SOCIO ISSUE: SEX

Sex and Gender

■ Sex is a biological term. We use it most often to refer to the act of
mating between two organisms - an act which is part of biological
reproduction. A more technical term for this act is coitus. The concept
of "sex" may also be expanded to include other behavior associated
with the act of mating: animal courtship rituals, human "foreplay".

■ Gender refers to the differentiated social roles, behaviors, capacities

and intellectual, emotional and social characteristics attributed by a
given culture to women and men, in shot, all difference besides the
strictly biological. There are two genders: masculine ascribed to the
male sex and feminine, ascribed to the female.
Sexual Orientation
■ Sexual Orientation refers to an enduring pattern of emotional,
romantic and/or sexual attractions to men, women or both.

■ Heterosexual orientation refers to attraction to the opposite

refers to attraction to the opposite sex.
■ Homosexual orientation refers to attraction to the same sex.
■ Bisexual orientation refers to those attracted to both men and
women.
■ In 2008 hate crime related to sexual orientation impacted 1,760
victims, about 17.6% of total hate crimes that year.

■ Gay and lesbian youth are at higher risk for poor health, depression,
suicide attempts and suicide.
Sexual Behaviors as Social Problems

■ Prostitution and commercialized vice are defined as

"the unlawful promotion of or participation in sexual
activities for profit, including attempts. To solicit
customers or transport persons for prostitution
purposes; to own, manage, or operate a dwelling or
other establishment for the purpose of providing a
place where prostitution is performed; or to otherwise
assist or promote prostitution."
■ Prostitution can be traced back to Ancient Rome and
throughout the Mediterranean, it was not uncommon to find
temples that housed prostitutes
Sex Tourism
■ Sex tourism is the practice of people from wealthy
nations traveling to less developed countries to
experience sexual acts
Pornography
■ Pornography is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the
exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Pornography may be
presented in a variety of media, including books, magazines,
postcards, photographs, sculpture, drawing, painting,
animation, sound recording, phone calls, writing, film, video,
and video games.
■ Research from the mid- 1980s concludes that being exposed to
sexually explicit violent materials cause men to act more
aggressively toward women
■ Rape rates were higher where laws related to pornography
were more liberal, and states with higher porn sales had more
instances of rape