Why does sexual identity-behavior discordance exist? |...

Name: Problem 1, Chapter 7: Introducing the New Sexuality Studies: Original Essays
Uploaded: 2020-06-04T20:10:47-08:00
Duration: 5 min 16 s
Channel: John Barone
Description: Why does sexual identity-behavior discordance exist?

Key Concepts

Sexual Identity

Sexual identity refers to how individuals perceive and label their own sexuality based on internal feelings, attractions, and experiences. It involves a personal understanding of one’s sexual orientation and is often expressed through social and cultural categories. However, this self-identification can be influenced by a variety of factors that do not necessarily align with all aspects of an individual’s behavior.

Sexual Behavior

Sexual behavior encompasses the actual sexual activities a person engages in, which may not always mirror their stated sexual identity. Various circumstances—such as curiosity, situational contexts, or experimentation—can lead to behaviors that differ from the way individuals identify themselves, generating a discrepancy between identity and behavior.

Social and Cultural Norms

Social and cultural norms play a critical role in shaping both sexual identity and behavior. These norms—including ideas about gender, expectations regarding relationships, and definitions of acceptable sexuality—can influence how individuals express themselves and may pressure some to conform to socially desirable labels despite their actual experiences.

Stigma and Discrimination

Stigma and discrimination against non-heteronormative behaviors or identities can lead to discordance between sexual identity and behavior. Individuals might downplay or misreport their behaviors to avoid negative social repercussions, which can result in a misalignment between their private actions and public identities.

Sexual Fluidity

Sexual fluidity acknowledges that sexual attractions and behaviors can change over time and vary across situations. This concept highlights that rigid labels may not accurately capture the complexity of people’s experiences, leading to instances where one’s sexual identity does not always align with the diversity of their sexual behaviors.

Transcript

00:01 This question is asking us about the relationship between sexual selection and sexual dimorphism.

00:07 So sexual selection is a kind of natural selection in which individuals of one gender influence the survival and reproduction of individuals of the other gender.

00:19 So sexual selection comes in two types.

00:25 And these have different names, but most commonly they are intersexual selection.

00:30 And in intersexual selection, individuals are one gender choose, actively choose individuals of the other to mate with.

00:44 And it's most commonly seen as female choice.

00:49 So females choose males that they like to mate with.

00:54 And then there's also intracosexual selection.

01:01 And in intracultural selection, this is often called male combat.

01:08 So males compete for access to females.

01:22 All right, so sexual selection has two kinds, intersexual selection and intracosexual selection.

01:28 Sexual dimorphism refers to having the genders with different phenotypes that they look different.

01:38 So sexual dimorphism, the genders look different.

01:49 And of course, often this isn't the case in many, many species.

01:54 Including almost all plants, for example, there is no sexual dimorphism, but we tend to be used to sexual dimorphism because most of the time we can readily discern males and females and human beings...

Please give Ace some feedback