Women 's Sexuality And Sexuality

Since the dawn of man, sex has played a crucial role in society. Before they learned to read or write humans were engaging in sex and without it none of us would be here. In today’s society, sex has grown to become much more complicated. If I were to ask a group of people on the street what they believed sex was? I bet they would have a hard time answering. The question puzzling society today is how do we define sex? Can we define sex? These are questions raised in Tracy Steele’s article “Doing it: The Social Construction of S-E-X”. This article is about the current questions and issues that have been raised about sex within today’s society. In this paper I will summarize the key points of the article, while sharing my own thoughts and

Alike gender, sexuality is also a social construct, especially when looking at the period before the 18th century, when one’s sexual orientation did not matter, hence there being no need for justification, just as pointed by Foucault: “Sexual practices had little need of secrecy; words were said without undue reticence, and things were done without too much concealment; one had a tolerant familiarity with the illicit.” (3). And the 19th century came and brought with it a big change, and not only did people become engulfed by social norms, whom they should abide at all costs, but they also had to keep their sexual preferences under lock and key: “But twilight soon fell upon this bright day, followed by the monotonous nights of the Victorian

Human sexuality is a common phrase for all, and anything, pertaining to the feelings and behaviors of sex for the human race. Sexuality has been a topic that has been discussed and studied for as far back as 1000 years B.C. and is still being studied today. As the discussion of sexuality has progressed through history, theories have been created based on research and experiments that scholars have implemented, based on their own perceptions of human behavior. Out of the many theories that pose to explain sexual behavior, Sexuality Now explained ten that are seemed to be the most overlapped, and built off of theories. Of these theories, two that were discussed in the text were the behavioral and sociological theory. These two theories cover some of the basic ideas of what could possibly influence a person’s sexuality.

In modern society as the idea of sex and relationships becomes more liberal the purpose of sex and relationships comes under further analysis. In what is really a matter of just under a century sex before marriage has transformed from a concept that was once expected to one which is rarely practiced and as the attitude towards single mothers takes a similar U-turn we are forced to analyse the purpose of such concepts. Nowadays by many, sex is seen more and more as a leisurely activity which is in stark contrast to the idea previously held where the purpose of sex was seen as purely for reproductory purposes. It therefore raises the question of whether we should have the

With the constant push for conforming into what society deems as acceptable, it is no surprise how much of an impact society plays on limiting the perception of what one’s sexual relationship should be. Society manipulates women into behaving in a certain manner in order to fit into this ideal mold of how women should be. Yet only to a certain point, “Be assertive, but not aggressive. Be feminine, but not too passive. Be sexually adventurous, but don’t alienate men with your sexual prowess.” (Bell 26) Due to all of the conditions, which limit women, it is no wonder how many young women feel “weighed down by vying cultural notions about the kind of sex and relationships they should be having.” (Bell 26) Although these limitations proposed by society can cause personal battles between oneself, it is possible to change one’s perception of how one should act regarding their own sexuality. Bell points out that by using “strategies of desire of the Relational Woman”, (Bell 30) this will assist woman in navigating through their sexual and romantic lives. It is normal for women to feel a desire for relationships and it is inevitable that conflict will arise. If women are able to develop and fully accepting their desires, despite the limitations from society, this will to lead women to building lives that are filled with self-acceptance.

The excerpt from Leslie Bell’s “Hard to Get: Twenty-Something Women and the Paradox of Sexual Freedom” explains the reality of how the expectation of sexual exploration for women in their twenties plays a reverse role on their behaviors and actually limits them. Bell thus groups female attitudes and behaviors in regards to their interaction with sexuality and relationships. She categorizes women into one of three: the sexual woman, the relational woman, and the desiring woman. Although this could result in a possible loss of individualism by grouping women and their experiences into three groups, and Bell acknowledges this, but insists that it provides an opportunity to study how women can share the same behaviors in a sexually confusing era.

Sexuality is a particularly perplexing topic for young women. Bell notes that “Their (women’s) twenties ought to be a decade of freedom and exploration. But… I have found them to be more confused than ever about not only how to get what they want, but what they want.” (Bell 26) Yes, they are young and has so many opportunities in front of them. Yes, most of them have a college degree and are highly educated. Yes, there are too many choices and they are condemned whichever way they choose.

Humans now have a very different life compared to the past since freedom, opportunities, and information together are playing a vital role in this modern society. Especially young people, they become more independent and are capable of living their lives. However, while society provides people a lot of benefits, it makes their lives even more complex at the same time by leaving them pressured and confused about who they really are. In her essay, “Selections from Hard to Get:Twenty-Something Women and the Paradox of Sexual Freedom,” Leslie Bell mentions that in this new-in between developmental period American twenty-something women have more freedom and opportunities to their sexual lives than previous generations. But they are struggling with the paradoxes of their relationships and desires at the same time. Bell suggests that social expectations and cultural guidelines, which are conventions of female sexuality and stereotypes of being a good girl, prevent these young women from pursuing their sexual desires and limiting their relationships with men. However, even these women have chosen the way they live, and what kind of sexual life they want to be bad girls to break those old rules, they ended with losing their identities. As a result, establishing a women’s identity rather than clinging to contradictory directives and social expectations impacts female sexuality more. When these twenty-something women try to split

Although the popular talk of women rights and freedom in the society does help women in certain degree to develop a sense of control and success in recent years, the topics of sex and relationships remain controversial and shameful to talk about. In “Selections from Hard to Get: Twenty-something Women and the Paradox of Sexual Freedom”, Leslie Bell discovers in her experiments and interviews that despite the choices of freedom and exploration modern women have, they are even more confused than before with too many choices. This confusion results in the problems of dealing with the connection between good sex and successful relationships. The cognitive consciousness of these women

Freedom, opportunities, and information are some features of this modern society. Clearly, humans are now having a very different life compared to the past. Along with this well-developed world, people get more chances to express how they think, do what they want, and love who they love. Especially young people, they become more independent and are capable of living their own lives. However, while society provides people a lot of benefits, it actually makes their lives even more complex at the same time by leaving them pressures and confusions of who they really are. In her essay, “Selections from Hard to Get:Twenty-Something Women and the Paradox of Sexual Freedom,” Leslie Bell mentions that while in this new-in between developmental period American twenty-something women have more freedom and opportunities about their sexual lives than previous generations, they are struggling with the paradoxes of their relationships and desires. Bell suggests that social expectations and culture guidelines, which are conventions of female sexuality and stereotypes of being a good girl, prevent these young women from pursuing their sexual desires and limiting their relationships with men. However, even these women have chosen the way they live and what kind of sexual life they want in order to be bad girls to break those old rules, they ended with losing their identities. In general, female sexuality is impacted more by establishing a

Attitudes towards different issues in society are adopted depending on the prevailing beliefs in such a society. Every trending issue in a society helps shape the attitudes that people develop and greatly influences their behavior. There is no question that every society has a prejudged perception and possible reaction to any event that may occur within the realm of the society. This prejudgment and reaction is often informed by the various experiences that the society may have undergone through in the earlier instances of occurrence of specific events. Leslie Bell, the author of “Selections from Hard to Get: Twenty-Something Women and the Paradox of Sexual Freedom,” largely focuses on female sexuality detailing the often confusing situations

Expectations about appropriate gender role characteristics and sexual behavior have evolved throughout history, especially for women. In the 1700’s and 1800’s, the men’s role included earning an

Human sexuality is defined as the capability of individuals to experience their sexuality and be able to express themselves as sexual beings (Hyde & DeLameck, 2006). Our interest in this topic is because with time, there has been a change in rules that control human sexual behaviour. The status quo in our contemporary society is much different as compared to an earlier state of conditions, and the change has, as a result, brought the evolvement in human sexuality. People 's view on virginity has changed greatly with a decrease of importance in regards to its preservation. Sexuality is essential to the economic, cultural, social and political organization of society or country. Our sexuality plays a fundamental role in all our lives regardless of age, sex or race. It forms a basic part of our personality and the decisions we make in what we do. One’s sexuality also consumes much of their time through behaviour or thoughts; at times every aspect of our lives seems to revolve around our sexuality. Studying sexuality is very important since human sexuality majorly contributes to social as well as personal problems. A lingering question concerning this topic is to what extent is virginity determined by the status quo and the rules that control human behaviour?

Throughout history, definitions of sexuality within a culture are created and then changed time after time. During these changes, we have seen the impact and power one individual or group can have over others. In the Late Nineteenth Century into the Early Twentieth Century, we see multiple groups of people and or authorities taking control over the idea of sex and how they believe society is being impacted by sex. At this point in time, society had groups of people who believed they had the power to control how society as whole viewed and acted upon sex. Those particular groups and ideas changed many lives and the overall definition of sexuality within that culture.

In women, a history of sexual activity is not taken to suggest experience in a positive sense, expertise, and high-quality sex. On the contrary, it is seen as a negative mark that marks off a certain kind of woman; which can be labeled as “loose” or “easy”. In our society, women have become to be valued for their innocence.