Social Constructionist Perspective On Sexuality

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There are real and quantifiable variances between men and women and the ways they interact with each other in attributes such as emotions, intimacy and sexuality that can be predicted from a very young age (1). In this essay it will be argued that it is important to consider a social constructionist perspective on sexuality, rather than just looking at it biologically. It will also be argued that not only is a social constructionism perspective necessary when determining sexuality but it is also more important that biological determinism. Human sexuality can be defined as “How people experience and express themselves as sexual beings” (2). Biological determinism (expressionism), when determining sexuality, is the belief that biological factors…show more content…
Though constructionists do have a diverse range of opinions on the influence of society or biology over male/female sexuality, the common similarity in opinions is that although there are some innate biological differences between women and men, society is far more influential in the long term and is therefore more important (5). Constructionism supports all cultures by ascertaining a norm by which a cultural can thrive and by this, certain traits which may not be accepted on a global scale such as homosexuality or transsexuality would flourish and be nurtured. Constructionism also allows humanity to learn what is appropriate for the time, culture and society we currently live in. This socio-cultural normality is far more effective in today’s society than biological reasoning, especially in a progressive western society as humans learn through observation and by this, humans learn how to express their sexuality through what is suitable at the time, giving them free will rather than being tied down and categorised by biological rationale…show more content…
Research by Eliot suggests that although there are slight differences between the different sexes at birth, the way parents interact with their children and children can intensify those differences. Support for Biological Determinism may state that because men and women share such similar traits between their sexes that biology must be the reason why the differences exist. This may be somewhat true but correlation does not imply causation and there has been very little comprehensive evidence supporting this theory since the beginning of the 21st century. Additionally, although some differences have been discovered between baby boys and girls, it is still incredibly difficult to comprehend what these differences even mean in today’s society. For example, baby boys do on average have bigger heads and bigger brains than girls, but it is still unclear as to whether head or brain size has any actual effect on intelligence (7). It is a well-known fact that when people know the sex of a baby, they interact with it very differently. When researchers critically analyse shared characteristics that are often believed to be based in biology, there are often underlying explanations in which society also played a major
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