Doing it: The Social Construction of S-E-X Essay example -- Article An

Since the dawn of man, sex has played a crucial role in society. Before they learned to read or write humans were engaging in sex and without it none of us would be here. In today’s society, sex has grown to become much more complicated. If I were to ask a group of people on the street what they believed sex was? I bet they would have a hard time answering. The question puzzling society today is how do we define sex? Can we define sex? These are questions raised in Tracy Steele’s article â€Å"Doing it: The Social Construction of S-E-X†. This article is about the current questions and issues that have been raised about sex within today’s society. In this paper I will summarize the key points of the article, while sharing my own thoughts and opinions of Steele’s findings. One of the key questions raised in the article is where do our sexual urges come from, have they always been there deep in our minds, or did we gradually learn them. Steele states that it is her belief that sex in something that is learned overtime from our environment and society (Steele 13), but she also states that there are many theorists who believe that sex is instinctive, and that we have always known how to perform it. After considering both sides of the argument, I have to agree with Steele’s belief that sex is learned. I believe this because I find it hard to believe that humans are born with the knowledge of sexual intercourse. This is due to the fact that I can guarantee you most children barely have a clue what sex is, let alone how to engage in it , it’s not until their parents or teachers explain to them what sex is, that they are able to truly understand and engage in it. The only argument that can be raised against this idea is that there are m... ...define sex; they can’t even agree on where our sexual desires come from. In conclusion, what I learned from this article is that sex is much more complicated then I could have believed it to be. This article made me aware of many conflicts, issues, and disagreements that go along with what is or isn’t sex, and how there is no clear way to say, it’s really just a matter of opinion. For lesbians the simple use of a finger is enough, for gay men its anal sex. For some sex is innate and instinctive, while others believe it is learned. For some it’s based on love and pleasure, while for others it’s about domination. I highly doubt that there is anyone in this world that could come up with a universal meaning to sex which would please all parties. It is my conclusion that there is no right or wrong definition of sex; it is whatever you want it to be.

Intra and Interpersonal Skills

Today I am going to introduce what I have learnt in IIC. I have several skills that would be useful for my future, such as concentrate on positives when I am in bad moods, self-disclosure and giving positive response to criticism for better communication. However, these are not the most important aspects for me. This is because I cherish more on relationships. Besides, I don't have good relationship with family members. Also, friends cannot always be with me. Therefore, love is the only thing I pursue in my entire life. However, there are lots of barriers on my love path.My lovers just left me very soon and said â€Å"you are too good for me†. I wondered if it is just simply an excuse for breaking up with me. After the Developing and Enriching Intimate Relationship lesson, I realized the reason that none of them want to stay with me and commented I am too good for them. This is because I am having obsessive love with them, giving them too much love and so pressure. This is one of the obstacles for love to the lecture notes. On the other hand, we didn’t have a mutual direction for our future. We had intimacy and passion but no commitment was involved. The first thing I have to do is self-love.This is because obsessive love only gives pressure to the other person. To have a healthy relationship, loving yourself is essential. Then, I have to plan a long-term involvement with that person. I used to have romantic loves. However, that is not I need, what I need is the consummate love. According to Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love, consummate love includes intimacy, passion and commitment. I will be open and honest to let my relationship grows healthy. â€Å"Learning to love doesn’t just happen if we meet the right person†. I believe if you want to have a good result, effort is necessary for it, even love.

While at first blush the protection of cultural diversity...

While at first blush the protection of cultural diversity seems like a worthy cause to support for many of us, there are much deeper implications than the prima facie faà §ade multiculturalism suggests. Instead, there is a â€Å"deep and growing tension† (Okin,1999; p10) between the ideals of feminism and those concerned with the protection of cultural rights. This tension is exacerbated when the protection of those rights safeguards the continuation of practices such as female genital cutting (FGC) in the name of ‘culture’ and ‘tradition.’ Every culture is dynamic, complex, and rich in its own ways. However when cultures come together and interact there are inevitably tensions and one such tension is centred on gender and gender norms. In this†¦show more content†¦For this reason I will again turn to Okin (1999) to describe a claim made in the name of cultural rights and â€Å"in the context of basically liberal democracies† (p10) th at â€Å"minority cultures or ways of life are not sufficiently protected by the practice of ensuring the individual rights of their members, and as a consequence these should also be protected through special group rights or privileges† (p11). This claim is at the forefront of many contemporary discussions around cultural group rights and even more specifically the claim that groups, â€Å"even the illiberal ones that violate their individual members’ rights, requiring them to conform to group beliefs or norms- have the right to be â€Å"left alone† in a liberal society† (Okin, 1999; p11). The latter is the claim I will be arguing against using the case study of FGC as an example of why torture is not culture and therefore should not be â€Å"left alone.† In the spirit of clarifying terminology I would also like to defend my use of the term ‘female genital cutting’ (FGC). While the World Health Organization (2013) uses the commensurable term ‘female genital mutilation’ (FGM), I feel that the use of the word ‘mutilation’ carries a strong negative connotation and is needlessly inflammatory, instantly slanting perceptions towards a negative viewpoint. While the term ‘cutting’ isn’t free from these undesirable undertones, it is more of a technical term to describe the actual procedures that take place. While it could be