An essentialist approach to sexuality is based on the belief that how an individual understands and experiences their sexual identity is predetermined by their sex and gender. In this approach, sexuality is stable, predictable, and inherent because it is biologically acquired at birth (Rubin 1999:149). In his work, Seidman explain the theories of Judith Butler where society is organized into two distinct gender identities, male and female, which in turn influence ideas of sexual identity and attraction. In an essentialist perspective, an individual who is given the label of male at birth, based on their sex organs and characteristics, inherits a heterosexual identity that motivates their behavior and attraction towards females (2010: 36).
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This is distinguished from the constructionist approach that claims sexual identity is a fairly recent system of categorization. According to Weeks, sexual acts and an individual’s sexual identity were initially not connected or reflective of one another (2010: 32). For example, when two men engaged in sodomy a focus was placed on whether the act in itself was acceptable, it was the act that was frowned upon. The character of the individual was not questioned or labeled. Weeks explains that the introduction of homosexuality, versus heterosexuality, began to emerge when morality became associated with sexual acts (2010: 36). According to a constructionist approach, in order for the homosexual identity to emerge, individuals participated in an interpretive process that reviewed these sexual acts and gave them meaning, or definition. These categories of sexuality did not arise naturally as believed to occur in an essentialist …show more content…
I was not born a heterosexual; instead I learned how to perform a heterosexual identity through the rules, norms, and ideas present in the society. Weeks’ theory of compulsory heterosexuality explains that society is organized into two distinct genders, male and female, and ideas of how they should interact amongst each other are embedded into society and reinforced by institutions (2010: 41). For example, through my family, my parents’ relationship taught me that women should date men and the role that each individual should play in the household. From the media, I learned how to be feminine, how to find men attractive, and the importance in engaging in a monogamous relationship. Furthermore, my Catholic religion contended that only heterosexual relationships are acceptable in the eyes of
This is distinguished from the constructionist approach that claims sexual identity is a fairly recent system of categorization. According to Weeks, sexual acts and an individual’s sexual identity were initially not connected or reflective of one another (2010: 32). For example, when two men engaged in sodomy a focus was placed on whether the act in itself was acceptable, it was the act that was frowned upon. The character of the individual was not questioned or labeled. Weeks explains that the introduction of homosexuality, versus heterosexuality, began to emerge when morality became associated with sexual acts (2010: 36). According to a constructionist approach, in order for the homosexual identity to emerge, individuals participated in an interpretive process that reviewed these sexual acts and gave them meaning, or definition. These categories of sexuality did not arise naturally as believed to occur in an essentialist …show more content…
I was not born a heterosexual; instead I learned how to perform a heterosexual identity through the rules, norms, and ideas present in the society. Weeks’ theory of compulsory heterosexuality explains that society is organized into two distinct genders, male and female, and ideas of how they should interact amongst each other are embedded into society and reinforced by institutions (2010: 41). For example, through my family, my parents’ relationship taught me that women should date men and the role that each individual should play in the household. From the media, I learned how to be feminine, how to find men attractive, and the importance in engaging in a monogamous relationship. Furthermore, my Catholic religion contended that only heterosexual relationships are acceptable in the eyes of