What is Sexuality

Defining the term, determining your identity, and understanding the expected roles.

 “Sexuality” is a broad area of study related to an individual’s sex, gender identity and expression and sexual orientation.  Sexual behavior and attitudes are constructed by society and vary from culture to culture. Sexuality is both instinctive and learned mainly from our families, our peers, sex education in school, popular culture, negotiations with partners, and listening to our own bodies. The fabric of human sexuality is one of the most diverse of all human attributes. Education in sexuality is necessary to ultimately reach equality between both men and women. 
First and foremost, we are born sexual beings. This does not imply that we all engage in any particular sexual activity or that we all have the same or even similar sexual feelings and desires. But sexuality will always be a part of what makes each of us a unique individual. From infancy through old age, we have the capacity to experience both physical and emotional sexual feelings. It follows, then, that your perception of your own sexual is a major part of your own self-identity. Your gender identity- your concept of yourself as man or woman- is one of the most important components of your sexual identity. Sexual orientation refers to whether an individual is attracted to members of the same sex or opposite sex romantically, emotionally, and sexually. Some individuals find themselves confused about their gender identity, sexual orientation, or both. Others may be unsure about what qualities they desire in an intimate relationship or confused about their comfort level with specific sexual activities. The challenges mentioned are faced by some individuals every day, affecting both genders mutually. One of the reasons gender is so solidly rooted in our perceptions of the social world around us is that, rightly or wrongly, gender is one of the most conspicuous human differences we use to judge others. Knowing others’ genders allows us to predict, or think we can predict, a great deal about their behavior. From the moment of birth, society perceives us as different and places different expectations on us based, to a large extent, on our sex. These expectations create what are referred to as gender roles, the distinctive behaviors society expects and encourages us to engage in, depending on our sex. For example, if we were to survey a group of toddlers, we will more than likely observe the boys playing with trucks and the girls playing with dolls. In western cultures, men are expected to be the bread winners while woman are homemakers. This illustrates the existence of social stereotypes within our society. Gender roles contribute to the division between men and women that we continue to experience today. 

Gender roles contribute to the division between men and women that we continue to experience today. To resolve inequality, we must identify the gender stigmas that exist and avoid implementing them into our social functions.