The Social Construction of Sexual Bodies
Introduction
Social constructs are all around us, as they define how we interact and relate to things, especially people around us. On the other, Social constructionism observes how these interactions between individuals with the community and the world around them give meaning to things that would otherwise be meaningless; thus, creating the reality of the world. Additionally, social constructs are the very tool that humans use to make sense of things and avoid weirdness when following a particular set pattern of behavior. Women, for instance, are considered to be a weaker gender in society. As a result, they suffer most from the effects of social constructions as compared to men. These constructs are upheld by societal institutions like race. For example, most women have different expectations especially with regards to sexual behavior. Institutions like religion, race, culture, age, social status, and class are responsible for forming our social constructs, which ends up affecting people’s sexual behavior (Stombler and Baunach 2018:). It is therefore essential to understand why sociologists claim that human bodies are socially constructed, by looking into some of the examples of social constructions according to different systems of power. Additionally, it crucial to understand how social constructions have been able to affect the sexual behaviors of both genders.
What does it mean when Sociologists Claim that Bodies are Socially Constructed?
As much as our human bodies are made of biology, how society views the body is majorly a social construct. Society has objectified the female body in particular with the male, not bearing much expectation. Members of the society have ideas about their bodies in ways that conform to the accepted views of how the female and male bodies should appear. The social constructs of the body are not universal and may vary from different races or cultures (Stombler and Baunach 2018:394-417). Additionally, social constructs do not wholly deny the distinctiveness of each body, since it is not possible for everyone to have the same shape and size. Social constructs on the human body are predominant. Therefore, how either men or women in society are not biologically determined but, through social constructions.
Sociologists assert that the way people view their bodies is primarily based on the perception of the society on how an ideal body should look like. The community has already standardized things like length, weight, and complexion. These acts have constituted to increased cases of surgical procedures undertaken for the body alteration. Society perceives that men should have a well-built body, strong and masculine, while women, on the other hand, are expected to be skinny with large behinds and breasts. As a result, if a person finds his/her body not to conform to the standards as mentioned earlier, they start seeking for socially constructed means to fit in the society.
How The Social Construction of Bodies Relates to Our Understanding and Treatment of Bodies Sexually.
The social construction of bodies is what leads to the common understanding and treatment of bodies sexually. In the United States, for instance, the idea of a man being bi with strong muscles as a sign of masculinity is pervasive. Men are believed to be sexually attractive when they meet the qualities of masculinity. This belief has led many young men to use bodybuilding steroids to build up their bodies and muscles. Moreover, men have more sexual partners than women (Stombler and Baunach 2018). On the other hand, women’s breasts are sexualized; they are expected to have big buttocks and tinny waists. Women’s bodies’ are objectified, and this can be seen in all media platforms. Pornography, for instance, objectifies women in the promotion of the accepted narrative in society. The understanding and treatment of bodies sexually in line with the current social constructs is dangerous as it is ill informative to members of the society, especially the teenagers (Stombler and Baunach 2018: 135). Furthermore, some people have ended up committing suicide, while others using body enhancing products to improve on their physical appearance. The distinction between the male and female body as perceived by members of the society has created a different way of how society enter prate certain concepts and form opinions. For instance both males and females have nipples. However, this body part is viewed differently for the two genders based on their symbolic meaning. For example, the nipples of women in most societies have been objectified and sexualized, while those of men have no distinctive meaning related to the features as mentioned above. Secondly, both male circumcision and female genital mutilation involves cutting of fore-skin of the reproductive part. However, the procedure of carrying out the two processes varies based on gender (Earp 2015: 94). Therefore, irrespective of male and female having parts of their bodies similar in a way, or undergoing a physical procedure such as circumcision or genital mutilation. Society has formed a different opinion on both cases based on gender
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Systems of power organize the social construction of sexual bodies
The power of any society performs a vital role in the organization of the social construction of sexual bodies. These systems involve the organization of society based on factors such as gender, race, class, sexuality, and age, and ability status. It is the social institutions and the organization of individuals which determines once ability to understand their sexuality. This understanding is not universal or inborn. For instance, when one is young, he/she has no sense of shame shy off from their bodies (Grover, 2014: 1). This factor, however, varies depending on an individual’s community, age, gender, or sexuality. Secondly, some communities forbid sex before marriage, while it is acceptable in other countries. Also, because sex has frowned in countries such as the United States community among unmarried persons, there is little space where adults who want to know more about sex can go to get free information about sex from experts (Nodulman 2016: 652). Moreover, most learning institutions, more so less developed countries, have omitted the teaching on sexual matters. Ideally, society believes that the school going children have less or nothing to do with sex. However, in the developed world, engaging in sex or exploring romantic relationships with several members of the opposite gender before settling into marriage has become acceptable for young adults. Furthermore, (Schalet, 2010) argues that social classes women are expected to maintain a particular body shape in order to remain sexually attractive (p.18). Additionally, race determines how good looking a woman can be irrespective of her age. For instance, black women are believed to be voluptuous and good looking while the white prefer petite ladies. Generally, these positions do not have any scientific backing but are merely based on the ideals held on to by society.
Conclusion
Some of the things that have been objectified and sexualized by society are not so. The social constructs are just an escape from those aspects of culture that society finds weird but, still wants to carry in. From the given examples, it is clear that society constructs how individuals understand sexuality and how we behave towards each other. Whether an individual considers themselves perfect or otherwise is defined by the social constructs of an ideal being. Although many institutions are at play to create social constructs, society and some institutions have more power in determining the sexual agenda of a community. However, the objectification of the female body only tells that there is still a lot of gender inequality happening, and perhaps focusing on women sexuality only may not be an appropriate way of dealing with inequality.
References
Earp, Brian. 2015. “Female Genital Mutilation and Male Circumcision: Toward an Autonomy-Based Ethical Framework.” Medicolegal and Bioethics 5:89. Retrieved March 19, 2020 (https://doi.org/10.2147/MB.S63709).
Nodulman, Jessica A. 2016. “‘Put Me In, Coach, I’M Ready to Play’: Sexuality Education for Adults at Good Vibrations.” Sex Education 16(6):649-662. Retrieved March 19, 2020 (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14681811.2016.1165196).
Schalet, Amy. 2010. “Sex, Love, and Autonomy in the Teenage Sleepover.” Contexts 9(3):16-21. Retrieved March 20, 2020 (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1525/ctx.2010.9.3.16).
Stombler, Mindy, Dawn Michelle Baunach, Elisabeth O Burgess, Wendy Simonds, and Elroi J Windsor. November15, 2018. Sex Matters. 5th ed. W. W. Norton & Company; Fifth edition. (https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393623581)