Exam 8: Sexuality

The Victorian ideal of sexuality was focused on procreation and discouraged the idea of having sex for pleasure. Having sex "for fun" was considered out of keeping with what aspect of society at that time?

Gloria Wekker's work in Suriname has led her to suggest that the imposition of our "Western folk knowledge" places limits on how we understand sexuality. What does she urge students of sexuality to do instead?

Discuss the role of language in sexuality and how it both controls behavior and gives license to perform certain behaviors. How do prominent public figures use language around sexuality? What are the consequences of direct and honest discussion in both a public and private setting?

In White Wedding: Romancing Heterosexuality in Popular Culture (2008), sociologist Chrys Ingraham asserts that brides are not born but rather made. Identify some examples of the enculturation process. Discuss the implications of the romanticized ideal of weddings. How do these ideals differ from the reality of the "white wedding" as they intersect with gender, class, and racial inequalities?

In contemporary U.S. weddings, one common ritual is the act of the father "giving away" the bride. How does this tend to perpetuate a power dynamic that places women at a disadvantage?

Applying an anthropological lens to sexuality and sexual behaviors around the world allows us to not only investigate relationships between individuals themselves, but between individuals and what?

What is a likely consequence of Western-influenced, international movements around gender and sexuality on other cultures around the world?

How do the 'yan daudu in Nigeria see homosexual behavior?

According to contemporary cultural anthropologists, why do humans in most cultures seem to engage in sexual activity?

How did Margaret Mead's work contribute to a greater understanding of human sexuality?

How do many governments in Africa regard homosexuality?

The stereotype that men have an excessive, sometimes abusive, sex drive is often blamed on testosterone. In light of this, what does physical anthropologist Helen Fisher believe is important to note about this neurochemical?

According to Chrys Ingraham, the heterosexual imagery in "white weddings" makes the patterns of heterosexuality seem natural and unchanging, rather than cultural. Which wedding ritual helps normalize the idea that men have more power than women?

Where does the dual categorization of sexuality as either homosexual or heterosexual come from?

The work of early sexologists such as Kinsey tended to reinforce the idea of heterosexuality. In spite of this, what was one of the surprising results that Kinsey and his research revealed about sexual behavior in the United States?

How did sexology contribute to establishing heterosexuality as the dominant erotic ideal in the United States? Despite his findings that human sexuality is marked by diversity, flexibility, and fluidity, in what two ways did Kinsey's research contribute to the establishment of heterosexuality as the dominant erotic ideal? Do you think this ideal remains in U.S. culture today? Why or why not?

Compare and contrast the perspective on human sexuality offered by evolutionary biologists and cultural constructionists. What factors do evolutionary biologists study to learn more about human sexuality? How does this compare to the factors an anthropologist with a cultural constructionist perspective might investigate? Which approach do you find most valuable?

Pornography has been attacked, censored, and subjected to legal controls for a long time. Each attempt seems to result in an increase in its dissemination and consumption. Why do governments make such efforts to stop pornography?

How does Mignon Moore's work describe the experience of being a middle-class black lesbian?

Many different cultural institutions and systems of power interconnect to regulate sexuality, affecting both individual lives and group experiences. How do anthropologists refer to this aspect of overlapping systems and institutions in our daily lives?