Sexuality and Intimacy, and Their Influences - Term Paper Example

Sexuality and Intimacy, and their influences Introduction Over time, research has proven that sexuality, and intimacy orlove, and the way they are expressed vary from society to society, particularly because, they are neither products of biology, nor of culture exclusively, but somewhat the products of the intricate relationship between the two, and the natural social environment, or ecology. In this paper, I will explain ways in which biology, culture, and ecology influence various aspects of Aka and Ngandu sexuality and intimacy according to Hewlett and Hewlett, and highlight acceptance of homosexuality in the North American sexuality by drawing evidence from existing resources, and how it relates or differs to the former. Additionally, I will also present evidence to show that acceptance of homosexuality in Canada is a product of the social-cultural environment, as well as, demonstrate that gradual secularization of the contemporary Canadian society with the declining prescriptive power or religion is responsible for the introduction and pervasiveness of homosexuality. Q1 Biology, culture and ecology influences various aspects of sexuality and intimacy in the Aka and Ngandu communities of central Africa; for instance, human beings have inborn tendencies to feel sexual desire, thus, an unconscious drive to reproduce, and to sustain the survival of their species (Hewlett Bonnie and Hewlett Barry 46). In this respect, both men and women in the Aka and Ngandu communities are biologically predisposed to express sexuality and intimate relations like all other species; culturally, the two communities idea of sexuality and intimate relations is the ability to procreate and to sustain the communities through the birth of new babies. In this respect, both men and women in Aka and Ngandu communities play specific gender roles that have been pre-determined by their sexuality; because the essence of sexuality and intimacy is to create children, men, and women couple up for procreation, and sex is not for pleasure but a night work in search of babies. However, Aka wife-husband relations are more intimate, close, giving, unlike the case for Ngandu (Hewlett Bonnie and Hewlett Barry 52); Aka husband and wife stick together in many net subsistence activities such as hunting, and fathers provide regular childcare. Whereas Aka men and women express affection by working together in close proximity, Ngandu women consider gifts from their husbands as a sign of affection and the men, the respect of their authority. Q2 There has been evidence of progressively changing attitudes towards acceptance of homosexuality in the Canadian society, with the pervasiveness of this sexual behavior in the country. In Canada, the proportion of people who support homosexuality has grown rapidly in recent years by at least ten points since 2007, especially because religion is not central in people’s lives; currently, about 80 percent of Canadians are tolerant to homosexuality compared to about 70% back in 2007. Unlike in Canada, where society is more tolerant towards homosexuality, the Aka and Ngandu communities have very negative attitudes towards this sexual practice and they remain strongly opposed to the practice. In Aka and Ngandu communities, sexuality is defined by very strict and rigid socio-cultural norms, which enforce the appropriate sexual behavior among individuals; the primary role of intimate relationships is procreation, thus, acceptable unions are those that can fulfill this societal expectation. However, the Canadian society is more tolerant to homosexuality, particularly because of value changes, and the collapse of conventional family structures; Canadian courts began to legalize same sex marriages back in 2003 (Matthews 841). Q3 According to MacIntosh, Reissing and Andruff (79), the removal of homosexuality from Canada’s criminal code in 1969 was a significant change in the advancement of equal rights and protection of all citizens; in 1996, discrimination of people on the basis of their sexual orientation was outlawed in the country. Consequently, both the federal and provincial governments in Canada have amended their legislations, particularly those related to family law, adoption, pension benefits, as well as, income tax, to give both heterosexual and homosexual couples equal rights and obligations in common-law relationships. The definition of marriage in the country has further been amended to include the voluntary union of two persons for life, to the exclusion of everyone else; following these changes, many same sex couples have moved with speed to legalize their unions. A recent poll carried out to investigate the attitudes of Canadians towards homosexuality has indicated that nearly 61% of Canadians support legalization of same-sex marriages, especially because of changing perceptions, due to the increased public visibility of both gays and lesbians. Q4 Homosexuality in Canada is more of a product of the extremely permissive socio-cultural environment than of the biological foundations of individuals; there is increasing evidence that proves incidences of homosexuality and homosexual behavior vary considerably across cultures and across different societies accordingly. Generally, attitudes towards homosexuality have been stable over the years except in Canada, South Korea, and in the US, where they have been changing gradually with a large proportion of people becoming tolerant to this sexual practice ("American Attitudes Toward …”). The practice has been widely accepted in those rich countries that do not emphasize on religiosity such as most of the Western and European Union countries, Canada, North America, and Australia, among others; however, most countries in Africa, and the Muslim dominated countries such as Pakistan, Lebanon, and Indonesia remain strongly opposed to homosexuality. According to Adriaens and Andreas (570), homosexuality is an 18th century invention, and many social scientists also believe that it is a social construct rather than a biological given; nonetheless, research has also proven that same-sex sexuality is not a fixed trait as individuals who are heterosexual have potential to develop homosexual tendencies under encouraging conditions. Homosexuality cannot be associated with genetic factors, especially because homosexuals cannot procreate, and therefore they cannot multiply in numbers; the fact that the numbers still grow regardless of the fact that they do not procreate indicates that it is exclusively a social construct. Q5 Secularization of the Canadian society is responsible for the emergence and pervasive spread of homosexuality tendencies; conventionally, religion was a very powerful and fundamental aspect of human societies, especially because it outlined the fundamental principles that guide and regulate sexuality. Secularization of modern societies has resulted in the loss of faith in religion, thereby dampening the prescriptive power of religion on individuals; today, religion does not play a very fundamental role in the lives of individuals in many societies due to the overreliance on reason (Farmer, Trapnell and Meston 852). The obscure relationship between sexuality and religion has resulted to the widespread permissiveness of the Cnadian society to homosexuality, and the change in societal attitudes and perceptions towards the group subsequently; on the contrary, societies that are still intact with high levels of religiosity still remain opposed to homosexuality. Conclusion Ultimately, with the help of data from Hewlett and Hewlett, I have highlighted some of the ways in which biology, culture, and ecology influence various aspects of Aka and Ngandu sexuality and intimacy. I have also examined the changing attitudes towards acceptance of homosexuality in the Canadian society by drawing evidence from previous research, in addition to the similarities and differences between the Canadian and Aka foragers and Ngandu farmers of the Central African Republic perceptions towards homosexuality. Additionally, I have also presented evidence to show that acceptance of homosexuality in Canada is a product of the social-cultural environment. I have also proposed that the secularization of the Canadian society due to the decline in the prescriptive authority of religion is largely to blame for the emergence and prevalence of homosexual behavior. Works Cited Hewlett, Bonnie and Hewlett, Sarry. “A biocultural approach to sex, love and intimacy in central African foragers and farmers”. In Intimacies: Love and Sex Across Cultures, W Jankowiak (ed.). (2008). Print. MacIntosh, Heather, Reissing, Elke D and Andruff, Heather. “Same-sex marriage in Canada: The impact of legal marriage on the first cohort of gay and lesbian Canadians to wed”. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 19(3), (2010): 79-90. Matthews, J. Scott. “The political foundations of support for same-sex marriage in Canada”. Canadian Journal of Political Science, 38(4), (2005): 841.  Farmer, M. A., Trapnell, P. D., & Meston, C. M. “The relation between sexual behavior and religiosity subtypes: A test of the secularization hypothesis”. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 38(5), (2009): 852-65.  Adriaens, Pieter R., and Andreas De Block. "The evolution of a social construction: The Case of Male Homosexuality." Perspectives in biology and medicine 49.4 (2006): 570-85.  "American Attitudes Toward Homosexuality Continue to Become More Tolerant Research Summary." The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality 9.3 (2000): 212.  Read More