The construction of sexuality through culture and history Essay Example for Free

The kink of sex activity through and through culture and history EssayIntroduction The queer theory has led to questions on the sex in various cultures. Teresa de Lauretis is the person www. cddc. vt. eduwho came up with the phrase Queer Theory. It was at a on the job(p) conference on theorizing homointimate and gay sexualities that was held at the University of California, Santa Cruz in February 1990. Once the term queer was, at best, slang for homosexual, at worst, a term of homophobic abuse.Today queer has come to be utilise differently, virtuallytimes as an umbrella term for a coalition of culturally marginal sexual self-identifications and at other times to describe a theoretical model which has developed out of more traditionalistic lesbian and gay studies. Queer focuses on mismatches between sex, gender and desire. Institutionally, queer has been associated most prominently with lesbian and gay subjects, barely its analytic framework also accepts such topics a s cross-dressing, hermaphroditism, gender ambiguity and gender-corrective surgery. In many respects, Queer theory is grounded in gender and sexuality.Due to this association, a debate emerges as to whether sexual orientation is inseparable or intrinsic to the person, as an essentialist believes, or if sexuality is merely a construction and subject to change www. cddc. vt. edu. The essentialist theory was introduced to Queer Criticism as a by-product of feminism when the chiding was known by most as Lesbian/Gay Criticism. The feminists believed that both genders have an essential character (e. g. nurturing and caring versus being aggressive and selfish), as opposed to differing by a variety of accidental or contingent features brought about by social forces.Due to this belief in the essential nature of a person, it is also natural to engage that a persons sexual preference would be natural and essential to a persons personality, who they are. The Constructivists counters that the re is no natural, that all meaning is constructed through parley and there is no other subject other than the creation of meaning for social theory. In a Constructivist perspective, it is not straitlaced to take gay or lesbian as subjects with objective reality but rather they must(prenominal) be understood in name of their social context, in how genealogy creates these terms through history.Foucault explains in his The History of sex activity, 200 years ago www. ipce. info there was no linguistic course of study for gay male. Instead, the term that applied to sex between two men was sodomy. Over time, the homosexual was created through the discourses of medicine and especially psychiatry. What is conventionally understood to be the same practice was gradually transformed from a sinful lifestyle into an issue of sexual orientation. Foucault argues that prior to this discursive creation there was no such thing as a person who could think of himself as essentially gay. Queer the ory is principally addressing the issues on gender and sexuality.Due to this question, a debate arises as to whether sexual orientation is natural or essential to the person, or if sexuality is merely a construction and subject to change. This theory has led to critical review known by most raft as Lesbian/Gay Criticism. The feminists believed that both genders have an essential nature for example nurturing and caring versus being aggressive and selfish as opposed to differing by a variety of accidental or contingent features brought about by social forces. so natural to assume that a persons sexual preference would be natural and essential to a persons personality, who they are www. ipce. info.The Constructivists counter, that there is no natural, that all meaning is constructed through discourse and there is no other subject other than the creation of meaning for social theory. In a Constructivist perspective, it is not proper to take gay or lesbian as subjects with objective r eality but rather they must be understood in terms of their social context, in how genealogy creates these terms through history. Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures This refers to the behaviors, beliefs, knowledge, and references shared by members of sexual minorities or transgendered people by virtue of their membership in those minorities.Not all members of a particular sexual minority participate in, or are alive(predicate) of, the subculture that may be associated with them. In addition to simply not knowing that the culture exists, non-participants may be geographically or socially isolated, they may feel stigmatized by the subculture, they may simply dislike it (feeling it is outdated, corrupted, or does not align with their personal taste or style), or they may prefer to affiliate with some other culture or subculture.The sexual minorities Kaahumanu and Yaegerdefined by sexual orientation and gender identity include lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people (LGBT). they are often seen as having a common culture. The existence of (LGBT) has also been questioned by noting the expulsion of some of these groups by others for example, biphobia among gays and lesbians, transphobia among non-trans LGB people, or lack of inclusiveness of lesbians in gay milieu.For example, in some cities, especially in North America, gay men and lesbians tend to live in certain neighborhoods. This culture is mainly associated with the people of North America or Europe. LGBT communities also organize a number of events to celebrate their culture, such as Pride parades, the Gay Games and Southern Decadence the largest LGBT street fair in North America Kaahumanu and Yaeger.