Sexuality: Science/Culture/Law

Catalog description

Sex. It is a seemingly simple term. Whether your birth certificate reads “F” or “M” conjures up a host of assumptions and expectations: acceptable sexual partners, appropriate physical presentation, acceptance of societal norms attached to your designation, and generally how you “fit” in society. One's designated sex at birth was also synonymous with one's gender. Are we beginning to understand, however, that this binary construct, and all its implications, is wrongly limited? Historically, there have been multiple revolutions in the way sex is conceptualized. In biology, evidence has mounted that biological sex and sexual orientation are not synonymous, nor is the notion of a binary gender construct. There is genetic and physiological support for the existence of multiple biological sexes, and that sexual orientation is hardwired rather than a choice or preference. Literature and popular culture have moved from portraying members of the LGBTQI community as a joke to treating it as a serious topic of personal liberation. The law has moved from criminalizing homosexual acts to granting same-sex marriage licenses to extending Civil Rights protection to the transgender community under Title VII. This course explores the links, or lack thereof, between these different developments. Is law more open to sexual variety because of the findings of brain science? Is popular culture more inclusive because of the increased economic clout of the LGBTQIA community? Or did these things occur independently? How do we relate these developments to the post-structural analysis of sexuality, gender and identity?.