This paper will analyse the personal advertisements placed by heterosexual men and women and gay men and lesbian women and identify the recurring themes and ideologies within them.
INTRODUCTION
This paper will analyse the personal advertisements placed by heterosexual men and women and gay men and lesbian women and identify the recurring themes and ideologies within them. The themes and ideologies in relation to different genders and sexual identities will be discussed.
The findings will be analysed in relation to the theoretical framework of Michel Foucault and it will be established that in accordance with this framework, sex is a mechanism of control and regulation through institutions and discourses of society, which inform individuals how to experience their bodies.
Recurring themes of Personal Advertisements
The average age of heterosexual men who placed personal advertisements seeking females ranged from twenty to fifty. Most men provided a physical description of themselves as well as their physical preferences for women. The physical attributes of the body would appear to be of more significance than romantic love, which was rarely mentioned. Sexual desire was evident in most ads where physical attributes were emphasised with 'quiet nights at home' and 'fun times' mentioned frequently. Descriptions of interests were generally provided which would indicate that compatibility was also given importance. The average age of heterosexual women seeking males was from twenty to fifty. Some women provided a physical description of themselves with a few expressing their physical preferences for men. The 'body' and sexual desire was not as important for women, with most desiring companionship and 'friendship first'. Compatibility would appear to be of most significance with most ads providing descriptions of women's interests.
The average age of gay men placing personal ads ranged from twenty to fifty. The 'body' was significant with physical descriptions of themselves provided in most cases. However the most significant recurring theme was sexual desire with 'discreet fun', 'quiet nights', 'open-mindedness' and 'curious' frequently mentioned. Compatibility was also a factor with some ads providing descriptions of interests while romance was rarely mentioned. The personal ads placed by lesbians were identical to those of gay men with the most significant recurring theme being sexual desire. Average ages were from twenty to fifty and while compatibility was of some importance romance was not a factor.
Different Genders and Sexual Identities.
Gender and sexuality provide two of the most basic narratives through which identities are forged (Woodward, 1997, p. 184). Identity is first of all a gendered category with its characteristics thought to derive from fundamental differences in male and female sexuality (Woodward, 1997, p. 185). Within the scientific paradigm sexuality has been defined as a biological imperative (Woodward, 1997, p. 184). Science became the prime regulator of sexuality usurping the role of the Church (Woodward, 1997, p. 189). The reduction of human sexual activity to presumed biological dimensions pervades medical discourse today ...
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Different Genders and Sexual Identities.
Gender and sexuality provide two of the most basic narratives through which identities are forged (Woodward, 1997, p. 184). Identity is first of all a gendered category with its characteristics thought to derive from fundamental differences in male and female sexuality (Woodward, 1997, p. 185). Within the scientific paradigm sexuality has been defined as a biological imperative (Woodward, 1997, p. 184). Science became the prime regulator of sexuality usurping the role of the Church (Woodward, 1997, p. 189). The reduction of human sexual activity to presumed biological dimensions pervades medical discourse today (Woodward, 1997, p. 191). The Sexology tradition saw women being responsible for men's sexual behaviour, having sexualised yet passive bodies and males being the overpowering force of human sexuality (Woodward, 1997, p. 190). Female and male sexuality were fundamentally opposed with the male aggressive and forceful and the female passive and responsive (Woodward, 1997, p. 191). The concepts of sex, gender and sexuality have become elaborated through a set of binary oppositions - male/female, masculine/feminine, and active/passive (Woodward, 1997, p. 191). Feminists have attacked sexology for entrenching women's oppression by encouraging them to seek pleasure in heterosexual relations (Woodward, 1997, p. 192).
Freud's psychoanalysis provides a strong emphasis on the psychical reality of sexual drives and a rejection biological determinism, which would seem to undermine conventional discourses equating gender with sexuality (Woodward, 1997, p. 198). However Freud saw sexual opposition as inevitable and his discourse was phallocentric (Woodward, 1997, p. 199). Feminists have attacked Freud's psychoanalysis accusing it of providing sexist and conservative prescriptions about women's true interests and place in society (Woodward, 1997, p. 199). The central tenets of feminism and queer theory are that gender and sexuality are socially constructed questioning the normative status of heterosexuality (Jackson, 1999, p. 159). According to Jackson (1999) a critique of heterosexuality should contain a critique of heteronormativity - the normative status of heterosexuality, and a critique of heteropatriarchy - heterosexuality as systematically male dominated (p. 163). What sustains heterosexuality as an identity and an institution, is gender hierarchy (Jackson, 1999, p. 174). Heterosexuality is not simply about guarding against the homosexual other, but about maintaining male domination (Jackson, 1999, p. 174). There is an interconnection between the oppression of women and the maintenance of heterosexual hegemony.
According to Connell gender differentiation cannot be reduced to biological determinism or social determinism or a combination of the two, but rather it should be acknowledged, the physical sense of maleness and femaleness is central to the cultural interpretation of gender (Woodward, 1997, p. 232). The body is inescapable in the construction of masculinity; but what is inescapable is not fixed (Woodward, 1997, p. 233). Bodies are not just landscape but have various forms of recalcitrance to social symbolism (Woodward, 1997, p. 233). Homosexuality, constituted as 'perversion', existed as a concept before heterosexuality (Jackson, 1999, p. 173). Gay men and lesbians shared the harsh experience of social discrimination and prejudice co-ordinated by church, state and media (Woodward, 1997, p. 207). Contemporary beliefs are that homosexuality is the result of some biological dysfunction (Woodward, 1997, p. 207). The idea of being born that way shapes not only narratives of self, constructed by gays and lesbians, but also political strategies (Jackson, 1999, p. 162). The social construction of homosexuality as a stigmatised identity has encouraged lesbians and gay men to see themselves as part of a subculture of resistance to heterosexist norms (Woodward, 1997, p. 208).
Sexuality is part of a wider pattern of gender relations whereby our individual sexualities - our erotic identities, desires and practices, are profoundly gendered (Jackson, 1999, p. 177). The identities of heterosexuality and homosexuality depend for their definition on gender (Jackson, 1999, p. 174). According to Jackson (1999) if we did not privilege the binary divides of gender and sexuality then there might be many other ways of classifying sexuality (p. 169). There may be many other variations in our desires within and between heterosexuality and homosexuality (Jackson, 1999, p. 169). Queer theorists seek to destabilize masculinity and femininity and create more 'genders' (Jackson, 1999, p. 181). Their goal is to subvert the categories of 'normal' sexuality by undermining the binary restrictions of male/female; active/passive (Woodward, 1997, p. 215). According to Rust (1993) sexual identity formation should be seen as an ongoing process of describing one's social location within a changing social context (p. 50).
Findings in relation to Foucauldian Theory
In his 'History of Sexuality' Michel Foucault argued that sexuality is the key site of social regulation and control in modern times (Woodward, 1997, p. 185). With the shift to a self and marriage-centred culture in Western society, sex was emerging as a domain around which prohibitions and formal rules were being formed (Seidman, 1998, p. 239). Foucault believed that there was a direct connection between the Christian confessional and modern discourses - e.g. sexology, psychiatry and psychoanalysis - that approach sex as an autonomous psychic and social force (Seidman, 1998, p. 239). Confession was replaced by the practice of the 'examination' by physicians, psychiatrists, sexologists and scientists (Seidman, 1998, p. 240). Foucault suggested that Victorian discourses created the idea of a natural sexuality, of an order of desires and acts built into the body (Seidman, 1998, p. 240). Foucault argued that sexuality is not a natural fact, but rather is an idea of who we are that has powerfully shaped the experience of our bodies (Seidman, 1998, p. 240).
According to Foucault the power of medical-scientific discourses lie in their integration in social institutions and in being tied to social practices (Seidman, 1998, p. 240). By interpreting same-sex desire as indicative of personal identity, the medical-scientific discourses invented a new human type, 'the homosexual' (Seidman, 1998, p. 241). Homosexual behaviour was not only a transgression of social norms or laws but marked a deviant human type (Seidman, 1998, p. 241). According to Foucault the modern regime of sexuality creates sexual subjects and positions them as objects of social control (Seidman, 1998, p. 241). The system of sexuality is built into the fabric of our institutions, cultural apparatus and our everyday lives (Seidman, 1998, p. 241). Individuals are positioned as heterosexual or homosexual regardless of their wishes (Seidman, 1998, p. 241). The affirmation of a gay identity does not according to Foucault signal the liberation of sexuality, but reinforces a regime that has produced the idea that we have a sexuality, that sexuality is our essence and that gender preferences define our sexuality (Seidman, 1998, p. 242).
The findings reveal that the personal ads placed by heterosexual men had a recurring theme of sexual desire, whereas heterosexual women appear to place an emphasis on compatibility rather than sexual desire. The social construction of sexuality through public discourse has resulted in the gender bias of male sexuality. Heterosexual women see their place sexually in relation to that of men's desires. This explains the emphasis heterosexual men place on bodies and sexual desire, whereas heterosexual women emphasis compatibility over sexual desire. The findings also reveal that personal ads placed by homosexual men and lesbians had a recurring theme of sexual desire. The branding of homosexuality as deviant by public discourse has resulted in the marginalisation of gay men and lesbian women. Their emphasis on sexual desire is attributed to their subculture status and resistance to social stigma.
CONCLUSION
The recurring themes and ideologies contained within the personal ads and in relation to different genders and different sexual identities have been identified. It has been established that the desires of heterosexual men and women vary according to their gender and sexual identity. Gay men and lesbians have been marginalised in society in accordance with their sexual identity.
|The findings have been discussed and it has been established that different sexual identities have been produced by public discourse which has acted as a mechanism of social control and regulation.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jackson, S. (1999) Heterosexuality in Question Sage Publications: London.
Rust, P. (1993) '"Coming out" in the age of social constructionism: Sexual identity formation among lesbian and bisexual women', Journal of Lesbian Studies, vol. 1 no. 1.
Seidman, S. (1998) Contested Knowledge Social Theory in the Postmodern Era (2nd ed.) Blackwell Publishers: Oxford.
Woodward, K. (ed.) (1997) Identity and Difference Sage Publications: London.
APPENDICES