Gender And Sexuality PDF

3/17/24 GENDER AND SEXUALITY 1 Gender Prenatal factors Infancy & Childhood factors (social construction) (roles) Factors at (language) Puberty Adult Gender Identity 2 1 3/17/24 Sex and Gender Biological sex: refers to the biological femaleness/maleness as indicated by genes, hormones, and physiology...

3/17/24 GENDER AND SEXUALITY 1 Gender Prenatal factors Infancy & Childhood factors (social construction) (roles) Factors at (language) Puberty Adult Gender Identity 2 1 3/17/24 Sex and Gender Biological sex: refers to the biological femaleness/maleness as indicated by genes, hormones, and physiology As previously discussed, there is variation and complexity to this. Gender refers to the psychological experience of maleness or femaleness 3 Transgender Transgender: when one’s physical self does not match one’s internal sense of gender. broad term including those whose identities transcend traditional gender dichotomies ~0.3% (3 in 1000) people, could be higher (Gates, 2011) Cisgender: conventional gendered majority of women / men 4 2 3/17/24 Cross Cultural Perspective Transgender men and women have existed in many societies and often were often accorded special status – often spiritual or sacred. 5 Cross-Cultural Perspective Before European contact First Nations had relatively egalitarian gender roles In 2/3 of the 200 Aboriginal language, the concept of “twospirited” exists – refers to a third gender. A male married to a twospirited male is not homosexual Chiricahua Tah-des-te 6 3 3/17/24 Cross-Cultural Perspective Northern India / Pakistan Hijras Hijra and transgender rights advocate Laxmi Narayan Tripathi 7 Cross-Cultural Perspective Thailand Kathoey Venus Fly Trap (Thai Trangender Band) 8 4 3/17/24 Cross-Cultural Perspective Polynesian Society Mahu 9 Transsexualism Transsexuals – a person who identifies with the other sex and who seeks to transition to the other sex by means of hormone treatment and sex-reassignment surgery MtF is more common than FtM (2:1 ratio) 10 5 3/17/24 Transexualism Historically, reports of women transforming themselves into men have been reported in the early Christian documents Pelagia... Pelagius 11 Transexualism Transexual Men (FtM) Very young insistence to express masculine identity in hair, clothes, friendships, activities, career plans Upon puberty may resent signs of womanhood and seek to hide them (e.g. binding breasts) In adulthood, seem quite masculine and typical sexual attraction is toward women. 12 6 3/17/24 Controversial Distinction Transexual Women (MtF) Canadian Sexologist Dr Ray Blanchard distinguishes Trans Women into two contrasting types due to differing life histories. Controversially: Some trans women strongly oppose his views (James, 2004) Others embrace and expanded it (Lawrence, 2013) 13 Controversial Distinction In addition to MtF and FtM distinctions: Gynephilic: those sexually attracted to females Androphilic: those sexually attracted to males 14 7 3/17/24 Transsexuals Androphilic (male attraction) Trans Women tend: shorter and lighter in weight than gynephilic MtF and men in general population (Blanchard et al., 1995) Gynephilic (female attraction) Trans Women tend: often to marry women and have children in young adulthood have a history of eroticized cross-dressing in young adulthood and adolescence often make transition after they are 40 (Chivers & Bailey, 2000) 15 Transsexualism FtMs who are gynephilic, compared to androphillic, typically more interested in phalloplasty 16 8 3/17/24 Transitioning 4 Major Elements (World Professional Association for Transgender Health, 2008) First step: counselling and evaluation Probe history, mental health, motivation an education on the process and limitations Second step: “experience” 1-2yrs living like new gender Third step: initiate bodily change via hormone therapy Final step: Surgery (*for those who desire it ~1000/year in USA) 17 Transsexuality: FtoM Female to Male breasts, uterus, and ovaries are removed Two options for surgeries 1.Metoidioplasty (simpler, less expensive) clitoris, enlarged through testosterone therapy, formed into small penis. Labia are formed to look like a small scrotum 18 9 3/17/24 Transsexuality 2.Phalloplasty an artificial penis is created over several operations scrotum constructed using tissue from labia that is stretched and inserted with silicone penis clitoris is left in tact and remains sensitive to arousal 19 Transsexuality Most FtoM report orgasmic capacity following surgery reporting that they are shorter and more powerful (DeCuypere et al., 2005) 20 10 3/17/24 Transsexuality: MtoF Testes are removed, artificial vagina, clitoris, and labia are constructed from sensitive skin of penis and scrotum Breasts are implanted MtoF report having longer, smoother, and more intense orgasms 21 Several Surgical advancements Vocal cords (to raise pitch) Adam’s apple reduction Facial alteration (e.g., forehead/brow) Liposuction to waist *tissue engineers, using cells from recipient, can construct vaginas in a lab and implant them (Raya-Rivera et al., 2014) 22 11 3/17/24 Clinical Evidence Improvement of psychological and social adjustment (Lobato et al., 2006) 10 - 15% failure rate Study of 232 post-operative patients found no dissatisfaction * (Lawrence et al. 2005) Dissatisfaction often results when age of person increases and person was not carefully diagnosed (Gijs & Brewaeys, 2007) 23 Criticisms Meyer (1979) studied 29 receiving surgery and 21 who did not. No significant differences in adjustment between groups DeCuypere (2005) found different results MtF (86% happy with vagina) and FtM (89% happy with penis) were satisfied with reassignment surgery Blanchard (1985) found greater involvement in love relationships and reduced emotional distress 24 12 3/17/24 Causes of Transexualism Likely several pathways; not well understood Consider previously discussed pre-natal hormones Genes and Twin study support Brain structures Rarity makes study difficult 25 Causes of Transexualism Hypothesized Critical period in prenatal development: The fetus, to be male, must be... defeminized (Mullerian ducts degenerate) masculinized (Wolffian ducts thrive) Studies have found differences in MtF and typical men in limbic system (specifically the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis is larger in males) 26 13 3/17/24 Controversial Issues: Transsexuality as a medical issue DSM-IV states that children who express a strong and persistent cross-gender identity as well as discomfort with their own gender have gender identity disorder (GID) DSM-V removes GID and replaced it with Gender Dysphoria “… refers to the distress that may accompany the incongruence between one’s experienced or expressed gender and ones assigned gender” 27 Advocates for GID diagnosis Gender variation found in children as young as two or three years of age* If GID persists throughout childhood and sex reassignment seems almost certain then treatment will be more effective if youth does not go through pubertal processes of original gender (Delemarre-van de Waal & Cohen-Kettenis, 2006) 28 14 3/17/24 Critics Against GID diagnosis Longitudinal studies suggest that most children diagnosed with GID do not persist in identifying with opposite sex in adulthood (GIRES, 2006; Zucker, 2000, 2002) Diagnosis may be confused with gender role dissatisfaction (Bartlett et al., 2000) Support not treatment is therefore better (Vasey & Bartlett, 2007) 29 Dutch Research Group Knowing when to intervene (before/after puberty) controversial Longitudinal study (Steensma et al., 2013) Identifying ‘persisters’ who truly believe they are the other sex, rather than merely wanting to be the other sex 30 15 3/17/24 LGBTQQI2SAAPSGLHSC Lesbian Gay bisexual trangender questioning queer intersex two spirited asexual allies panseuxal same gender loving Heterosexual straight cisgender 31 Orientation Sexual Orientation: tendency to be attracted to men and/or women perhaps over simplistic and over emphasizes sexual aspects Affectional Orientation: the interaction between affect and cognition such that it produces attraction, erotic desire, and ultimately feelings of love for members of the other, same or both sexes 32 16 3/17/24 Non-Human Homosexual Behaviour 33 Historical Perspective Ancient Greeks acceptable only for the upper classes caused much moral debate among the philosophers never viewed positively by majority of individuals Romans similarly viewed among upper class St. Paul particularly disturbed by this Mark Anthony 34 17 3/17/24 Historical Perspective Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is an abomination Leviticus 18:22 Abomination (Hebrew toevah) is translated as ‘unclean’ and is also used to refer to men who shave their beards, have tattoos and eat lobster or shellfish Little documentation but Jews did separate themselves from the Romans where male-male sex was common 35 Historical Perspective Judeo-Christian In 390AD when Rome became Christian laws emerged banning homosexual behaviour and punishing with death Pope Gregory III in 8th century stating that the Town of Sodom was destroyed for homosexual sex Florence (circa 1432) “Office of the Night”, 17,000 investigations (1/2 of population) and 3,000 convictions Julius III (1550-1555) 36 18 3/17/24 Historical Perspective Islam has a complex relationship early Caliphates (e.g., Ummayad 600-700s AD) gave high status to gender non-conforming males and permitted gay relationships presently it has reverted to Abrahamic roots and many countries have a death penalty* Non-Western Cultural Attitudes toward Homosexuality preliterate societies (41% - 64% of societies) viewed homosexual acts as normal and socially acceptable 37 38 19 3/17/24 Historical Perspective Historically it was assumed everyone was heterosexual and possibly engaged in same sex acts Homosexual as a word first appears in English language in 1869 (Bullogh & Bullough, 1997) Popularity of the word changed it from doing a behaviour to becoming a certain person 39 Once labelled they were defined as … (Beard & Glickauf-Hughes, 1994) Treacherous unhappy shallow fixated narcissistic corrupt unfulfilled effeminate neurotic undependable predatory defective prudish immoral lonely depressed promiscuous mentally ill overly chatty incapable of intimacy 40 20 3/17/24 Also, less commonly… They can’t whistle They lack body hair They caused WWII and the American defeat in Vietnam War (Hedrick & Martin, 1984) 41 Labels Often there are discrepancies among sexual identity, sexual behaviour, and sexual desire National representative sample found 22% of men and 13% of women engaged in same sex behaviour but reported no desire for member of the same sex (Laumann, et al., 1994) Individuals who want to avoid sexual identity labels often identify as queer or unlabelled 42 21 3/17/24 Even Scientists put forth negative views This behaviour is caused by precocious masturbation at an early age and this can be rectified ! Richard von Kraft-Ebbing (1886) 43 Even Scientists put forth negative views “Primary interest [in homosexuality] is the penis, not the person” 44 22 3/17/24 Playboy Magazine, 1972 45 Homosexual Considering how the word homosexual emerged from a sexual act grew to be associated with negative connotations Understandably, individuals attracted to their own sex refer to themselves as gay or lesbian 46 23 3/17/24 Historical Perspective Stonewall Riots and Gay Rights Movement June 28th, 1969 was critical in the gay liberation movement in the USA 47 Symbols of Pride and Support 48 24 3/17/24 Homosexuality in Cananda 1969 homosexuality decriminalized 1995 govt passes Hate Crimes act imposing harsh penalties on those who assault minorities (such as gays, lesbians) 2005 House of Commons and Senate pass legislation extending civil marriage to same-sex couples 49 Historical Perspective 50 25 3/17/24 Prevalence of Homosexuality Kinsey: 3 - 4% Factors affecting survey results: social desirable responding sex of interviewer phrasing of question volunteer bias 51 Problems with Prevalence Stats Canada (2004): 1.3% of men, 0.7% women US Department of Health and Human Services (2014): 1.6% of men, 0.7% of women 52 26 3/17/24 Gallup Tracking Survey 2012 Age 18-29 30 - 49 50-64 65+ European % African American % males 3.9 6.1 females 8.6 9.6 males 3.1 3.6 females 3.3 3.4 males 3.0 2.3 females 2.3 2.6 males 2.4 4.1 females 1.5 2.0 53 YouGov.2015 54 27 3/17/24 YouGov.2015 55 Defining Sexuality Incidental homosexual experience More than Incidental homosexual experience Bisexual behaviour 56 28 3/17/24 Klein Orientation Grid (1985) Variable Past Present Ideal Sexual Attraction Sexual Behaviour Sexual Fantasies Emotional Preference Social Preference Self-Identification Hetero/Homo Lifestyle 57 Klein Orientation Grid (1985) Advantage: recognizes some people change over lifespan and behaviour, fantasy and friendship and love do not always align. Disadvantage: meanings of items easily misunderstood complex and time consuming psychometric properties are poor 58 29 3/17/24 The Sexuality Questionnaire (Alderson et al., 2013) 59 HIGH Defining Sexuality Storm Model (1980) 60 30 3/17/24 Asexuality Prevalence: 1% (sample of 18,000, Bogaert, 2004) Self-identified individuals often report: affectional orientation in that they can fall in love even though … low sexual desire and lack of sexual attraction may not develop an asexual identity despite masturbatory behaviour being in the normative range (Grotto et al.,2010; Prause & Graham, 2007) 61 Bisexuality Prevalence: 0.9% women, 0.6% males Biphobia Relationships: both bi-men/women emotionally attracted to women but sexually attracted to men. 20 - 33% involved with both in a polyamorous lifestyle (Page, 2004) 62 31 3/17/24 Sexual Flexibility Category-Specific sexual responding heterosexual men gay men lesbians Non-Specific sexual responding heterosexual females 63 male-female intercourse Naked man exercising man two men having sex masturbating two monkeys having sex control 64 32 3/17/24 male-female intercourse Naked female exercising female two ladies having sex masturbating two monkeys having sex control 65 Theories of Homosexuality Evolutionary Theory Biological Theories Learning (Behaviourist) Theory Interactionist Theory (Bem’s Model) Sociological Theory 66 33 3/17/24 Theories of Homosexuality Essentialists: belief that there is something innate about sexual desire and affectional orientation Social Constructionists: belief that all aspects of our sexuality are reconstructed as a result of interactions among historical, social and psychological variables and contexts 67 Evolutionary theory 68 34 3/17/24 Biological determinants Biological Theories Genetic factors Prenatal factors Brain factors Hormonal imbalance 69 Biological Theories 52% 70 35 3/17/24 Genetics Australian study of 25,000 pairs of male identical and fraternal twins aged 18-52 (Kirk, et al,. 2000) Genetic Influences could explain ~42 - 60% of observed variance in: sexual feelings and fantasies sexual attraction toward men attitudes toward same sex sexual behaviour number of actual male and female sexual partners 71 Biological Theories (prenatal) Prenatal Testosterone (Money, 1987) Too little: males have increased chance of identifying as gay Too much: females have increased chance of identifying as bisexual or lesbian Recently, (Brown, et al., 2002) found high levels of androgens in females plays a role in some cases of masculine lesbian women but not feminine lesbian women. 72 36 3/17/24 Hormonal Imbalance No support for hormonal testosterone differences in gay/straight males Clinicians nevertheless administered testosterone as therapy Guess what happens when you increase androgen levels in males? 73 Biological Theories (prenatal) Finger length differences Hetero Men: longer ring finger to index finger (reverse for females) Gay men: similar to straight female Problematic research differences are less than 1/16th of an inch depends on which hand depends on country of origin 74 37 3/17/24 Prenatal Hormonal Differences Critical period for the neural-hormonal control system – 2nd - 5th month of pregnancy – 1971 women were given DES to prevent miscarriage (It actually increased estrogen levels) (Meyer-Bahlburg, 1997). Years later there was higher proportion of lesbians – Stress to mother produces less testosterone and is thought to produce homosexual rats 75 If brain is different then shouldn’t there be non-sexual differences? Most people report words spoken to the right ear more accurately than to the left ear Gay males seem to have larger corpus callosom and can hear equally well out of both ears 76 38 3/17/24 Reliable Findings Handedness males have 34% greater chance of being left handed (Blanchard et al., 2006; Lalumiere et al., 2000) Fraternal Birth Order (Blanchard, 2004) greater # of older brothers a male has the more likely he’ll identify as gay Blanchard (2006) later found this was only true for right-handed gay males Gay males without older brother were more likely to be left-handed 77 Birth Order Effect May account for orientation in 1/7 gay males (Cantor et al., 2002) Possible immunological role (Bogaert & Skorska, 2011) Mother’s body supplies more antibodies in response to a male fetus than to a female fetus and a male fetus exposed to these changes the way the brain sexually differentiates during fetal development Odds increase 33% with each additional older brother as more antibodies are present 78 39 3/17/24 79 Theories: learning Theory Social Constructionist Perspective Behaviourists: research on bisexualism in other species and young humans suggest that rewards and punishments shape individual behaviour toward predominant heterosexual or homosexuality No research validation in humans 80 40 3/17/24 Theories: Bem Exotic to Erotic Interactionist theory biological influences on temperamental aggression and activity level Criticisms of theory 81 Theories: Sociological Theory labelling of ‘homosexual’ may have self-fulfilling prophesy Male-dominant societies with great maternal involvement, little paternal involvement and rigid gender roles have highest incidence of same sex behaviours in males 82 41 3/17/24 Cultural Differences Different cultures hold different views of samegender sexual behaviour Melanesia “Semen is also necessary for young boys to attain full growth to manhood... they need a boost, as it were. When a boy is eleven or twelve years old, he is engaged for several months in homosexual intercourse with a healthy older man chosen by his father” (Schieffelin, 1976, p. 124) 83 Cultural Differences Different cultures hold different views of samegender sexual behaviour Mexican communities Egyptian communities Latin America and Caribbean communities Chinese communities 84 42 3/17/24 Conversion Therapy Conversion/reparative therapy - any one of a number of treatments designed to turn LGBs into heterosexuals Usually pressure from family Does not change sexual orientation but makes individual feel very guilty American Psychiatric Association issued an official position statement opposing these therapies 85 Conversion Therapy Dr. Spitzer (2003) provided data showing that some gay men, highly motivated (usually by anti-gay religious beliefs), reported that they changed their sexual (but not affectional) orientation Critics: sampling bias and retrospective accounts In 2012 Spitzer apologized to gay community for “making unproven claims of the efficacy of reparative therapy" 86 43 3/17/24 Conversion Therapy Negative consequences (Cramer et al., 2008): increased suicidality anxiety and depression lowered self-esteem Increases in shame, self-loathing and internalized homophobia sexual dysfunction preoccupation with speech, mannerisms and gender-role expression increased feelings of aggression and hostility irrational fear of being a child abuser difficulty in establishing intimate relationships 87 LGB Teens (ryan et al., 2009) 6 times more likely to report high levels of depression 3.4 times more likely to use illegal drugs 3.4 times more likely to report unprotected sexual behavior 88 44 3/17/24 Coming Out... GLB teens reporting high levels of family rejection (Ryan et al., 2009): at least 50% experienced negative reactions when coming out 26% were thrown out of house 20-40% of homeless youth are LGB (Lockwood, 2008; Ray, 2006) compared to heterosexual homeless they are more at risk: to abuse drugs experience physical / sexual abuse (Chakraborty et al., 2011) 89 Coming Out... Positive come out experiences associated with: higher self-confidence lower rates of depression better psychological adjustment 90 45 3/17/24 Identification and Disclosure Self-identification: the process of coming out to accept for oneself a particular sexual identity label Biggest barrier to identity formation is Internalized homophobia (self-loathing) Greater identity integration associated with fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety and behavioural problems and also with greater self-esteem (Roasio, et al., 2011) 91 Identification and Disclosure Identity Disclosure: the process of telling another persons or other people your sexual identity label Better physically (Cole et al., 1996): Cancer, pneumonia, bronchitis and sinusitis higher in men who hid identity compared to those that did not Better mentally (Chow & Cheng, 2010) 92 46 3/17/24 Prejudice Against Same-Sex Oriented Individuals Negative beliefs surrounding the morality of same-sex behaviours are the strongest predictors of hate-crimes (Alden & Parker, 2005) Directly: (Beauchamp, 2008) 74% verbally assaulted 32% physically assaulted 9 % both physically and sexually assaulted Indirectly: internalized homophobia and self-harm 93 Heterosexual Porn Video Homophobes 94 47 3/17/24 Homophobes Lesbian Porn Video 95 Homophobes Homosexual Porn Video 96 48 3/17/24 Same-Sex Relationships Lesbian couple report greater satisfaction than gay or heterosexual couples (Spitalnick et al., 2005) More likely to remain friends after dissolution (Rothblum, 2009) less likely to engage in homophily (age, race, ses) (Rothblum, 2009) use fewer hostile tactics during times of conflict (Gottman et al., 2010) 97 Same-Sex Relationships Gay men :monogamous and non-monogamous couples were equally satisfied in their relationships Those in open relationships were most satisfied if they had explicit rules about extra-dyadic activity (Ramirez & Brown., 2010) 98 49