How to Project a Socially Constructed Sexual Orientation

This paper gives a brief overview on the current state of the art of biomedical research on homosexuality. It concludes that so far the cause(s) of homosexuality is (are) unknown and that biomedical research has failed to provide evidence for a possible causation of homosexuality. We do think, however, that homosexuality is not merely a social construction and the quest for its cause is intelligible. It is less clear, however, whether research into the cause(s) of homosexuality should be done at all. We explore the different arguments brought forward in favor of doing this research and reject all of them. Furthermore, we argue that research into the causes of homosexuality is at the present time unethical and should not be undertaken. Research into the causes of homosexuality assumes more often than not that homosexuality is one or another form of mental illness or undesirable deviance from the heterosexual norm, and should be cured. These views will be criticized as heterosexist.

We conducted an experiment to assess whether targeting multiple beliefs about sexual orientation (SO) may be more effective in reducing homonegativity than focusing only on beliefs about its biogenetic origins. Participants (116 women, 85 men) were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions or a control condition. Those in the treatment conditions read essays summarizing: (1) research suggesting SO has biogenetic origins, (2) research suggesting SO is socially constructed and refuting beliefs about the discreteness, homogeneity, and informativeness of SO categories; or (3) research suggesting SO is biogenetic and research suggesting SO categories are socially constructed and not necessarily discrete, homogenous, or informative. We predicted participants in the conditions that targeted multiple beliefs related to the social construction of SO, not just its biogenetic origins, would exhibit the strongest reductions in beliefs about the discreteness, homogeneity, and informativeness of SO categories, and in homonegativity. We also predicted these participants would exhibit the greatest increases in support for gay and lesbian civil rights. We observed hypothesized shifts in SO beliefs across all experimental conditions. While there was a small main effect of time on homonegative prejudice, there was no main effect of condition and no changes in support for gay and lesbian civil rights. However, post hoc analyses suggested the two conditions addressing social constructionist beliefs accounted for most of the observed prejudice reduction. Implications for more comprehensive educational and social interventions designed to promote social justice for sexual minorities are discussed.

What does it take for a property to be a social property? This question is different from questions about what it takes for a property to be socially constructed. That is: it is one thing to be social, it is another to be socially constructed. Compared to questions about social construction, this question about sociality has received relatively little attention in social metaphysics. Here, I work from a very specific set of observations which arise from the social metaphysics literature to uncover a sufficient condition on sociality for properties, a condition which I argue all non‐social properties fail to satisfy.

The chapter explores the social construct, associated meanings, identities, and assumptions related to sexuality and sexual orientation. The chapter begins by offering basic definitions of sexuality, sexual orientation, and heterosexism. In exploring sexuality as social construct, the chapter illustrates how sexuality is not only about sexual orientation label or identity and considers multiple experiential, emotional, and behavioral aspects of sexuality and sexual expression. It differentiates sexuality from gender while bearing in mind the ways in which our understanding of sexual orientation, particularly, has been shaped by a binary construction of gender. In exploring sexual identity, the chapter describes sexual identity development and emphasizes new and emerging language and understandings of sexual orientation and identity. In exploring heterosexism, the chapter considers sexuality related oppression at multiple ecological levels (individual, interpersonal, institutional) and the ways in which heterosexism is as much about maintaining heterosexual privilege and hegemonic normality as it is about specific oppressive acts directed at sexual minorities. The chapter concludes by considering the major changes in attitudes to and legal treatment of sexual minorities. The chapter includes reflection exercises for readers to explore their assumptions and stereotypes, personal experiences and identity, experiences of privilege and/or oppression, and invites them to consider the experiences of those who are different than themselves.

What does it mean to say that some features, such as gender, race and sexual orientation, are socially constructed? Many scholars claim that social constructionism about a kind is a version of realism about that kind, according to which the corresponding kind is a social construction, that it, it is constituted by social factors and practices. Social constructionism, then, is a version of realism about a kind that asserts that the kind is real, and puts forward a particular view about the nature of the kind, namely, that it is constituted by social factors and practices. Social constructivists about human kinds such as gender, race and sexual orientation often make an additional claim, namely, that these kinds are social constructions but they are typically believed to be biological kinds (that is, people are typically wrong about the nature of these kinds). Ron Mallon (2017) calls social constructions that are (falsely) taken to be biological kinds covert social constructions. This paper is about how we could have terms in our natural language that come to refer to covert social constructions.

Numerous psychological, biological, and evolutionary theories have been proposed to explain sexual orientation. For a theory to be valid it must account for the evolutionary or Darwinian paradox of how homosexual behavior seemingly blocking evolutionary fitness could have evolved. Typically it is only evolutionary based theories that attempt to address this issue. All theories proposed to date have limitations, a major one being that they tend to be specific for male or female sexual orientation. A model for sexual orientation is proposed that both explains the evolutionary paradox of homosexuality and accounts for male and female sexual orientation. The model departs from others by taking the approach that homosexuality and heterosexuality only represent descriptions of underlying natural occurrences. Four interactive components consisting of homoerotic and heteroerotic dimensions, activation/deactivation of these dimensions, erotic fantasy, and social construction comprise the model. Homoerotic and heteroerotic behaviors organized on separate dimensions represent natural occurrences. A completely novel process-activation and deactivation of these dimensions-is proposed to explain various manifestations of sexual orientation. Erotic fantasy provides an additional layer to sexuality beyond physical behavior and serves to activate sexual orientation dimensions, while social construction tends to deactivate inconsistent expressions. The evolutionary paradox only arises when behaviors are remade into identities via social construction, and heterosexual behavior inconsistent with a homosexual identity is deactivated.

The objective of this research is to analyze the law on sexual orientations and transgenders in Pakistan. Sexual orientation is a pattern of sexual, romantic, and/or emotional attraction and relation with individuals of either the same sex or opposite sex or towards both sexes. A person can be categorized as straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, asexual, etc. based on his sexual orientation. The sexual orientation of a person is inherent and not a choice. The sexual orientation of a person cannot be changed. Gender is a social construct. The gender identity of a person is often wrongly attributed to the biological sex of the person. Mostly, the gender of a person corresponds to his or her biological sex, but it is true for many people. Transgender phenomena and sexual orientation are different but can be associated with each other by their implications. The legal doctrinal analysis approach was adopted to study the law on sexual orientations and transgenders in Pakistan. Any kind of sexual orientation, and sexual encounter other than heterosexual intercourse is prohibited by law in Pakistan. The law in Pakistan only allows heterosexual encounters, and that too with certain specifications, such as vaginal sex between husband and wife or wives. The law in Pakistan must be amended considering the latest developments in mental health and behavioral sciences, which deal with sexual orientation and transgender phenomena as inherent and different from each other.

Analyzing social wrongs

This paper compares “essentialist” to “social constructionist” perspectives on sexual identities among African Americans. Essentialists argue that sexual orientation and identity exist within a binary system in which people classify themselves as either straight or gay. They suggest that sexual identity is an essence that is universal and can be seen throughout history and across cultures. Social constructionists argue that sexual orientation and identity are not fixed, but rather are historically contingent, culturally specific, and shaped by social, political, economic, and cultural forces. These contrasting perspectives are examined through the lens of the case of African Americans who identify as bisexual. Using data from the Black Pride Survey 2000, this paper examines factors that are related to bisexual identity among African Americans who participated in Black Pride events. It presents the results from logistic regression models that predict bisexual identity with social, demographic, personal, religious, and behavioral characteristics. The results suggest that African American men who participated in Black Pride events are less likely to identify as bisexual when they are older, Muslim, married, attend churches that more fully accept homosexuality, and have higher percentages of male sexual partners. Men who are dating (rather than in committed relationships or same sex marriages) and those with their own biological children are more likely to identify as bisexual. African American women who participated in Black Pride events are more likely to identify as bisexual when they are younger, Protestant, attend churches that are less fully accepting of homosexuality, have higher percentages of male sexual partners, and are biological parents. These results support the social constructionist view that sexual identities are not binary nor fixed, but rather are historically contingent, culturally specific, and shaped by social, economic, and cultural forces. The implications of these findings for sexuality in the African American community are examined.

ABSTRACTSeveral studies have described and analyzed the development and diffusion of hate crime laws in the United States, but none specifically examined state-level differences in protected categories. Forty-five of the 50 states have a hate crime statute, but only 30 of those include sexual orientation. In this study the social construction framework is applied to the hate crime policy domain in order to determine whether or not variations in the social and political status of gays and lesbians are associated with the inclusion of sexual orientation in state hate crime laws. Content analysis of daily newspapers in six states revealed that a positive social construction is associated with groups seeking hate crime law protections, and that political influence may also be a key factor.

Some propositions on male and female sexual orientation will be considered. Some of these are established; others are more speculative. The aim is to offer some notes towards a coherent, comprehensive theory of sexual orientation. 1. The distinction between butch and femme lesbians seems real rather than a social construct. 2. High levels of prenatal steroid hormones seem to be causally associated with the sexual orientation of butch lesbians. However it is not established whether the causal process operates prenatally or postnatally (or both). This is so because prenatal hormone levels are thought to correlate positively with postnatal hormone levels. And high postnatal hormone levels may facilitate homosexual behaviour as a consequence of sensation-seeking. 3. Male bisexuals also are interpreted to have been exposed to high prenatal testosterone levels. But (for reasons similar to those outlined above in regard to butch lesbians) it is unclear whether these have a direct prenatal effect on the brain or whether they are precursors of high postnatal testosterone levels, which are associated with male bisexual orientation by promoting sensation-seeking behaviour. 4. Postnatal learning processes seem to be causally involved in the sexual orientation of some femme lesbians and some exclusive male homosexuals. 5. Some homosexual men have genes that predispose to their sexual orientation. 6. The same may apply to some lesbians, but such genes have not, as far as I know, been identified. 7. People (of both sexes) who engage in same-sex sexual behaviour may be classified simultaneously in two ways, viz (1) 'active' vs 'passive' and (2) those who do and those who do not engage (or consider engaging) in sex with members of the opposite sex. Ex hypothesi, some of the 'active' ones initiate some of the 'passive' ones. The active ones are driven more by hormones and the passive ones by psychosocial factors. The active males contain a substantial proportion of self-identified bisexuals; and the active females a substantial proportion of self-identified butches. 8. These two active categories (butch lesbians and male bisexuals) share a number of endocrinological, psychological, morphological and behavioural features vis-a-vis their exclusively homosexual and heterosexual peers. Methods of testing some of these ideas are presented.

Conventional heteronormative beliefs about the nature of gender roles, gender identity, and sexual orientation are fundamentally challenged by the experiences of many transgender individuals. Eleven self-identified transgender individuals were interviewed about their definitions of, understanding of the relationships between, and perceptions of their own gender roles, gender identity, and sexual orientation. The questions focused on how transgender individuals define gender roles vs gender identity, how they defined themselves on these dimensions, and how they perceived the relationships among gender roles, gender identity, and sexual orientation. All of the participants understood gender roles to be social constructs and viewed gender identity as being more fluid, compared to essentialist, binary, heteronormative ideas about gender. Most viewed sexual orientation as being dynamically related to gender identity. These findings are discussed in terms of an emerging transgender theory of the nature of gender that transcends essentialist, traditional ideas, as well as social constructionist views of feminist and queer theories.

The aim of this study is to explain the strategies employed by gay individuals to overcome discriminatory attitudes and behaviours perpetuated by society. This research is qualitative using , phenomenological approach and utilising a purposive sampling technique.. This paper used the data analysis from Creswell, utilising source triangulation and member checking. The subjects of this study were four gay individuals from the Gaya Mahardhika Foundation in Surakarta who had experienced discriminatory treatment from society. This research uses the social construction theory of Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann. This study shows that the social construction of homosexuality is shaped by a dialectical process. It involves externalisation, objectivation, and internalisation. These processes can be observed in the following ways (1) The externalisation process involves openly expressing one's social identity and sexual orientation, as well as forming alliances within the gay community and participating in community activities. (2) The objectivation process entails the ascription of values, norms and meanings to one's social identity and sexual orientation. The participants in this study perceive their social identity and sexual orientation as objective reality, formed naturally like that of other heterosexual people. They refuse to justify or accept society's negative views and stigma toward their social identity and sexual orientation. (3) The third process, internalisation, involves the participants trying to change society's views of their group (gay through community social activities. They proactively advocate for their rights to be treated fairly and equally. hey seek recognition from the government and society.

AI-mediated communication (AI-MC) assists and creates dialogue between people to suggest responses during digital conversations. Users see this when automated suggestions appear in text and email communications. This technology has the potential to be used on a mass scale and to eventually lead to complete conversation formation, possibly without any knowledge of one knowing they are engaging in dialogue with AI. Knowing that users adopt digital behaviors that contribute to efficiency, research must look at the influence of this tool in shaping social constructs. Understanding that gender bias exists in both the English language and in the development of AI leads to my inquiry in analyzing the role that AI-MC plays in constructing social norms with language usage. I argue that the use of gender biased language in AI predictive-text suggestions contributes to the social construction of gender in the creation, execution, and use of AI-MC. My research included searching for articles related to AI-MC, human computer relationships, and historical bias concerns with AI and language. Using the keywords gender, language, artificial intelligence, and AI-MC, I compiled research articles from the fields of human computer learning, critical media studies, and psychology to conduct a discourse analysis. Informed by feminist STS scholarship on marginalization, gender and language, and the theoretical framework of social construction theory, I performed an ideological critique of the scholarship to articulate how language constructs reality, specifically gender, and the underlying consequences and assumptions. Care is given to recognizing other underrepresented communities and cultural rhetoric in digital communication tools to add a layer of nuance in highlighting the impact this approach can have toward uncovering social constructs and contributing to solutions that embrace diversity. My argument also considers the impact this intervention could have during the formative years of youth given the influence of language and symbols in forming identities and social practices. I discuss solutions of using gender fair language and neutralized language, while encouraging caution around solutions that still lean toward the masculine. AI-MC needs to be created without gendered terminology as much as possible and with the automatic inclusion of gender-neutral terms when gendered terms are suggested (e.g., suggesting he, she, and they). Additionally, I recognize the tendency for society to construct norms around “acceptable” language, for example with methods such as tone policing. I call for advancements that consider the impact of these actions on marginalized groups by developing technologies that respect diverse rhetoric. Embracing various forms of expression leads to a more authentic representation of communities and thus society at large. Therefore, efforts to create AI-MC experiences that do not reinforce binary gender, nor only one model of acceptable discourse, are essential in future developments of this tool to embrace a more inclusive digital environment. Understanding the prominence of algorithms in our communicative experiences emphasizes the need for AI language design that embraces inclusivity to encourage positive relationship formation that is representative of all people regardless of gender identification, sexual orientation, dis/ability, race, or other identities.

The article argues that social constructionists are referring to labels applied to sexual orientation while essentialists are discussing sexual orientation itself. Although a review of the literature shows that various labels are applied to sexual orientation, these labels do not markedly affect its reality. Sexual orientation, defined as erotic attraction rather than sexual behavior, is established at an early age and largely immutable in adulthood.