Sexuality and Society Chapter 8 Klemp-North

Sex: A Biological Issue The biological distinctions between females and males Primary sex characteristics Organs used for reproduction Secondary sex characteristics Bodily development that distinguishes mature males and females

Sex and the Body Intersexual people (hermaphrodites) Transsexuals Possessing some combination of female and male genitalia Transsexuals People who feel emotionally linked to one sex, but are biologically the other Often expressed feeling is “trapped in the body of the wrong sex” Disregard conventional ideas about how males and females look and behave

Sex: A Cultural Issue Cultural variation The incest taboo Showing affection and sexual position Notions of modesty Restrictions placed upon openness The incest taboo Found in every society The norm forbidding sexual relations between certain relatives

National Map 8.1 First-Cousin Marriage Laws across the United States

The Sexual Revolution 1960s: A new openness toward sexuality Birth-control pills Double standard challenged Premarital and extramarital sex Men and women are almost equal in the percent reporting premarital sex. American youth broadly accept premarital sex. 75% of men and 90% of women remain faithful during marriage.

The Sexual Revolution Sex between adults Sex over the life course 1/3 have sex a few times a year or not at all 1/3 have sex once to a few times a month 1/3 have sex with a partner two or more times a week Sex over the life course Patterns of change with age. Males are sexually active by age 16, females by age 17. Age 60: 85% of men and 60% of women say they've been sexually active in the past year. Sexual activity is a normal part of life for most older adults.

Figure 8.1 The Sexual Revolution: Closing the Double Standard

Sexual Attitudes in the US The sexual counterrevolution The return to sexual responsibility Limited partners STDs Premarital sex

Global Map 8.1 Contraceptive Use in Global Perspective

Table 8.1 How We View Premarital and Extramarital Sex

Romantic and emotional attraction to another person Sexual Orientation Romantic and emotional attraction to another person Heterosexuality “Hetero:” the other of two Homosexuality “Homo:” the same Bisexuality Strong attraction to both sexes Asexuality No sexual attraction Roots of sexual orientation Mounting biological evidence for genetics Can’t discount social influences

Figure 8.2 Four Sexual Orientations A person’s level of same-sex attraction and opposite-sex attraction are two distinct dimensions that combine in various ways to produce four major sexual orientations. Source: Adapted from Storms (1980).

Figure 8.3a Sexual Orientation in the United States: Survey Data (a) How Many Gay People? The percentage of people who are classified as having a homosexual orientation depends on how this concept is operationalized. Research suggests that 2.8% of adult men and 1.4% of adult women claim a homosexual identity. Source: Adapted from Laumann et al. (1994).

Figure 8.3b Sexual Orientation in the United States (b) Attitudes toward Homosexual Relations, 1973-2004 Between 1990 and 2002, the percentage of U.S. adults who disapprove of homosexual relations went down. Between 2002 and 2004, however, it rose slightly and now stands at about 60 percent. Source: NORC (2005)

Figure 8.4 Opposition to Homosexual Relationships: Attitudes of First-Year College Students, 1980-2006

Sexual Controversies Teen pregnancy Highest rates of other high-income countries Sex education in schools: solution or problem?

National Map 8.2 Teenage Pregnancy Rates across the United States

Pornography Sexually explicit material that causes sexual arousal Supreme Court gives local communities the power to decide what violates “community standards.” Criticized for moral and political reasons American Porn

The selling of sexual services. Prostitution The selling of sexual services. Social and cultural ties Strongest in low-income countries where: patriarchy is strong. opportunities to earn a living are restricted. Types of prostitution “Call girls” Workers in controlled parlors “Street walkers” A “victimless crime?” Police stage only occasional crackdowns. Law enforcement is likely to target “Johns” who attempt to buy sex.

Global Map 8.2 Prostitution in Global Perspective

Sexual Violence and Abuse A culture of rape Sexual violence includes verbal abuse, rape, and assault. Rape A violent act that uses sex to hurt, humiliate, or control another person Date rape (or acquaintance rape) Forcible sexual violence against women by men they know Myths about rape Rape always involves strangers. Women provoke their attackers. Rape is simply sex.

Theoretical Analysis Structural-functional analysis Need to regulate sexual behavior Latent function Symbolic-interaction analysis The social construction of sexuality Sexual practices vary from culture to culture. Social-conflict analysis Highlights dimensions of inequality Shows how sexuality reflects patterns of social inequality and helps perpetuate them. Queer theory–Research findings that challenge the heterosexual bias in US society.

Applying Theory Sexuality

The Abortion Controversy The deliberate termination of a pregnancy Roe v.Wade (1973) Established legal access to abortion Pro-choice Support a woman’s right to choose abortion Pro-life Abortion is morally wrong Circumstances of the pregnancy Makes a big difference in how people see this issue

Controversy and Debate When Should the Law Allow a Woman to Choose Abortion? Source: NORC (2005)

The Last Abortion Clinic Frontline Special

The recognized violation of cultural norms Deviance The recognized violation of cultural norms

The recognized violation of cultural norms Deviance The recognized violation of cultural norms Norms guide almost all human activities Most familiar examples are negative instances of rule-breaking. Especially righteous people also might be called “deviant.” “Different” or “unexpected” are often used to describe deviance from a sociological perspective. Crime (laws) Violation of a society’s formal criminal law Criminal deviance spans a wide range of behaviors

The attempts a society makes at regulating thought and behavior Social Control The attempts a society makes at regulating thought and behavior Criminal justice system A formal response by police, courts, and prison officials to alleged violations of the law. Biological context Biological factors might have a real but modest effect on whether a person becomes a criminal. Personality factors Deviance is viewed as unsuccessful “socialization.”

Karl Menninger “The inescapable conclusion is that society secretly wants crime and needs crime.”

Social Foundations of Deviance Deviance varies according to cultural norms. No thought or action is inherently deviant. People become deviant as others define them that way. How others perceive and label us Both norms and the way people define rule-breaking involve social power. Rule-makers, rule-breakers, and rule-enforcers Norms and applying them are linked to social position.

Deviance and Culture To Polynesians tattoos are symbols of high social standing. How are tattoos regarded in our society?

Durkheim's Basic Insight Deviance affirms cultural values and norms. There can be no good without evil and no justice without crime. Responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries. People draw a boundary between right and wrong. Responding to deviance brings people together. People typically react to serious deviance with shared outrage. Deviance encourages social change. Deviant people push a society’s moral boundaries.

Merton’s Strain Theory Conformity Pursuing conventional goals through normal means Innovation Unconventional means to achieve approved goals Ritualism Accept institutional means; reject goals Rebellion Define new goals and means to achieve goals

Merton “It is the conflict between culturally accepted values and the socially structured difficulties of living up to these values which exerts pressure toward deviant behavior and disruption of the normative system”

Figure 9.1 Merton’s Strain Theory of Deviance Combining a person’s view of cultural goals and the conventional means to obtain them allowed Robert Merton to identify various types of deviance. Source: Merton (1968).

Deviant Subcultures Cloward and Ohlin Cohen Miller Anderson Extended Merton’s theory Cohen Delinquency is most common among lower-class youths because they have the least opportunity for conventional success. Miller Delinquent subcultures: trouble, toughness, smartness, need for excitement, belief in fate, desire for freedom Anderson In poor urban neighborhoods, most people conform to conventional values.

Labeling Deviance Symbolic-interaction analysis Primary deviance The assertion that deviance and conformity result not so much from what people do as from how others respond to those actions. Primary deviance Norm violations that most people take part in with little harm to self-concept Secondary deviance When people “make something” of another’s deviant behavior Stigma Powerful negative label that greatly changes a person’s self-concept and social identity

Labeling Deviance Retrospective labeling Projective labeling Re-interpreting someone’s past in light of present deviance Projective labeling Predicts future deviant behavior Medicalization of deviance Transform moral and legal deviance into a medical condition How people respond Personal competence of the deviant person

Sutherland’s Differential Association Deviant behavior is learned. Frequency of association is central to the development of deviance. If associates are prone to violation of norms, then one is also more likely to take part. Conformity reaps rewards while the lack of it reaps punishment.

Hirschi’s Control Theory Attachment Strong social attachments encourage conformity. Opportunity The greater the access to legitimate opportunity, the greater the advantages of conformity. Involvement Extensive involvement in legitimate activities inhibits deviance. Belief Strong belief in conventional morality and respect for authority controls deviance.

Social-Conflict Analysis Deviance and Power Norms or laws reflect interests of rich and powerful. Powerful have resources to resist deviant labels. Belief that norms and laws are natural and good masks political character

Deviance and Capitalism Steven Spitzer’s likely targets of labeling People who interfere with capitalism. People who cannot or will not work. People who resist authority. Anyone who directly challenges the status quo White-collar crime Those committed by people of high social position in the course of their occupations Corporate crime Illegal actions of a corporation or people acting on its behalf Organized crime A business supplying illegal goods or services

Deviance, Race, and Gender Hate crime A criminal act against a person or person’s property by an offender motivated by racial or other bias Gender The world applies more stringent normative controls to women. Strain due to reality of gender-based inequality Judge the behavior of women and men differently Why do women commit fewer crimes than men?

Applying Theory Deviance

Crime The act itself Criminal intent Direct violence or threat of it The violation of criminal laws enacted by a locality, state, or the federal government Two elements The act itself Criminal intent Crimes against the person Direct violence or threat of it Crimes against property Involves theft of property Criminal statistics Victimization surveys: Crime rate is two to four times higher than official reports

National Map 9.1 The Risk of Violent Crime across the United States

The Street Criminal: A Profile Ages 15-24 14% of population 39.7% of arrests for violent crime, 45% of property crimes Gender Males commit 67.4% of property crimes and 82% of violent crimes Social class Violent crimes committed by a few in poor neighborhoods White-collar and corporate crime committed by more affluent Race and ethnicity 69.8% of arrests involve white people People of color are over-criminalized

Figure 9.2 Crime Rates in the United States, 1960-2005 The graphs show the rates for various violent crimes and property crimes during recent decades. Since about 1990, the trend has been downward. Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (2006)

Crime in Global Perspective United States The US crime rate is high by world standards. The rate of US violent crime is several times higher than in Europe. Elliott Currie: Crime stems from our culture’s emphasis on individual economic success, frequently at the expense of strong families and neighborhoods. Other countries Crime rates are high in some of the world’s largest cities, which have rapid population growth and millions of poor. The traditional character of low-income societies and their strong families allow informal crime control outside of big cities. Different countries have different strategies for dealing with crime.

US Criminal Justice System Due Process The criminal justice system must operate according to law. This principle is grounded in the Bill of Rights. Anyone charged with a crime must receive: Fair notice of the proceedings A hearing on the charges conducted according to law and with the ability to present a defense, A judge or jury that weighs evidence impartially

US Criminal Justice System Due Process Police: Primary point of contact between population and criminal justice system The police maintain public order by enforcing the law. Officers quickly size up situations in terms of six factors. Gravity of situation Victim’s wishes Cooperation of suspect Has suspect been arrested before? Presence of observers increases chances of arrest Officers are more likely to arrest people of color.

Global Map 9.1 Capital Punishment in Global Perspective

US Criminal Justice System Courts Plea bargaining: A legal negotiation in which a prosecutor reduces a charge in exchange for a defendant’s guilty plea. Widespread because it spares the system the time and expense of trials. Pressures defendants to plead guilty. Undercuts both the adversarial process and the rights of defendants

Justifications for Punishment Retribution An act of moral vengeance by which society makes the offender suffer as much as the suffering caused by the crime Deterrence The attempt to discourage criminality through the use of punishment Rehabilitation A program for reforming the offender to prevent later offenses Societal protection Rendering an offender incapable of further offenses temporarily through imprisonment or permanently by execution. Restorative Restore the community and individual to the state prior to the act.

Summing Up Four Justifications for Punishment

Community-Based Corrections Correctional programs operating within society at large rather than behind prison walls. Probation A policy permitting a convicted offender to remain in the community under conditions imposed by a court Shock probation When a judge orders a convicted offender to prison for a short time, then suspends the remainder of the sentence. Parole Releasing inmates from prison to serve the remainder of their sentences in the community.

Violent Crime Is Down Reduction in youth population Changes in policing More prisons Better economy Declining drug trade