Essays on Sexual Identity

The novel ‘ABC Murder’ reflects around a serial killer, ABC, who kills individuals alphabetically. The killer, with an unknown identity, sends provoking letters to Poirot, who is identified to be a detective. However, ABC covers his act with Cust, whom he takes advantage of because of mental disability. He offers Cust a job on behalf of a stocking company and arranges for his presence at each murder scene. ABC, who privately kills individuals in different cities, is however identified to be Franklin Clarke (Christie, 2010). On the other hand, The Big Sleep features Marlowe, a detective, who is hired ...

It needs to be reckoned that the there is a difference between the sex of a person and the gender identity. In a society that is largely patriarchal in nature, the societal institutions come to impose the gender on the individual based on the sexual identity that the person is born with. However, this process of gender construction is not a natural phenomenon and can be described to be rather an imposition as per the parameters of patriarchy and its norms. As one goes through the story, All You Zombies, written by Robert A. Heinlein, one finds the exploration ...

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer movement (LGBTQ movement) is one that has faced a long history of oppression and repression at the hands of society. It has only been very recently that the LGBT movement has gained some traction in society. It seems to be a trend, overall: when society begins to transition and change, groups that have been downtrodden rise up and force society to confront its inequalities and imbalances. The issue of slavery is one example of such an issue, but so too is the women’s suffrage movement and, in more recent years, the ...

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Sometime back, this young boy was harassed at an elementary school by his seniors for being feminine. The matter is now in oblivion as no media covered the incident. Also, no action was taken against the harassers. One of the burning issues of the world in the present times is the incessant gender discrimination that thwarts the holistic development of the human society. In a society that is immensely patriarchal in nature, male dominance has become institutionalized. Concepts of gender have come to be complicated, as the individual is influenced by the hegemonic markers that tend to ascribe ...

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Introduction Sex has been considered to be a taboo topic in the human society. For many years, many people buried their heads in the sand and chose not to have public discussions about the topic (Aggleton and Iyer, 2014). This is because it was considered to be a private affair, only between those individuals involved in it. However, times have changed and the realization of increasing sexual activity amongst the youth facilitated the need for action. In this case, sex education was introduced in public schools in a bid to provide necessary information required in the conduct of sexual ...

Conscious-raising is the process through which personal problems of women are transformed into a shared awareness defining them as social or political concerns. It facilitates women understand the relationships between individual aspects and public systemic conditioning, which makes the personal aspect to be political. It comprises a fundamental component of social change. The stages in conscious-raising involve an individual woman presenting a certain issue of concern to other women. The issues presented by women are then discussed in the group, after which they undertake political actions in regard to issues affecting them. Conscious-raising still exists today in different forms and also takes ...

In gender theory the concept of women as a unified, homogeneous group is challenged through the theory of intersectionality. This theory states that the status of being female is not the only defining characteristic in oppression. As opposed to there being a unified experience of “female oppression” which defines all oppression experienced by women, oppression is defined by the interaction of gender with factors such as class, sexuality and culture (Carbado, 2013).

The movie Pariah displays a number of intersectional facets that interact to create identity. Gender and sexuality are the most obvious intersectional factors explored in the movie. However, Alike’ ...

Questions for Women and Cinema

Part I

1. Transgender It is a state in which an individual’s gender is not matching his or her assigned sex responsibility. It refers to the trans-genders, such as homosexual, bisexuals, heterosexual. In the Paris burning film, the issue of Transgender is explored using various characters men and women. For instance, Trans women used as members of the club to show realness. The women are sued to enhance transgender in the film, this shows that as much as they are women they can also compete men and become real (Besnier and Kalissa 34).

2. Monstrous-feminine The female ...

Sexual identity is said to be an individual's identity that mirrors their sexual perception. Everyone has a biological inclination that leads them to act a certain way, this is exact prior to being born. After which social and cultural factors causes changes in the way sexuality is oriented, in terms of heterosexual, bisexual, or homosexual tendencies. The combination of the components such as moral, religious, ethnic, occupational into a greater overall influence of developing the multi-dimensional construct of sexual identity. An individual's life, may or may not align with sexual orientation, biological sex or sexual behavior because sexual identity can ...

The Karate Kid, a quintessential film portraying the journey of an adolescent through the odds of life and the final triumph of life, serves to cinematically describe the stages of development of an adolescent individual. It would be extremely interesting to apply the theories of Erik Erikson in deciphering the cinematic essence of the film and having a comprehensive view of the matter.

Erikson describes the stage to be one when the adolescent is concerned about how others perceive of him or her. The superego of the adolescent grows as does the confidence of oneself. The child finally develops a sense of ...

Introduction

Human sexuality is how human beings express themselves sexually. Usually driven by desires of sexual pleasure, human sexuality has physical, biological, and emotional aspects. Biologically, human sexuality refers to the reproductive system as well as fundamental biological drive which exists in all the species and can include sexual contact and sexual intercourse in all forms (Birnbaum et al, 2001). Emotional aspects deal with deep emotions relating to social bonds and associated sexual acts. Physical aspects around sexuality range from medical considerations to physiological or psychological and even sociological aspects of sexual behaviors. In this paper, I will strive to ...

Women are mostly neglected in the society. The position of women remains unrecognized in most areas of the world. In early days, women were seen as wives whose obligations were to look after kids, cook and do cleaning and laundry The Landscape for a Good Woman tells the story of Carolyn’s childhood and her mother's refusal to mother. This implies how Edna, Carolyn’s mother ran away from the responsibilities of taking care of her two children as she even frankly tells them that were it, not for them; she would be somewhere else. Carolyn greatly challenges theory ...

Men and women can be “just friends,” but the circumstances dictate whether or not they remain platonic friends.

Rationale: Scientists have discovered that not only is platonic friendship possible, it is beneficial to both individuals in the friendship. Relevant Research: - Psychologists and their research on the purpose and function of inter-gender friendships - Evolutionary psychology and the meaning of sexual strategy

List the counter arguments you will need to address as well.

- Men and women often have difficulty remaining friends - Women sometimes approach relationships differently from men

Strategy:

- Differences between the way men and women approach relationships - Sexual identity and the meaning of sexual identity in relationships - Jealousy and infidelity in relationships

Cross-Sex Friendship: The So-Called “Impossibility” of Inter-Gender Platonic Love

There is an old ...

Chapter 4: Results

Introduction This chapter presents the results analysis of the study. As mentioned in the previous chapters, the research employs the use of questionnaire where the questions were set from different criterion. Then, after well completion and compilation of the questionnaire, it was presented to the fifty respondents identified to participate in the study. The results were coded into excel spreadsheets to create figures and tables for the purpose of easy analysis and interpretation.

Descriptive analysis

The purpose of the research is to establish whether the students/respondents enrolled in SSW 503/504 class are well competent with their cultural endurances. The compilation ...

- Introduction It was Sigmund Freud who first suggested that human psychosexual development is heavily influenced by one’s relationship with one’s father or mother (Katz-Wise 2). However, in reality, the development of sexuality is quite different and significantly more complex. Gender identity has become different from sexual identity, and one’s sexual orientation is different still (Katz-Wise 2). Before detailing the prevailing arguments regarding sexual identity and all the issues that go along with it, it is first important to understand the nature of the discussion. Sexual identity, for the purposes of discussion here, will ...

Men and women can be “just friends,” but the circumstances dictate whether or not they remain platonic friends.

Rationale: Scientists have discovered that not only is platonic friendship possible, it is beneficial to both individuals in the friendship. Relevant Research: - Psychologists and their research on the purpose and function of inter-gender friendships - Evolutionary psychology and the meaning of sexual strategy

List the counter arguments you will need to address as well.

- Men and women often have difficulty remaining friends - Women sometimes approach relationships differently from men

Strategy:

- Differences between the way men and women approach relationships - Sexual identity and the meaning of sexual identity in relationships - Jealousy and infidelity in relationships

Cross-Sex Friendship: The So-Called “Impossibility” of Inter-Gender Platonic Love

There is an old ...

In the exploration of homosexuality and heterosexuality, certain binaries are often presented – if you have sex with a man, you can in no way be heterosexual. Despite this, there is a vibrant, substantial and highly prevalent subculture of men who identify as heterosexual, but nonetheless still have sex with men. To that end, questions abound regarding their real sexual orientation, the motivations behind labeling themselves heterosexual, and whether or not that really applies to them. The answer to this question lies in a complex plethora of factors, ranging from the construction of homosexuality and heterosexuality, issues of whiteness and masculinity, the heterosexual ...

In the exploration of homosexuality and heterosexuality, certain binaries are often presented – if you have sex with a man, you can in no way be heterosexual. Despite this, there is a vibrant, substantial and highly prevalent subculture of men who identify as heterosexual, but nonetheless still have sex with men. To that end, questions abound regarding their real sexual orientation, the motivations behind labeling themselves heterosexual, and whether or not that really applies to them. The answer to this question lies in a complex plethora of factors, ranging from the construction of homosexuality and heterosexuality, issues of whiteness and masculinity, the heterosexual ...

The sexual culture has been a topic of great concern following critics that have faced members of the sexual minority. This is because according to the past, socials and religious beliefs, there only exists one sexual culture of which its heterosexuality. This is due to the way people have been brought up to view the sexual minorities. The society at large beliefs that heteronormativity is the only sexual orientation where man and woman have natural roles. Despite this belief there is the existence of the sexual minority, the queer people who recognize homosexuality as a sexual culture. This has been witnessed ...

Culturally-competent nursing

Culturalogical assessment is significant while providing nursing care to individuals, families, groups and institutions of diverse cultures and backgrounds. Leininger’s theory of culture care diversity and universality (CCDU) emphasizes on the vital role of nurses in entering the client’s world to discover cultural knowledge embedded within individual and family values. Therefore, nurses should be knowledgeable about the client’s culture and factors influencing their needs and lifeways. In today’s era of globalization, diverse populations are disseminated in all corners of the world. Barriers exist in the healthcare practices for the diverse populations and there is ...

Gender roles are the differentiated social and behavioral norms that are associated with individuals of a particular sex. Social and cultural factors assume a central position in defining gender roles. This is mainly in terms of interpersonal relationship and personality of a person, meaning that the level of socialization is highly dependent on the biological and physiological differences. Gender roles differ in reference to cultural and historical context. The society expresses the idea of gender identity in terms masculinity, femininity and variant genders or a gender-neutral behavior, clothing, hairstyle and body characteristics. This paper analyzes the impacts of macro and micro influences in ...

The Chinese opera The White-haired Girl which was created in the 1940s and based on a folktale achieved a great success in Yan’an. Because of its big following, this story was further adapted to a film in the 1950s, and to a ballet in the 1960s. With the evolution of different versions, The White-haired Girl had gradually transformed from being a fantastic folk legend into a national myth concentrating on class, liberation, and revolution. In order to understand and explore such transformation, this paper will utilize the story’s 1945 opera edition, its 1950 film version, and its 1965 ballet adaptation as research texts. ...

Sexual education: annotated bibliography

Brewer, G., Brown, M.B., Migdal, M.J. The importance of appropriate sexual education. Washington, D.C.: the Center for Inquiry Office of public Policy, 2007. Web The paper investigates the role of school programs about human sexuality, providing the overview of existing programs and criticizing abstinence-only sexual education. After having observed differences between abstinence-based sexual education in the U.S. and programs, functioning in other industrialized countries, authors have provided their views on comprehensive sexual education program to be developed in the U.S. This source is crucial for the research as it provides multifaceted view on importance of sexual education and ...

Saudi Arabia is a land where religion is set on the pedestal and lives are governed by the norms and regulations of the holy texts. As it is known to the entire world, Islam is interpreted as quite orthodox in its approach toward life and the Muslims live a life of discipline and sanctity. I was born in a household where I found much love from my parents. I remember the early days of my life when I used to play with my elder brother at home with the toys. Childhood is the time of the construction of one’s gender. Interestingly, ...

Gender Identity

Specific behavioral patterns of great biological importance are mostly regulated by chemical substances produced by the brain. Most importantly, hormones have a role in differentiation of sexually dimorphic behavior. The term “hormone” is used to refer to a chemical substance that travels around the body influencing physiology and behavior (Bayliss & Starling, 1902). Intracranial functions could be influenced and altered by other substances found elsewhere. This paper is concerned with the neural-hormonal control of sexual behavior and the eventual determination of sexual identity. As opposed to early studies of hormones on sexual behavior that were largely dominated by psychologists rather than ...

Introduction

Sexuality is a crucial part of human life; it determines how we perceive ourselves and interact with others (Dyson, 6). Throughout the lifespan, individuals learn about sex and sexuality from a variety of sources; these sources can be constructive or destructive, conservative or open. How and when we learn about sexuality, determines acquires attitudes, values beliefs, behaviors, practices, roles and relationships (McKay, 71). Sexuality involves; sex, sexual orientation, gender roles and identities, pleasure, intimacy and reproduction. Individuals acquire information on sexuality through; parents, siblings, culture, peers, the media and personal experiences. All these factors contribute, in some way, to the development ...

History of Culturally Adapted Intervention

Culturally adapted therapies or culturally-centered therapies refer to the psychotherapeutic intervention which addresses the cultural characteristics of diverse clients, including his beliefs and value systems, attitudes and socio-economic and historical contexts (Sperry, 2009). It utilizes traditional healing methods and pathways, like the following: cuento therapy and morita therapy. The former addresses culturally relevant concepts such as familismo and personalismo with the use of folk tales (cuento) (Sperry, 2009). Meanwhile, the latter was originated from Japan and is now widely used throughout the world for various mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and shyness (Sperry, 2009). The idea that culturally ...

Abstract

This paper examines the correlative effects of stress levels on examination results, particularly in areas of academic study where students are already struggling. The research examines the test scores and stress levels of remedial and basic-level mathematics students in the undergraduate level, tracking their changes in stress level over time and the effects that changes in stress level has on a student’s academic performance in in-class mathematics examinations.

Introduction

Stress levels can seriously affect the overall quality of life that an individual is able to achieve. In tertiary institutions like colleges and universities, stress levels for students just learning to ...

The Karate Kid, a quintessential film portraying the journey of an adolescent through the odds of life and the final triumph of life, serves to cinematically describe the stages of development of an adolescent individual. In the essay, I apply the theories of Erik Erikson in deciphering the cinematic essence of the film and having a comprehensive view of the matter. Erikson describes the stage to be one when the adolescent is concerned about how others perceive of him or her. The superego of the adolescent grows as does the confidence of oneself. The child finally develops a sense of sexual ...

There has been much research done based on the actual meaning of sexual orientation. One aspect that we look more closely at in sexual orientation is sexual attraction. One point that everyone should remember is that, sexual attraction is not a choice, but it is a natural feeling, a desire for someone. Since sexual orientation is not by choice, most people wonder what makes someone homosexual. Did they “choose” to be homosexual? This paper purposes to determine whether one’s sexual orientation needs to fit in a certain category. Also, why does one person’s sexual orientation and attraction become a critical discussion for ...

Alienation

The concept of alienation is a one of the central constructs of Marxian theory. This concept was used for description of a capitalist mode of production when workers lost control over the means of production. In accordance with Knox & Pinch (2010) it is described as “a mechanism of social change” and relates another concept of deviant behavior in wider sociopolitical connotation (p.215). Later alienation was used by the early deterministic theorists because it was of a great interest when studying spatial variations of people behavior (Amin, 2002). Marx outlined several reasons of alienation. Firstly, alienated person feels like economic, social ...

The four main developmental stages of psychological development are childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. Adolescence is a form of transition from childhood to adulthood, and it is the most confusing developmental stage because people begin to question and discover their personal identity, social identity, and social roles. Adolescence is a stage of development during which people develop objectives, values, and beliefs which will serve as their principles and guidelines during adulthood. However, building an identity does not have to necessarily end with adolescence, and suppressed or false identity issues can arise at any point during adulthood. Although people can experience ...

The difference between men and women was established at the beginning of human history, at least according to Old Testament lore, as one of the ribs inside the first man was taken out and made into the first woman. Her dependence on and apparent obedience to him is suggested in her title: “helpmeet” (at least according to the King James Version). And so the tense and occasionally contradictory relationship between men and women began, and gender analysis likely began soon after. Consider the role of Helen of Troy – a woman of extraordinary beauty was able to lead a life of luxury ...