Sexuality and Sexual Identification
Sexuality and self-sexual identification is a very tender and delicate topic. This is because society has made it that way. Many live in fear their whole lives because they feel as if society won’t accept them for who they are rather than for what society thinks they are. Divergent thinking among the people is another form of discrimination that can be applied towards anyone, and the sad reality is that most of society is quick to judge a person rather than getting to know the facts about a person.
The general idea of heterosexuality is a relatively new concept. Jonathan Ned Katz’s article argues this reasoning with references to how sexuality was perceived long ago and how it has progressed thus far. Natz states, “Heterosexuality is modern invention dating back to the 19th century…pivotal place in the social universe of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries that it did not inhabit earlier” (Katz-Wise, 2015). Katz begins his analysis with references of the sexual mentality in earlier dates such as the early Victorian era and late Victorian time frame. Katz states that “heterosexuality did not exist” but rather a time of “proper womanhood and manhood where the sexual organs were for reproduction, not pleasure” (Katz-Wise, 2015).
Katz then explains how around 1892, heterosexuality ideology rose with doctors naming a particular mental condition that was not deemed reasonable. The term homosexual was also used in the form of mental opposite-sex attraction. Around this period, in the 1900s, the module also agrees with the notion that heterosexuality was a relatively new term. At a time where the race was socially constructed, and separation between people began, the questioning of genders was a reasonable action to commit at such time. Katz’s theory of how heterosexuality was a human-made invention helps us understand that there is always a form of opposition.
Like the concept of gay marriage downright appalls many because it is considered different from the norm, the same mindset can be applied towards what is regarded as the norm. Katz’s theory helps us understand that society can think what it wants, where opposition to a concept or idea can exist anywhere. Transgender is a term used for people whose gender identity is different from those typically associated with their assigned sex at birth. This is a very straightforward definition of what it means to be a transgender person, where a person may be born into a sex category. Still, their own gender choice may be different from that assigned sex category.
Kate Bornstein believes that human existence is shaped by “biological determination, social conditioning, and choice.” This means that every person will be automatically assigned to sex at birth, social influence factors what is considered the norm for society regarding what genders exist, and that the decision to identify one’s sexuality relies on self-choice (Bornstein, 2013). However, in the cases where a person is genuinely born with genitalia that is not deemed fitting into the typical male and female category, we call an intersex person.
On a personal level, if I did not match the assigned gender given to me at birth, I’d be somewhat concerned as to what everyone else would think about me. This is because it is only I who know what I identify as not everyone will agree with my views or see myself the way I do. It’s a messy concept that narrows down to concern about everyone’s perception of what they think I am or how they identify me. Some strategies that I can use in daily life if I were transgender or intersex would be to be confident in my sexuality and sexual identification. Confidence will ease the concern of others and may even prevent discrimination since I’d know my place in society.