Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region IV-A CALABARZON
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF QUEZON PROVINCE
PILI NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
PILI, SARIAYA, QUEZON

Sexuality and Culture

There are three major cultural and social factors that influence views on gender and
sexuality: laws, religion, and social norms.
Laws
In the United States and other Western countries cisgender women have greater legal
protections than in other parts of the world. Globally, inequality is still enforced
through laws in many parts of the world. For example, laws and policies prohibit
women from equal access and ownership to land, property, and housing. Economic
and social discrimination results in fewer life choices for women, rendering them
vulnerable to poverty and human trafficking. Gender-based violence affects at least
30% of women globally. Some women who are victims of violence often have few legal
protections or have limited legal recourse (United Nations Office of High
Commissioner, 2018). For example, in some cultures, a woman may not be able to
have her attacker arrested or prosecuted.
Within the United States there has been greater acceptance of homosexuality and
gender questioning that has resulted in a rapid push for legal change. Laws such as
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), both of which were
enacted in the 1990s, have been met severe resistance and legal challenges on the
grounds of being discriminatory toward sexual minority groups. Globally, a significant
number of governments have recognized and legalized same-sex marriages. As of
2017, over 24 countries have enacted national laws allowing gays and lesbians to
marry. These laws have mostly been enacted and enforced in Europe and North
America. In Mexico, some jurisdictions allow same-sex couples to wed, while others do
not (Pew, 2013).
Religion
Most religions have addressed the role for sexuality in human interactions. Different
religions have different views of sexual morality. Most religions regulate sexual activity
or assign normative values to certain sexual behaviors or thoughts through moral
codes of conduct. Some religions distinguish between sexual activities that are
practiced for biological reproduction (only allowed between males and females who are
married) as moral and other activities practiced for sexual pleasure, as immoral.
Sexual restriction is a universal of culture and typically defines incest and sex with
animals as taboo or unacceptable behavior.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes procedures that involve partial or total
removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. According to the
World Health Organization (2018), FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of
the human rights of girls and women and reflects strongly held beliefs about
inequality between the sexes. Female genital mutilation has no health benefits for girls
or women. The practice predates religion and there are no religious texts that
prescribe the practice; however, there are some religious leaders who believe the
practice has religious support and encourage its continued practice.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region IV-A CALABARZON
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF QUEZON PROVINCE
PILI NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
PILI, SARIAYA, QUEZON

A roadside sign in Nigeria advocating for the end of female genital mutilation.
A Ugandan campaign sign against female genital mutilation. [Image by Amnon Shavit
CC BY-SA]
Female genital mutilation is mostly concentrated in Africa, the Middle East and Asia,
as well as locations with migrants from these areas including the United States.
Female Genital Mutilation and is almost exclusively conducted on minors and is used
as a way to regulate female sexuality and promote chastity. In cultures where FGM is
practiced, a female who does not conform or submit to the procedure may be rejected
by her community or find it difficult to find a mate and marry. Despite long held
tradition and cultural norms ideas and beliefs about FGM are changing.
Norms
Cross-national research on sexual attitudes in industrialized nations reveals that
normative standards differ across the world. For example, several studies have shown
that Scandinavian students are more tolerant of premarital sex than are North
American students (Grose, 2007). A study of 37 countries reported that non-Western
societies like China, Iran, and India valued chastity highly in a potential mate, while
Western European countries such as France, the Netherlands, and Sweden placed
little value on prior sexual experiences (Buss, 1989).
For cultures that score high on Hofstede’s Masculinity/Femininity dimension there
exists a sexual double standard which prohibits premarital sexual intercourse for
women but promotes it for men (Hofstede, 2001; Reiss, 1960). This standard has
evolved into allowing women to engage in premarital sex only within committed love
relationships, but allowing men to engage in sexual relationships with as many
partners as they wish without condition (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). As a result, a
woman is likely to have fewer sexual partners in her lifetime than a man. According to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the average 35-year-old woman
has had three opposite-sex sexual partners while the average 35-year-old man has
had twice as many (Centers for Disease Control, 2011).
Attitudes about sexuality can differ widely, even among Western cultures. For
example, according to a 33,590-person survey across 24 countries, 89% of Swedes
responded that there is nothing wrong with premarital sex, while only 42% of Irish
responded this way. From the same study, 93% of Filipinos responded that sex before
age 16 is always wrong or almost always wrong, while only 75% of Russians
responded this way (Widmer, Treas, and Newcomb, 1998). Sexual attitudes can also
vary within a country. For instance, 45% of Spaniards responded that homosexuality
is always wrong, while 42% responded that it is never wrong; only 13% responded
somewhere in the middle (Widmer, Treas, and Newcomb, 1998).
Of industrialized nations, Sweden is thought to be the most liberal when it comes to
attitudes about sex, including sexual practices and sexual openness. The country has
very few regulations on sexual images in the media, and sex education, which starts
around age six and is a compulsory part of Swedish school curricula. Sweden’s

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permissive approach to sex has helped the country avoid some of the major social
problems associated with sex.Republic of the Philippines
For example, rates of teen pregnancy and sexually
Department of Education
transmitted disease are among the world’s lowest (Grose, 2007). It would appear that,
Region IV-A CALABARZON
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF QUEZON PROVINCE
PILI NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
PILI, SARIAYA, QUEZON

Sweden, a culture low on the masculinity dimension, may be a model for the benefits
of sexual freedom and frankness. However, implementing Swedish ideals and policies
regarding sexuality in other, more politically conservative, nations would likely be met
with resistance.
While in most Western, industrialized cultures like the United States exclusive
heterosexuality is viewed as the sexual norm, there are cultures with different
attitudes regarding homosexual behavior. In some instances, periods of exclusively
homosexual behavior are socially prescribed as a part of normal development and
maturation. For example, in parts of New Guinea, young boys are expected to engage
in sexual behavior with other boys for a given period of time because it is believed that
doing so is necessary for these boys to become men (Baldwin & Baldwin, 1989).
Kosofsky Sedgwick (1985) described nonsexual same-sex relationships along a
continuum which she termed homosocial. Women enjoy more fluidity along the
continuum than males in Western cultures, specifically North America. For example,
females can express homosocial feelings through hugging, hand-holding, and physical
closeness. In contrast, males refrain from these behaviors since they violate
heterosexual norms for males. Women have more flexibility and can express more
behavior variations along the heterosocial-homosocial spectrum but male behavior is
subject to strong social sanction if it veers into what is considered homosocial.

Culture and Psychology Copyright © 2020 by L D Worthy; T Lavigne; and F Romero is

licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0
International License, except where otherwise noted.

Address: Brgy. Pili Sariaya, Quezon

Contact #: (042) 795-2229

DepEd Tayo Pili NHS – Sariaya - pnhs308032.weebly.com 308032@deped.gov.ph