Essay on Womens Sexuality - 956 Words

Women of society from the earliest of times to the present day have faced a multitude of struggles. The issue of sexuality is especially critical to the lives of women. If one’s personality is the set of characteristics about them, including attitude, interests, emotionality and behavioral patterns, than sexuality is a part of that identity. As people we take pride in who we are, and are taught that self-esteem is important to our mental health. In our society however, women are programmed to shame their sexualities, and in turn, themselves. This is a great contradiction. Women should be encouraged to embrace their sexualities safely and positively and seek the empowerment and self-discovery that can come from it. The repression of†¦show more content†¦I was [laughs] a kind of a tomboy. I didn’t really agree with that†¦playing house [when we were younger], the wife was the one doing the entire household and everything, and afterwards the husband arrived †¦ In our games, we also began to follow these models. In these games, there was obviously also a part of sexuality †¦ We pretended to be a couple, but there were no kisses †¦ [it was] something like dating †¦ We started to understand better how things worked, how relationships [work], how we should behave.† -Marta, 21 years, heterosexual, Braga (Costa. Nogueira, Lopez 7) â€Å"From a very early age, I felt that something was not really good about it†¦[it was] related to guilt† says a woman speaking about her early feelings of sexuality (Costa, Nogueira, Lopez 5). As we see from the above testimonies, in times of youth repression of sexual identity can be most damaging. Adolescent confusion seeks answers wherever they can be found, but for girls, discovery via her own body is off limits, is shameful. The pornographic conceptualization of sexuality and eroticism (as defined by Audre Lorde) is what has tainted sex and it’s kin, yet it is the dominan t example that can be found everywhere: on television, the internet, billboards, in magazines even in our homes. Dominant discourses of femininity represent women as an inferior group which has little power over their own bodies. In this discourse women are the object ofShow MoreRelatedDeviant Sexuality Is Denoted By The Spaces And Womens Sexual And Economic Freedom1582 Words   |  7 PagesIn both texts deviant sexuality is denoted by the spaces the characters occupy, as well as the places they have sexual contact. McDowell notes that â€Å"associations between migration to the city and urban living and women’s sexual and economic freedom† occurred in the early twentieth century (155). The connection between shopping and performativity of the public woman in these texts has already been acknowledged, however, McDowell further notes that: â€Å"a large number of women’s writings about the cityRead MoreAbstract: Understanding the Impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Womens Sexuality1079 Words   |  5 PagesColangelo, J. J., amp; Keefe-Cooperman, K. (2012). Understanding the Impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Women s Sexuality. Journal Of Mental Health Counseling, 34(1), 14-37. The purpose of this study was to show how childhood sexual abuse (CSA) victims often are faced with negative psychological and emotional consequences which have profound effects on their lives, as well as their sexuality. The intent of the authors was to show the occurrence of CSA among different women populations, and how itRead MoreResisting the Heteronormative Timeline: Japanese Womens Media and Sexuality as Subcultural900 Words   |  4 Pages Resisting the Heteronormative Timeline: Japanese Womens Media and Sexuality as Subcultural Capital This seminar took place in the Hall center and it was generally about the gay boom in Japan. The speaker Sho Ogawa talked about the 1991 Gay Renaissance† issue of a popular Japanese women’s magazine â€Å"Crea† which brought about a great rise in the representation of gay men in the japanese media phenomenon which is known as the â€Å"gay boom.† This boom affected how the Japanese media, in an amazingRead MoreHow Womens Sexuality Is Portrayed By Hip Hop Music Videos2020 Words   |  9 Pages This research paper will examine the difference in how women’s sexuality is portrayed in hip-hop music videos. Are women empowered, or are they objectified when they express their sexuality? The public image of how women move, speak, sound, look, dance, talk, dress, and act is controlled by corporate networks who present these societal-norms to people through many mediums. Dominating how women are portrayed in music videos, men are introducing audiences to certain tropes and ideals women are expectedRead MoreSexuality, Obscenity, Community : Women, Muslims And The Hindu Public1475 Words   |  6 PagesWord Count: 1473 Gupta, Charu. 2001. Sexuality, Obscenity, Community: Women, Muslims and the Hindu Public in Colonial India. Delhi: Permanent Black Charu Gupta’s work, ‘Sexuality, Obscenity, Community: Women, Muslims and the Hindu Public in Colonial India’, published in 2001, provides an enlightening view on themes including gender, sexuality and religion, all in the context of the British Colonialism and the rise of the Hindu nationalist ideology. In the second chapter, ‘Redefining obscenityRead More Sexuality in John Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums Essay1173 Words   |  5 PagesSexuality in Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums    Reading over this excellent story once more, I am again filled with the same emotion (if it can be called that) that I experienced when first reading it.   Steinbeck planned for that.   In a letter to George Albee in 1933, Steinbeck comments on this story and his interest in Albees opinion of it.   ...It is entirely different and is designed to strike without the readers knowledge.   I mean he reads it casually and after itRead MoreSex, Rhetoric, And The Public Monument1073 Words   |  5 Pagescontinues to explain that this physical allure—the aesthetics of a well developed male with perfect proportion along with his manhood and strong â€Å"luxuriant† facial/body hair —translates to the idea of being â€Å"potent†. Here, Winter points out that sexuality becomes a Neolithic response to human biology: the concept of being vital, healthy, and having a strong form were equated with physical perfection which became (and continue to be) a set of desirable characteristics. Thus, the archetype of Naram-Sà ®mRead MoreAnalysis Of The Now Infamous Ginger Rogers1859 Words   |  8 Pagesovertly sexual context. Even outside of Fay’s performance costumes, her personal wardrobe features transparent striped sleeves, high leg slits, and bold textures and patterns that are largely absent from Penny’s wardrobe. W hether Fay’s more overt sexuality represents a liberation or exploitation is the subject of much debate (which will be addressed later), but the fact that Penny is more sexually repressed is immediately visually expressed through her wardrobe. Penny’s sexual repression becomes evenRead MoreWhere Are You Going, Where Have You Been?1528 Words   |  7 Pagesleads to Connie’s misfortune. Without protection from her parents, she agrees to go with Arnold. In the 1960s, parents started allowing their children to have more freedom. Later, children became more rebellious and had moral dilemmas involving sexuality amongst many other issues. The music of the cultural revolution led to Connie and Arnold’s immoral actions. Wegs argues that â€Å"since music is Connie s religion, its values are hers also† (274). The rock ‘n’ roll music of the time has a great influenceRead MoreKatherine Mansfield And Sexuality Essay1599 Words   |  7 Pagescentres upon the role, status, sexuality, and place of women in society. According to Chantal Cornut-Gentille dArcy, Mansfields succinct narratives Â… are triumphs of style, a style which challenged the conventional parameters of nineteenth-century realism, constrained to plot, sequential development, climax, and conclusion (244). More specifically, maintains that even though Mansfield never acknowledged any profound engagement with Freudian approaches to sexuality or psychic disorder Â… Mansfield