Social and Behavioral Constructions of Female Sexuality

This paper critiques some theories of sexuality that emerged in the second half of the 20th century.

KINSEY remains the most controversial and comprehensive source of information for female sexuality, however the authors note that male biases are present in the research (Miller and Fowlkes, 785). The issue with Kinsey's work is that it employs gendered double standards. While he is critical of the distinctions between female and male sexual activity which disproportionately inhibits "women's sexual activity outside of marriage", he does encourage coitus although it is significantly less frequently a source of orgasmic response for women (Miller and Fowlkes, 785). Although he acknowledges that penetrative sex is not that pleasurable for females, they are told to engage in it (both premarital and marital sex) to help the male reach his physiological response (785).

"A similar bias is revealed in Kinsey's interpretation of his finding that female sexual unresponsiveness is a major factor in women's premarital coital reluctance. A man, of course, may reach orgasm through coitus without doing much at all to arouse or stimulate response in his female partner. Rather than portraying men as the victims of women's unresponsiveness, it would be fairer to suggest that women may be victimized by men's self-interest and failure to show the consideration necessary to incorporate female orgasm into the coital experience." (785-6)

Another traditional bias he holds is stating that an orgasm cannot be the "sole criterion" for female pleasurable activity, as many women find satisfaction knowing their partner enjoyed the contact and that she "contributed to" his pleasure (786). This idea is very similar to the gynecology texts of the 1940s-1970s that maintained a male-oriented perspective with gendered biases in the field of female sexual and reproductive health.

Alfred Kinsey
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The works of MASTERS AND JOHNSON are also presented in this theoretical review. Their contribution to the field is highly significant because their laboratory tests helped recognize the clitoris as a vital part of the female sexual response (787). They described it as a "unique organ in the total of human anatomy. Its express purpose is to serve both as a receptor and transformer of sensual stimuli." (787). Therefore, the passive, sexually unresponsive, unorgasmic woman was equipped with a mechanism specialized solely on pleasure, while the man - the dominant gender in the equation of sexuality - was not. This discovery helped combat the myth of absolute female frigidity: women were not possessing a "lesser sexuality" (787). Moreover, their tests revealed the autonomy of female sexuality, women were experiencing a higher frequency of orgasmic response through "self-regulated mechanical or automanipulative technique" (787). However, the researchers are criticized for insisting that orgasms are the sole meaningful conclusion of a sexual contact, they fail to recognize the cultural importance of other behaviors expressing commitment and intimacy between partners (789).

The introduction of sexuality to the field of sociology would not have been possible without the work of GAGNON AND SIMON. They presented a social interactionist perspective on human sexual behavior which combats the narrow views of Kinsey, Masters and Johnson (789). According to Gagnon and Simon, sexual behavior is a subtype of social behavior and must be analyzed as such; they conclude that this behavior is learned (789). The degree of sexuality can be assessed by consulting the meaning assigned to behaviors "by the actors involved" (789). However, even their work has major setbacks, reflecting a male bias. Their view of adult sexuality emphasizing marriage is considered "limited in scope and shallow in content", not accounting for the inclusion of diversity of sexual expression (790).

Conclusions

The authors conclude by assessing the overall field of sexuality. They believe that a paradigm for female sexuality studies has yet to emerge, but that the studies presented and critiqued have created significant progress despite their limitations (800). The emerging literature helped dispel Freudian ideas about sexual development and reinforced the legitimacy of sexuality as a field of study (800).

References

Patricia Y. Miller and Martha R. Fowlkes, "Social and Behavioral Constructions of Female Sexuality"Vol. 5, No. 4, Women: Sex and Sexuality (pp. 783-800), Summer, 1980