The History of Sexuality in America: January 2014

Friday, January 31, 2014

Two Spirit People

By: Mary Daugherty

Unlike the way that most Americans view transgendered people, which I with disgust, Native Americans view them as blessed. Most transgendered Americans are discriminated against for their differences. However, Native Americans are far more accepting of these people. Since they think that everything comes from the spirit world, Native Americans view transgendered people as having the spirit of both a man and a woman. Because they have both of these characteristics, they are honored and seen as more spiritually gifted.¹

I think that it is interesting that the majority of the people that are in the news for discriminating against gays and transgendered people are the over-the-top conservative Christians. However, Native Americans look to these people as religious leaders. It is also very common for two spirit people to become teachers on Native American Tribes.¹ This is surprising since the thought of a transgender American teaching a classroom of students sounds so unusual. There was even a case where a transgender schoolteacher, who had been teaching at a catholic school for almost thirty-two years, was fired once she switched from dressing like a man to a woman.²

This religious tradition is not one that is solely shared by Native Americans. In Siberia and many parts of Southeast Asia there have been many intersexual people. “Androgyny seems to be quite ancient among humans.”¹ Based on evidence from many native tribes located in the southwest and people of the plains, there were more than 150 Native American Tribes with Two-Spirited people in them. There were two-spirited females as well. Apart from a few records that report these minorities as being discriminated against or ostracized, the majority of these men and women were treated with a great deal of respect and honor.

I thought that it was very interesting to learn that these two-spirit people are viewed as having a gift and are put above other people in the Native American tribes. It is strange to see this as a gift when so many transgendered people suffer from discrimination and violence for the same thing. It is strange, growing up in a society where being transgendered is frowned upon, to hear that in other cultures being born gay or transgendered is seen as a good thing.

[1][2]

[1] "Transgender Teacher's Suit against Catholic School Gets Green Light ." NY Daily News. N.p., 18 July 2012. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

[2] Trapasso, Clare. "Transgender Teacher's Suit against Catholic School Gets Green Light ." NY Daily News. N.p., 11 Sept. 2013. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

The History of Homosexuality

By: Mary Daugherty

Gay rights have been one of the main political issues of the twenty first century. However, just a few years ago, this was a topic that was hardly ever discussed. This doesn’t mean that it didn’t exist. The history of homosexuality is a relatively short one beginning around the end of the nineteenth century. “During the 1860's and 70's European public administrators began noticing that some people were organizing their lives not around family, household, and reproduction but around various forms of sexual pleasure.” [1]This change was probably due to capitalism and the increase in the number of people living in cities rather than on farms. Since there were a large number of people commuting to cities for work, the importance of family decreased. These groups were considered to be sexual deviants and were studied by officials. One of these groups of deviants were called “homosexuals.”¹

These people immediately became the focus of doctors in the 70’s. The Nazi’s eventually destroyed all documentation of homosexuals, and they were sent to death camps.

In the United States the history of homosexuality is much shorter with the main homosexual communities being located in New York, Las Angeles, and San Francisco. ¹ After World War II thousands of people who were gay or lesbian were dishonorably discharged from the military and were placed in San Francisco, where they stayed due to shame.

The underground emancipation movement for gay rights began with the formation of the first known homosexual political organization, the Mattachine Society, founded in Las Angeles.¹ After a controversial court case involving one of the organizations founders, the Mattachine Society gained support and members by the thousands. Eventually as support grew, the number of organizations supporting homosexuals grew to about fifty by 1969.¹

This movement experienced a major success when the American Psychiatric Association took homosexuality off of the list of mental illnesses. As the gay community experienced more and more successes, tension between them and certain branches of the government increased. However, today life for gay people has not gotten any easier. Every day there are news reports about violence toward gays as well as discrimination in the workplace. Since this movement started so recently, I believe that it will continue to gain support as it has in the past. I think this because when I was in 9^th grade, my teacher brought up the topic of gay rights and asked us our opinion on the topic. I was surprised when almost every student in the classroom said that they were against this idea. Yet just two years later, another teacher brought up this topic and all but one student in the classroom supported the idea of gay rights, even if the didn’t agree with it.

[1] Ford, Milt. "A Brief History of Homosexuality in America." A Brief History of Homosexuality in America. N.p., 14 May 2014. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.

Don Jon

Ryan Carpenter
Warning, Don Jon spoilers. The movie Don Jon is about a man named Jon who enjoys masturbation more than sex and ends up dating a girl named Barbara Sugarman who tells him not to masturbate/watch porn. In the end, they end up breaking up over Jon lying about stopping and he ends up with a girl named Esther in his college class who lost her family a bit over a year prior. This relationship allows him to really connect/lose himself during sex and he ends up stopping masturbation because of it. Although lying about masturbating was obviously wrong, masturbation itself is completely normal. Everyone I regularly hang out with would admit to masturbating and believe that it is normal. In fact, between ages 18 and 49, around 80% of men and over 60% of women say they masturbate [1]. Telling someone that they can't masturbate such as when Barbara said it to Jon when 80% of men do it isn't necessarily a simple request. Although, if they request was because he seemed to concentrate more on masturbation than her (which he did), it would be a bit more reasonable, but based on the other ways Barbara tries to control him such as not allowing him to clean, the request appears to be more about her initial reaction to it than him not connecting emotionally. If I was asked to not masturbate just like Don Jon, I don't know how I would feel about the request itself, but I could go without it. I don't masturbate as often as Don Jon does and I have gone multiple months without masturbating at all.

Although masturbation itself isn't wrong to do, Don Jon takes it to the extreme averaging multiple times a day. For undergraduate students, men masturbate on average 12 times a month [2]. Jon tends masturbate more than this in just a week. He tends to use it as a way of relieving stress and separating/losing himself from the rest of the world. It may work when he is single, but when in a relationships, it disallows him from connecting with others during sex. Esther ends up being the one who allows him to connect in the end. In my opinion masturbation shouldn't get in the way of the rest of your life or connecting with others like Don Jon did. I think that he ended up getting caught up in one night stands and started relying on himself for emotional support instead of others.

[1] "Frequently Asked Questions to The Kinsey Institute." (working paper., The Kinsey Institute, 2010), http://www.iub.edu/~kinsey/resources/FAQ.html.

[2] Herbenick, D. Sexuality and U, "Statistics." Last modified 2010. Accessed January 30, 2014. http://www.sexualityandu.ca/sexual-health/what_is_masturbation/statistics.

How is Sexuality in the Victorian Era Different Than Today. By: Jordan Devan

During the Victorian Era, which was upon the 1800s, there were many different beliefs about sexuality then there are in today’s time. In today’s time, it is common that women are seen to have sexuality and to want to be sexually active. Back then, it was thought that women didn’t know about sex and shouldn’t have desire for it. “These strict views on gender and sex became what we now think as the Victorian sterotype.” [1] One thing I came across in my research was that sexual desire was only seen in men and women in classes that were low for example prostitutes. This was also proven by doctors during this time. They even took it as far as removing sex organs doing so that “sexual desire” was removed from the body thinking that the sexual desire was a disease of some sort.

According to the book Sex Tips for Husbands and Wives from 1894 Ruth Smyther writes “guidelines about how newlywed women should “endure” sex.” 1 It was said that a bride was limited to only two “sexual experiences” weekly. They also were advised to reduce these happenings as frequently as possible. As you can see, compared to today’s time, they were very cautious and definitely had many more rules of how sexuality was treated back then. Like in today’s time, nudity is shown everywhere and especially with your significant other. Back then, wise women tried as much as possible not to show her body unclothed to her husband. The book that I referenced before mentions other “rules” like wearing thick pajamas to bed to minimize the exposer of flesh. Also, times when the husband would try and kiss her or even kiss her on part of her body she would avoid this at all possible. Today, women are even the ones who seduce the men. It is totally opposite today and women are very sexual and aren’t afraid to show that side but also because it is aloud today. I think that the rules back then were too strict but I also may be biased based on the century I live in today. I think all sexual matters should be equal between man and women and either sex can have the sexual desire

[1] "The Victorian Era." History of Human Sexuality in Western Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2014. <http://historyofsexuality.umwblogs.org/pre-20th-century/victorian-era-2/>.

Hooking Up vs. Dating by: Dominique Cotton

[1]

[2]

In my earlier years I thought hooking up and dating was the same thing with people using different terms. As I grew up I soon found out that there was a significant difference. Now some may say that hooking up and dating is the same thing I think otherwise. My personal definition of hooking up is meeting somebody attractive of the same or opposite sex, having a brief conversation and then coming to an agreement that leads to having casual sex. When hooking up there are no aspirations of having a future with that particular person and that is the main difference between those two topics. Dating starts out the same as hooking up, you meet somebody and y’all partake in a conversation, which continues up to a date. Now when dating both parties go out to a variety of places like restaurants, movies, bowling, parks, beaches and if serious you get to meet the family! Furthermore, you have a desire to build a future with your other half. You want to have a nice home, kids and get married.

Now to each is own and I do personally think more men prefer hooking up with a females, but I also think that the numbers come close because some females do not want a relationship right away. Ladies want the thrill and fun that comes with hooking up. I believe the reason guys do it is because there is no drama and stress attached to it but what is the real reason behind this. “Most guys want sex without the relationship, they want to be with different women from time to time until that phase goes away and they actually want to settle down”[3] “ Well I believe it depends on the type of person. In our society we believe that guys would rather hook up more because of the perception that is put out there that guys are not as emotional as girls. Girl tend to get attached quickly and guys would hook up and move on, but at the end of the day it honestly depends on the person because everybody is different.”[4] Some females are very independent and being in a relationship is not the first thing on their mind. They have careers and some were in college obtaining advanced degrees so majority of the women I met just wanted sex. Usual when they have a lot going on for them nothing can come before that.[5]

There are many people out there that would disagree to hooking up but everybody has there own reason. There is a difference and whether you’re hooking up or dating use protection and stay safe because anything can happen!

[1] Bradford, Harry. Huffington Post, “10 Jobs where you’re most likely to hook up with Co-Workers. “Last modified 2 7, 2013. Accessed January 31, 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013.02/07/hook-up-jobs-workers-office-fling_n_2632410.html.

[2] Billups, Andrea. People, “Beyoncé and Jay Z Are Eating a Vegan Diet for 22 Days.” Last modified 12 4, 2013. Accessed January 31, 2014. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20762485,00.html.

[3] Gray, Mark. Interview by Dominique Cotton. Personal interview. Charlotte, January 15, 2014

[4] McNeil Corena. Interview by Dominique Cotton. Personal interview. Charlotte, January 15, 2014

[5] Leake, Avery. NPR, “Sex Without Intimacy: No Dating, No Relationship.” Last modified 6 8, 2009. Accessed January 31, 2014. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105008712.