Sex and Sexuality

Symbolic Interaction, 2010

"In everyday life, people negotiate complex terrain—and that is radically true of sexual experience. We potentially come to terms with sexuality most anywhere and at any given moment. We confront sexualities in bedrooms which, as Murray Davis (1983) aptly observes, “is the only major room in the house named after a piece of furniture instead of its central activity, probably because what takes place there (besides sleeping) has been unmentionable” (p. 23). We confront sexualities in doctors’ offices, which are carefully and dramaturgically fashioned to eliminate or neutralize sexual interactions, meanings, and emotions (Smith and Kleinman 1989)—that is certainly the case of the pelvic exam (Henslin and Biggs 1971) and, although we are unaware of any empirical studies, we safely assume that most men do not conclude their prostate exam by asking the doctor “was it good for you?” We confront sexualities in our email, even when we don’t want it...."

Rethinking History, 2006

Psychological Assessment, 2016

Consistent with symbolic interactionism and motivation research, the study explored the meanings of sexual behavior in romantic relationships in a sample of 3,003 online respondents. Starting with a pool of 104 respondent-generated items, Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor analyses in separate sample halves revealed a stable set of 9 dimensions within that item pool that formed 2 higher-order factors representing positive (to share pleasure, to bond, to de-stress, to energize the relationship, to learn more about each other) and negative (to manage conflict, as an incentive, to express anger, and to control partner) meanings of sexual behavior within relationships. Item Response Theory analyses helped select the 4-5 most effective items of each dimension for inclusion in the Meanings of Sexual Behavior Inventory (MoSBI). Generalizability analyses suggested that the MoSBI subscale scores continued to show high levels of internal consistency across a broad range of demographic subgroups (e.g., racial/ ethnic groups, gay and lesbian respondents, and various levels of education). The MoSBI subscales demonstrated moderate and distinct patterns of association with a range of conceptual boundary scales (e.g., relationship and sexual satisfaction, emotional support, negative conflict behavior, and frequency of sexual behavior) suggesting that these scales represent novel relationship processes. Consistent with this, analyses in the 862 respondents completing a 2-month follow-up assessment suggested that the meanings of sexual behavior predicted residual change in relationship satisfaction, even after controlling for frequency of sexual behavior within the relationships. Implications are discussed. Public Significance Statement This study develops a self-report measure assessing positive and negative meanings of sexual behavior within romantic relationships (e.g., to bond with a partner, to relieve stress, and to control a partner). Predictive analyses over 2 months suggest that the meanings underlying sexual activity might be as important as the frequency of sexual activity for shaping the course of relationships over time.

Referencing readings and my own experiences

The Words of Sexuality Linguistic, Semiotic analysis of sexuality, 2021

Almost the whole of Western culture has adopted the word sexuality to describe the dynamics of the various sexual acts, the feelings and emotions that these acts evoke, but also elements of identity. But what words existed in every culture before the word "sexuality" prevailed? Did they have the same meaning? The linguistic and semiotic analysis of the words and phrases we use to describe the phenomena surrounding human sexuality can raise interesting questionings. This acquires great value in our era where sexuality is in an open dialogue or confrontation with everything that defined it until now such as ethics, society, culture, religion and biology itself.

Sex Roles, 2004

The pioneers of the science of sex looked at male and female sexuality as fundamentally opposed: the one aggressive and forceful, the other passive and responsive. According to Weeks, they elaborated three concepts -sex, gender, and sexuality -through a parallel set of binary oppositions, such as, male/female, masculine/feminine, and active/passive . Down the centuries, the male chauvinists depict the sex act as euphoric --initiated and orchestrated by male but muted versions of the women. For, men in any society are portrayed as the possessors of the clamorous urge for sex and women, hopelessly their captives. The women are considered sex objects in terms of their physical attractiveness and their character and abilities are not earnestly viewed. Sexism practiced in the male dominated society also paves way for the subordination of women suppressing their body and mind.

Theoretical & Philosophical Psychology, 1992

Drawing on postmodern trends such as hermeneutics and social constructionism, this paper takes issue with the biological focus of traditional theories of sexuality, arguing that such theories are characterized by a reductionism which precludes meaningfulness and an individualism which precludes genuine intimacy. They thus offer an essentially barren account of what is otherwise a richly meaningful human activity. A more fruitful account of human sexuality begins with acknowledging that sexuality is a fundamentally social and meaningful phenomenon and that it can only be understood in the social, historical and moral context in which human beings live and act. If the linguistic aspect of sexuality were at the heart of our theories, biological information could be given its proper place as context for our understanding. Some implications of coming to terms with the moral context for our theories are briefly explored. Few topics seem to belong so rightly to the domain of psychology as human sexuality. Requisite to our very existence and tightly woven into the fabric of human relationships, sexual intimacy is inseparable from human life. From the much popularized (and much misunderstood) Freudian theories of psychosexual development to suggestion that sexuality is the best root metaphor for all human intimacy, our understanding of human sexuality has been central to our understanding of ourselves. From the point of view of postmodernism, it is therefore intensely ironic that prevailing theories of sexuality reflect so little of what is most human about us. In a general way, traditional theories of sexuality fall prey to the same criticisms which postmodernists make of virtually all mainstream psychology. In the particular, I will outline here a few of the most telling problems with current theory and sketch the beginnings of a postmodern alternative.

Sex and the Ancient City

What this volume is about: Terms, contexts and topics Much time has passed since scholars were afraid that their papers and lectures about, or pedagogical discussions of, aspects of ancient Greek and Roman sexuality could be seen as inappropriate or even offensive. Nowadays, a Cambridge Dean, unlike the one mentioned in E.M. Forster's novel, Maurice, would never ask a student to omit "a reference to the unspeakable vice of the Greeks", i.e. pederasty. 1 Despite the study of gender and sexuality in the classical world being a relatively new field of enquiry, which has really only developed over the last thirty-five years, there is a booming interdisciplinary bibliography discussing as many as possible of the myriad particulars of ancient Greek and Roman sexuality and gender. What is still relatively understudied in classical scholarship, a battleground where many claims are still contested, is sex and sexual practices themselves. This volume aims to revisit, further explore and, through updated interdisciplinary approaches, shed more light on the textual and non-textual sources that help us reconstruct a clearer, more coherent and precise overarching picture of sex and all the practices related to it in Greco-Roman antiquity. Let us start with an attempt to explain the use, in this volume, of terminology. There is a term in the subtitle of the volume which is of fundamental importance for marking the purposes and (the limits of) the content of the present book, which should be given a semantic clarification: sexuality. Sexuality remains a contested notion that cannot be unanimously defined. M. Foucault, D. Halperin and J. Butler, among other cultural constructionists, point out that it is a modern concept, being the product of acculturation that differs from time to time and from culture to culture, and that any theory about its application in the ancient world is permeated by modern sensibilities. 2 For Halperin, sexuality is a cultural construction and an object of cultural interpretation that is attached to specific