Human Sexuality - Sociocultural Aspects

Sociocultural Aspects

Human sexuality can also be understood as part of the social life of humans, governed by implied rules of behavior and the status quo. This focus narrows the view to groups within a society. The socio-cultural context of society places major influences on and form social norms, including the effects of politics and the mass media. In the past people fought for their civil rights, and such movements helped to bring about massive changes in social norms — examples include the sexual revolution and the rise of feminism.

The link between constructed sexual meanings and racial ideologies has been studied in the past. It is found sexual meanings are constructed to maintain racial-ethnic-national boundaries, by denigration of "others," and regulation of sexual behavior within the group. "Both adherence to and deviation from such approved behaviors, define and reinforce racial, ethnic, and nationalist regimes."

The age and manner in which children are informed of issues of sexuality is a matter of sex education. The school systems in almost all developed countries have some form of sex education, but the nature of the issues covered varies widely. In some countries (such as Australia and much of Europe) "age-appropriate" sex education often begins in pre-school, whereas other countries leave sex education to the pre-teenage and teenage years. Sex education covers a range of topics, including the physical, mental, and social aspects of sexual behavior. Where one is geographically placed also plays a role in when society feels it is appropriate for a child to learn about sexuality. In the United States, sexuality is on the “hush-hush” or is unspoken of which happens to limit sources of sexual knowledge. According to TIME magazine and CNN, 74% of teenagers reported that their major source of sexual information were their peers and the media compared to only 10% naming their parents or a sex education course; therefore society makes a huge impact on people’s views when it comes to the acceptable and unacceptable behaviors and attitudes towards sexuality. Society’s views on sexuality have many influences from the past and the present. Even religion and philosophy make an impact. One theorist, Vygotsky states that a child’s development cannot be understood only by the individual alone. The only way to truly understand development is by looking at the individual and the environment or external social world in which the development is occurring.