Sexuality in Todays Society - Essay Example

Number: Sexuality in Today’s Society Sexuality relates to the realization of gender differences and awareness of what makes one different from the others. In today’s society, the issue of sexuality is more pronounced than ever beings although in reality sexuality is not anything new in than society. Today, sexual awareness is expressed and practiced at a tender age as opposed to the passed when it was expressed a little later in life. This means that children today tend to discover their sexuality at an earlier age than before. Fundamentally, realizing and coming to terms with one’s sexuality marks the entrance into adulthood. As such, sexuality can be viewed as the most intense meeting point of nature and culture. It is sexuality which enables people to be honest with themselves and those around them. Today, sex is a subject that the society has become slightly less shy to discuss about. Despite the fact that sex is a personal act, the society has become more comfortable and open to discussing about sexuality and sex. This has partly been brought about by the fact that many young people have sexual issues or questions related to their sexuality and need help to solve them as noted by Cohen (170). This can be attributed to the fact that most of the people become sensitive of their sexuality at the teenage. Teenage sexuality encompasses a lot of things such as the real definition of sex, what influence teen attitude towards it, what they should know about sex, societal effects, gender variation and differences in sexuality. Human beings are social beings and their beliefs, habits, fears, hopes and desires are molded by their different societies. This is absolutely true in the case of their sexual attitudes and acts. Every individual is born with the potential of a sexual expression which is realized in various ways. Today, where sexuality has become an open issue, this potential is well realized. As they grow up, children tend to develop behaviors acceptable in their cultures while at the same time they acquire various feminine or masculine characters in accordance to their sex. In a society that is full of frustrations with les puritanical education children adopt loose morals and sometimes use sex in order to express their hostility. Both men and women are different in the case of sexuality and they usually posses different emotions as well as feelings when it comes to sexuality. As a result, the influence of gender expectations has an enormous effect on individuals’ sexuality. Gender role basically relates to is how an individual acts as male or female. Males and females are treated differently in today’s society. While the males are treated as tough they live without emotions, the females are treated with a lot more care considering that they are believed to be more emotional hence (Bader 184). The sexual conduct of males and females not only reflect their personal tastes but largely reflect the basic values of the society they live in and the social groups to which they belong. The society today is prone to acts of promiscuity and both men and women’s sexual behavior is becoming exclusively an open issue with nothing to fear about. Despite how they differ from each other as human beings, their moral sense today is usually determined by the principals of their culture. In the today’s societies, cultural values are being overtaken by the developments in technology and the society is almost adopting a similar culture where all people seem to behave similarly as suggested by Weeks (85). This is well the case as individuals no longer put into consideration their cultural values when it comes to the issue of their sexuality. Today’s culture in terms of sexuality issues can be grouped into two; the hedonistic and tolerant culture and the puritanical and repressive culture. On one hand, in the hedonistic and tolerant cultures most individuals tend to be joyful and sensuous when handling their sexuality. On the other hand in the puritanical and repressive cultures individuals tend to be anxious and inhibited when it comes to handling their sexuality issues. This divides the today’s society into two different inclinations towards sexuality the first one is one where the individuals will enjoy themselves taking sex as a source of joy and the second one is where the individuals will condemn sex and conceal it considering it as a source of shame. Therefore it is the sexual attitude of each individual which defines where they lie between the two groups. The societal ultimate reason, significance and nature of sexuality to the individual depict how they match to sexual standards and the basis of such standards. In most of the societies both in the past and today, sexuality is tied to ancient religious dogma. However the Christian stand on sexuality still holds but cross-cultural studies have shown that the stand as highly unusual in today’s society. Sexuality frequently is ripped off from the rest of the individual and hardly ever becomes connected to the individual’s spirituality. In the prehistoric times, there were women identified as sacred prostitutes and usually worked in temples according to Machacek and Wilcox (186). Men especially after war would go to them to rekindle themselves and regenerate their souls. Today these sources of regeneration are hardly found, thus stress and exhaustion cause physical obstacle which lead to less sexual drive, sexual dysfunction, compulsion or numbness. This may make people feel something is wrong with their sexuality thus feeling ashamed leading to their silence and secrecy. As a result these people may engage in sexual habits not healthy for themselves in order to counter this issue given the increasing technology the society is experiencing today. Sexuality as viewed by the society both in the past and today has different meanings to men and women and it is also revealed differently. Men are generally perceived to be tough and strong emotionally. Hence for many men, sex is the one great way through which they feel safe to open their emotions. Therefore to men sexuality reveals their masculinity, connects them and helps hem appreciate emotional acceptance. In the case of women, sexuality is more valuable to them and it helps them define their emotions towards the male. The modern society is largely obsessed with sexual issues but not in a healthy way. This obsession is mostly due to people’s sexual repression. Although the society is against such sexual habits and encourages people to engage only in responsible sexual behavior, people still indulge in risky behaviors. This is due to the fact that people find it enjoyable and argue that it gives them pleasure. As a result of the increasing sexual promiscuity today, people are indulging in various abnormal sex habits such as homosexuality, bestiality and rape. People have found it pleasurable to engage in sex with individuals of the same sex which goes contrary to general societal norms. This has increased today and those engaged in such habits no longer hide it from others. Due to technological developments, many people today watch sex tapes which increase their drive for sex and this has also led to the invaluable view of sexuality in today’s society. The sense of sexual naivety which existed in the past is longer happening today and this has encouraged people to talk about as noted by Aggleton (57). Today many teens are engaging in sexual promiscuity thus resulting to many of them falling for unwanted pregnancies. This has been encouraged by the many writings on sex, sex films and plays which depict sexual matters without a distinct coverage. For instance today pornography is being watched by people across all ages, young children who cannot even define their sexuality included. Thus the openness of sex may be said as having positive impact but it is largely negative. In today’s society parents have also been reluctant to control their children sexual habits thus worsening the situation. This is partly due to the increasing number of working class parents who end up having less time with their children. Therefore it is a high time that parents realized their role in teaching their children in relation to their sexual habits. This would reduce the negative impact of sexuality in the society today. The society is characterized by frequent changes in fashion which is often depicted in people’s sexual attitudes. This is more evident in the females who have invested in such forms of dressing which could not be acceptable in the past. The use of different items in order to fulfill sexual desires has been on the increase in the current world. For instance many countries have legalized the sale of vibrators used by women to fulfill their sexual desires. Human sexuality plays a significant role in individual’s life and thus it is a central part of what peopl do and how they do it in the society today. Sexuality in human beings is different from that of animals as it is governed by a multiplicity of factors in humans according to Bhattacharyyav (96). This explains the reason human beings do not engage in sex for reproduction purpose only but also for enjoyment. Human sexuality is a basic source of human motivation considering the time spent in thinking about it. In fact, to some extent sexuality influences human action. However sexuality sometimes is associated with various personal and social problems such as sexually transmitted diseases, harassment and unplanned pregnancies. The society today is obsessed with sex and the question that comes to the fore relates to how the society should behave in relation to the issue of sexuality. In this aspect religion is an important tool for fighting unfavorable sexuality issues. This is because religious groups mostly advocate for sexual purity which ought to be of great importance in the society today. However it has proved difficult to maintain sexual purity today considering that many cultures are obsessed with sex and permissiveness in all types of sexual expressions. Sex according to the bible is meant for two people of the opposite sex who are mutually attracted to each other and in an acceptable marriage union as noted by Carroll (34). This is seen as a thing of the past and those who engage in sexual activities do no put into consideration this matter. It is important to note that the control of mind and its thoughts on sexuality is the key to sexual purity. Sexuality in human beings today is a complex issue that is influenced by aspects of our lives such as physiological, learning and cognitive aspects. Works cited Bhattacharyya, Gargi. Bhattacharyya is with the University of Birmingham, UK. London: Routledge, 2002. Aggleton, Peter. Culture, society and sexuality: a reader. London: Taylor & Francis, 2007. Machacek, David. & Wilcox, Melissa. Sexuality and the worlds religions. California: ABC-CLIO, 2003. Cohen, David. Law, sexuality, and society: the enforcement of morals in classical Athens. Campridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Bader, Michael. Male Sexuality: Why Women Dont Understand It-And Men Dont Either. Maryland : Rowman & Littlefield, 2010. Carroll, Janell . Sexuality now: embracing diversity. Auckland: Cengage Learning, 2009. Weeks, Jeffrey. Sexuality. London: Taylor & Francis, 2009. Read More