From Sex to Sexualities:

A Matter of Development
Gillian Fletcher September 2008

Session plan

Brief definition & history of sexuality studies Sexuality and gender: intersections
When Harry Met Sally (1989) group work

Non-Western constructions of sexuality

Challenges and opportunities of using a sexuality lens in development work

Dictionary definition
The quality of being sexual or having sex
usage recorded 1836

Possession of sexual powers, or capability of sexual feelings usage recorded 1879 Recognition of or preoccupation with what is sexual; allusions to sexual matters usage recorded 1848 A person's sexual identity in relation to the gender [sic] to which he or she is typically attracted; the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual; sexual orientation proposed dictionary addition 2004
Oxford English Dictionary online

Psychology
Sexual orientation is one of the four components of sexuality The three other[s] are biological sex

(whether we are born as a male or female), gender

identity (the psychological sense of being male or female) and social gender role (the extent to which people conform to what is regarded in our society as feminine and masculine behaviour).
Downloaded from Australian Psychological Society (Sept 2008) http://www.psychology.org.au/publications/tip_sheets/orientation/

Theoretical definition
Sexuality [is] an historical construction which brings together a host of different

biological & mental possibilities, & cultural forms

gender identity, bodily differences, reproductive capacities, needs, desires, fantasies, erotic practices,

institutions & values which need not be linked

together, and in other societies have not been
Weeks, J (2003: 7) Sexuality: Second Edition, Routledge

Definition summary

Sexuality (like gender) is not natural. It is a socially constructed set of understandings, stereotypes and judgements.
The capacities of the body and the psyche are given meaning only in social relations (Weeks, 2003)

Members of a society together invent the properties of the world (Clark, Griffin and Turner, 2007)
People create meaning through their interactions with each other and the objects in the environment

History

18th & 19th Centuries:

Sex was increasingly an object of administration and management through government inquiry (Hawkes, 2006)

Discussed in fields of medicine, psychiatry, pedagogy, criminal justice and social work

Discovery of different male and female sexual anatomy. Previously one sex model:
Turn outward the womans, turn inward, so to speak, and fold double the mans, and you will find the same in both in every respect (Galen, 2nd century physician)

History

20th Century the sexual century (Hawkes, 2006: 3)

[a century of] increasingly detailed and distinct discourses about sex from a variety of sources. This was also when sexuality became a political issue and a foundation for movements of liberation (ibid)

Impact of feminism and critiques of compulsory heterosexuality (Ruben, 1997) cannot be underestimated

Two strands of sexuality research & theory:

Sexology (the science of sex research) Critical sexuality studies

Sexology

Sexology currently highly medicalised Concentration on pathologies & dysfunctions

. To be cured by medical doctors and therapists trained in psychology World Association of Sexual Health Congress, 2007:

Toe Pattern and Hetero-Aversion Homosexuality Neurobiology of Sexual Desire Traditional and Non-Traditional medical Treatment for Desire Disorders in Females Psychopharmacology Perspective

Critical sexuality studies

Linked to feminist theory, critical theory, sociology, critical anthropology, social constructivism
Strong emphasis on context, power relationships, questioning of normative binary oppositions

Culture, Health & Sexuality journal (10(6) 2008):

Morality & sexual rights: constructions of masculinity, femininity & sexuality among a group of S.A. soldiers Vaginal practices: Eroticism and implications for women's health and condom use in Mozambique

Sexuality & gender: Intersections

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

What is a gendered reading of this scene?

What is a sexuality studies reading?

Can you separate the two? Feedback

Sexuality & gender: Intersections

Pringle referred to the schizoid relationship between gender and sexuality:

For much of the time they ignore each other
completely, with the result that there is a large literature which treats sexuality as if gender

barely exists and another literature on gender

that ignores or marginalises sexuality
(Pringle, 1992: 77)

Sexuality & gender

Weeks (2003: 41):

Gender and sexuality have become inextricably linked Human beings blur the edges between masculinity and femininity. We create differences that transcend the

differences of gender (of age, race, sexual need)

Sexuality & gender

Sexuality & gender: Which is the chicken and which is the egg? Neither is free range
Sexuality is often constrained by gender norms

Who should do what to whom, what body parts they should have, what their born sex should be Men are powerful, women are submissive

Sexuality norms reinforce gender stereotypes

Intersex, trans-gendered or transsexual people are often seen as threatening to both gender & sexuality norms

Gender & sexuality: Sites of social (in)justice

Transsexuality still classified as a mental illness

(Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV)

Amnesty International:
Millions of people across the globe face execution, imprisonment, torture, violence and discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The range of abuses is limitless:

Sites of social (in)justice

Women raped to cure their lesbianism; loss of custody of their children; individuals beaten by police; attacked, sometimes killed, on the street; regular subjection to verbal abuse; bullying at school; denial of employment, housing or health services; raped and otherwise tortured in detention; driven to suicide; executed by the state
Amnesty International http://www.amnesty.org/en/sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity

Non-Western sexualities

In Burma/Myanmar, the role of Natkadaw is highly significant

Considered very powerful
The gay men who serve as primary conduits for the nat spirits are considered to be neither male nor female

Still from Friends in High Places documentary (2001)

(http://www.der.org/films/friends-in-high-places.html)

Non-Western sexualities
In most Native American history gay, lesbian, &/or transgendered individuals were considered holy They possessed the delicate balance of male and female, and were often honoured for having a different spiritual calling mediators between the spirit world and the natural world.
(http://www.denvertwospirit.com/mission.html)

Non-Western sexualities

Thailand
Beautiful Boxer (2003)

Based on the real life story of Parinya Charoenphol, a Muaythai boxer who underwent a sex change operation from male to female

Women who are referred to as Tom (as in tomboy) wear mens clothes and work in male-gendered roles such as car mechanic

Their female partners are usually feminised, and referred to as Dee

Non-Western sexualities
There are three kind of [MSM] we are working with apone, apwint & tngei. Trans: apone is closed [appears masculine], apwint is open [appears feminine] Q: And whats tngei? Sex partner On the external look [apone & tngei] look [the] same [masculine] but apone are more of a passive receiver Tngei are the ones who are the giver. Q: OK. And theyre usually also married, is that right? Yes. Q: And, is apone ever married? To a woman? Some.
Ko Thu Yar, INGO field worker, Burma/Myanmar

Non-Western sexualities
Sometimes I thought he is tngei and actually he is apone so I have to fuck him instead of him fucking me we call it being cut by broken glass, in slang
Ma Sanda, 20; feminised male sex worker, Burma/Myanmar

Sexuality & development

The development industry has emphasised the dangers of sex and sexuality.

This negative approach to sex has been filtered through a view of gender which stereotypes men as predators, women as victims, and fails to recognise the existence of transgender people
Jolly, S (2007: 10)

Development & sexuality

When it comes to the economic, social, political and human rights implications of sex and sexuality, there is a silence at the heart of development
Cornwall, A, Jolly, S (2006: 1)

Challenges

What right do we have intervene in local culture? (Jolly, 2000)

Homosexuality is often stereotyped as a Western phenomenon
Interfering in culture appears to be much less of a concern for most in interventions dealing with issues such as poverty alleviation

The very real threat of imprisonment / abuse for local people who identify as non-heterosexual

Challenges

National staff are also stigmatised

Male colleagues say I am too interested in sex; I am not a good Khmer woman

Unthinking imposition of Western understandings of sexuality and sexual identity

I am only supposed to work with men who call themselves gay, but there are so many other Cambodian men who have sex with other men that do not see themselves as gay. They wont come here

Opportunities

Sexuality is another tool for challenging dangerous and judgemental binary opposites without falling into the male/female divide
Masculine/feminineheterosexual/homosexualgood/bad

Sexuality is a powerful lens through which to identify, magnify & question inequality
Site of extreme moral judgement, of violence, of inequality

Opportunities
The very mobility of sexuality, its chameleon-like ability to take many guises and forms, so that what for one might be a source of warmth and attraction, for another might be one of fear and hate, makes it a peculiarly sensitive conductor of cultural influences, and hence of social and political divisions
Weeks, J (2003: 1-2) Sexuality: Second Edition, Routledge

Opportunities

Sexuality is obviously relevant to S&RH (inc. HIV)

As with gender, it cuts across all development issues

Livelihoods human rights education water & sanitation (access to)

Ford Foundation (dist. more than US$15 billion worldwide):

We believe that a deeper understanding of human sexuality is essential to healthy societies, culture, human rights, and social relationships
http://www.fordfound.org/about

Thank You
gcfletcher@students.latrobe.edu.au