Sociology

Sociology Study Guide

institution, which leads to the creation of families – a necessity for every society. In effect, society has always regulated sexual behavior. Kingsley Davis was one of the first sociologists to study sexuality. He thought that sexual behavior is a learned behavior; he thought that socialization played a large part in a person’s internalizing the appropriate sexual actions. He hypothesized that individuals are born with powerful sexual drives and through norms and taboos, individuals are guided to appropriate behavior. The appropriateness of sexual activities is social in nature; human sexuality is flexible and societies tend to reflect the majority thoughts on what is right and what is wrong. Different cultures show a large variation of what is practiced, especially in preindustrial societies. There are, however, similar norms or cultural universals found in every society studied. • Incest taboos, powerful moral prohibitions against sexual relations betweencertain relatives. • Institution of marriage: It is within this institution that every society expects sexual behavior to be expressed. o Marriage is defined as a socially acceptable arrangement between two people. o Marriage helps regulate sexual relations, ensures legitimate birth, provides for a balanced socialization of children with a two-parent household. o 2/3 of selected societies forbid adultery. • Heterosexuality: Every society indicates at least some conformity to heterosexuality in order to reproduce. o 1/3 of societies forbid homosexuality. o 2/3 tolerate or approve of homosexuality in a small number of the population. Beauty and attractiveness standards vary greatly between societies. Societies also differ in their sexual restrictiveness and sexual permissiveness. Sexual restrictiveness refers to an adherence to a narrow definition of sexual norms. Sexual permissiveness refers to an acceptance of greater freedom in sexual norms and behavior. Norms relating the specifics of the sex act, as can be imagined, are also greatly varied. Fromposition, degree of nakedness, and locations, each culture has their own idea of acceptable and not. Sex in the United States In the United States, sexual behavior is markedly different between real and ideal norms. Restrictive traditions coupled with an atmosphere of freedom creates tension. Traditional values that placed sexual conduct in the sole realm of reproduction and the loose application of restrictions on males while females bore the brunt of restrictiveness, has led to an aggravating cultural environment. The double standardwas exacerbated as women were degraded for having pre-marital sex and men were elevated, their behavior condoned and encouraged. Alfred Kinsey conducted the first and, arguably, the most reliable research on American sexual behavior in the 1940s and 1950s. It was his work that indicated the gap between traditional moral

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