Lecture Notes

Chapter 15 Sexual Orientation: Gay, Straight, or Bi?

Modified: 2007-05-18

• Introduction
  • Sexual object choice
  • Labels are linear, not categorical
    • heterosexual--straight
    • homosexual--gay, lesbian
      • lug--lesbian until graduation
    • bisexual--switch hitters
  • Stonewall riot--June, 1969
    • prostest against police business as usual
    • catalyzed the gay movement
  • Clinton and military
  • Attitudes
    • homophobia (antigay prejudice)
    • violence
  • Gays as a Minority Group
    • legally protected in many places
    • politically significant minority in some areas (San Francisco)
• Lesbian and Gay Lifestyles
  • Homosexual behaviors and culture
    • Males
      • intromission
      • more nipple play than heterosexuals
      • little active-passive roles (stereotype)
      • many partners--as many as 10,000 lifetime (but large decline since AIDS)
      • male socialization may be a factor inhibiting long-term relationships
      • few 'drag queens'
      • male prostitutes (male customers)
      • gay bars
      • tea rooms
      • steam baths
      • designated public places (i.e., Juneau St. Beach, Milwaukee, WI)
    • Females
      • erotic body contact
      • breast and genital play
      • penetration common but not universal
      • butch and femme (roles)
      • heterosexual histories, no role confusion
      • relationships last longer than male homosexuals
      • less obvious than male homosexuals
  • Coming Out and Outing
    • coming out--admitting your homosexuality in public
    • outing--someone else revealing your homosexuality
    • gaydar
    • Ellen
  • Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Communities
    • gay bars
    • gay organizations
    • gay media
  • Gay and Lesbian Relationships
    • marriage
      • Massachusetts
      • Hawaii
      • U.S. Senate
  • Lesbian and Gay Families
    • more easily possible for lesbian mothers
• How Many People Are Gay, Straight, or Bi?
  • Statistics (combining identity and strong attraction)
    • heterosexual--92-97%
    • male homosexual--2-3%
    • female homosexual--0.5-1%
    • male bisexual--0.5-1%
    • female bisexual--0.5-1%
  • Typologies of homosexuality
• Focus 15.2: Ethics of Sex Research: The Tearoom Trade pg 371
• Sexual Orientation and Mental Health
  • Sin and the Medical Model
  • Research Results
  • Can Sexual Orientation Be Changed by Psychotherapy?
• Why Do People Become Homosexual of Heterosexual?
  • Biological Theories
    •  
  • Psychoanalytic Theory
  • Learning Theory
  • Empirical Data
• Sexual Orientation in Multicultural Perspective
• Focus 15.3: Ritualized Homosexuality in Melanesia, pg 382
• Bisexuality
  • Sexual Identity and Sexual Behavior
  • Bisexual Development
  • Bisexual chic
• Focus 15.4: Bisexual Tendencies, pg 384

• URLs
  • Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual, and Transgender Studies--University of California Berkeley page
  • Biology and Sexual Orientation--Wikipedia on...
  • Gay Christian Network
  • Ambush 2000--New Orleans Lesbian and Gay e-zine
  • Queer resources directory--very large index page
  • Homophobia--defined
  • Homophobia--Wikipedia on...
  • Gay bar directory--lists gay bars (supposedly)
  • Equal marriage rights--Home page of group
  • Kinsey scale of homosexuality
  • 10% figure for gays doubtful--article
  • Hanky Code--the hanky code explained
  • Same Sex Marriage--background
  • Same Sex Marriage in the United States--Wikipedia on...