Sexuality

Sexy!

• What does “sexy” mean?

• “marked by or tending to arouse sexual desire or interest “

• What makes a person “sexy”?

Misuse/Abuse of Power or Disempowering?

• Women’s sexuality– Barsexual: heterosexual girl or woman who partakes in any sort of

sexual or promiscuous activity with another female to get attention from males. This usually takes the form of making out, and to a lesser extent, grinding or dry humping with another female (Urban Dictionary).

• Objectifying oneself encourages the notion that women ARE objects• Do these behaviours undermine feminism?

• The pleasure we derive from displaying our bodies ‘for’ men may have its roots in male domination but the more we show that we like it too, the more that power dynamic is challenged and the fewer rights men can assume over our bodies. – Natasha Forrest, The F Word

Things a Woman Should Never Do … For Free

By Veronica Monet

Article Discussion

• Power Issues– Kissing– Money– Marriage– Sex

Discussion topics:1. Who has the power in these situations? 2. How/when might there be shifts in that power?

The Double Standard

• Latin American culture– Machismo: strength, dominance, virility– Marianismo: purity, virtue, subservience

– Basis of the double standard: • The assumption that males have a greater desire and

need for sexual activity than females do• Women are the ones who get pregnant, therefore,

more restrictive norms are necessary

Motivations for Sex

Desire, Love, Power, & Money

Token Resistance

• The man takes the initiative; the woman succumbs—often after some initial resistance

• “good” women wait to be pursued

Sex for Money

• The ultimate “bad” woman is a prostitute

Sex is a Commodity

• North America: popularity

• Bangladesh: arranged marriage

• Philippines: chance to travel to a new country with greater social and economic opportunities

• Africa: money to buy food for her family