as victims. As has been noted above, they are likely to be treated in violent manner and as sexual tools as opposed to people who are capable of much more than just sex. Put differently, pornography tends to make a contribution towards the subjugation of women because it recreates the same structures that keep women subjugated in the broader society.

On the other hand, there are those who argue that pornography is essentially harmless.

For this faction, the watching of pornography is a normal activity that is, in itself, harmless unless one uses it as a stepping stone to illegal behavior (Mikkola, 2019). There are also arguments that, in some cases, watching pornography has improved people’s sexual experiences. It is worth placing these statements within the context of conservative attitudes that, in several Western societies, emerge from a Victorian tradition. The argument is that a direct viewer of pornography is likely to develop healthier attitudes towards sex and, for this reason, use these attitudes to promote their sexual partners also to have healthy attitudes. As such, moderate viewing of pornography has benefits both for those who don’t view it and those who do.

The moderate viewing of pornography has also been connected to the repression of aggressive tendencies, particularly in men. Mikkola (2019) suggests that, instead of pornography being a precursor to people’s engagement in violent activities, it can actually replace the inclination to participate in said activities. The other reason pornography is said to

be harmless is because it involves the consent of participating adults who are of the age of majority. Thus, to label something in which people participate willingly as harmful is to limit people’s freedom of expression. Finally, pornography is considered to be harmless because it involves the exploration of sexuality. In exploring sexuality, the complexes that are typically attached to sexuality are lessened and sex becomes only but one of many other activities in which people can participate.

Ultimately, then, it is evident that, in spite of the constant criticism that has been levelled against pornography, the phenomenon continues to capture the imagination of a significant percentage of people across the world. Even so, it is notable that, to a significant extent, the pornography industry has only persisted because it has been commercialized. In this regard, the phenomenon raises serious concerns regarding state regulation, particularly when it comes to the involvement of vulnerable people such as children and marginalized women. In order to ensure that pornography is as harmless as it is portrayed by certain groups in society, there will be a need to develop appropriate methods of regulating it so that it does not become an industry that thrives off the oppression of women or the recreation of unequal power structures.

References Cawston, Amanda, 2019. The feminist case against pornography: A review and reevaluation. Inquiry, 62(6), pp.624-658.

Elden, Stuart, 2018. Michel Foucault, Histoire de la sexualité 4: Les aveux de la chair. Theory, Culture & Society, 35(7-8), pp.293-311.

Foucault, Michael, 2019. The history of sexuality: 1: the will to knowledge. Penguin UK. Gaynor, Tia, 2018. Social construction and the criminalization of identity: State-sanctioned oppression and an unethical administration. Public Integrity, 20(4), pp.358-369.

Jeffreys, Sheila, 2018. The Lesbian Revolution: Lesbian Feminism in the UK 1970-1990.

Routledge.

Lorde, Audre, 2020. Sister outsider: Essays and speeches. Penguin Classics.

MacLeod, Caitlin, and McArthur, Victoria, 2019. The construction of gender in dating apps: An interface analysis of Tinder and Bumble. Feminist Media Studies, 19(6), pp.822840.

Mikkola, Mari, 2019. Pornography: a philosophical introduction. Oxford University Press.