Theories on Social Construction of Sexuality
Submitted by: Neha Dhingra
Social construction theories of sexuality
Human female sexuality encompasses a broad range of issues, behavior and processes, including female sexual identity and sexual behavior, the physiological, psychological, social, cultural, political, and spiritual or religious aspects of sex.
Female sexuality has always been a debated issue, it is difficult to understand as to what all aspects of a woman’s life does it encompass and how much is it affected by gender. Female sexuality has always been ‘controlled’ and addressed by principles of ethics and morality. Sexuality includes sexual behaviour and the society has always put limits on the same and has always described as to what is permissible and what is not.
Historically culture and arts of civilizations portray sexuality in different ways and female sexuality too is either implicitly or explicitly expressed. Ancient texts from India and China have expressed female sexuality in ways different from that in the west.
Sexuality varies across the various cultures of the world and has been continually subject to change in the due course of history.
Many aspects of women’s lives is been governed by the structure of patriarchy and sexuality too is not something that has been isolated from the same. Customs and traditions that exist in many societies reiterate this subordination and the denial of sexual pleasure to women.
One of the first modern approaches to sexuality came under the purview of Essentialism. This work originated in the work of nineteenth century sexologists who in their varieties of human sexual practice, constructed sexuality as a powerful biological urge, an instinct which must be satisfied. Social influences on sexuality have been acknowledged but they act over these basic biological urges that every human possesses. This approach is known as essentialism and from it stems Freud’s understanding of sexuality which is...