From Sex to Sexualities:

1. From Sex to Sexualities: A Matter of Development Gillian Fletcher September 2008

2. Session plan • Brief definition & history of sexuality studies • Sexuality and gender: intersections • When Harry Met Sally (1989) — group work • Non-Western constructions of sexuality • Challenges and opportunities of using a sexuality lens in development work

3. Dictionary definition • The quality of being sexual or having sex … usage recorded 1836 • Possession of sexual powers, or capability of sexual feelings … usage recorded 1879 • Recognition of or preoccupation with what is sexual; allusions to sexual matters … usage recorded 1848 • A person's sexual identity in relation to the gender [sic] to which he or she is typically attracted; the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual; sexual orientation … proposeddictionary addition 2004 Oxford English Dictionary online

4. Psychology ‘Sexual orientation is one of the four components of sexuality … The three other[s] are biological sex (whether we are born as a male or female), gender identity (the psychological sense of being male or female) and social gender role (the extent to which people conform to what is regarded in our society as feminine and masculine behaviour).’ Downloaded from Australian Psychological Society (Sept 2008) http://www.psychology.org.au/publications/tip_sheets/orientation/

5. Theoretical definition ‘Sexuality … [is] an historical construction which brings together a host of different biological & mental possibilities, & cultural forms — gender identity, bodily differences, reproductive capacities, needs, desires, fantasies, erotic practices, institutions & values — which need not be linked together, and in other societies have not been’ Weeks, J (2003: 7) Sexuality: Second Edition, Routledge

6. Definition summary • Sexuality (like gender) is not ‘natural’. It is a socially constructed set of understandings, stereotypes and judgements. • ‘The capacities of the body and the psyche are given meaning only in social relations’ (Weeks, 2003) • Members of a society together invent the properties of the world (Clark, Griffin and Turner, 2007) • People create meaning through their interactions with each other and the objects in the environment

7. History • 18th & 19th Centuries: • Sex was ‘increasingly an object of administration and management through government inquiry’ (Hawkes, 2006) • Discussed in fields of medicine, psychiatry, pedagogy, criminal justice and social work • ‘Discovery’ of different male and female sexual anatomy. Previously ‘one sex model’: ‘Turn outward the woman’s, turn inward, so to speak, and fold double the man’s, and you will find the samein both in every respect’ (Galen, 2nd century physician)

8. History • 20th Century — the sexual century (Hawkes, 2006: 3) • ‘[a century of] increasingly detailed and distinct discourses about sex from a variety of sources. This was also when sexuality became a political issue and a foundation for movements of liberation’ (ibid) • Impact of feminism and critiques of ‘compulsory heterosexuality’ (Ruben, 1997) cannot be underestimated • Two strands of sexuality research & theory: • Sexology (the science of sex research) • Critical sexuality studies

9. Sexology • Sexology currently highly medicalised • Concentration on pathologies & dysfunctions …. To be ‘cured’ by medical doctors and therapists trained in psychology • World Association of Sexual Health Congress, 2007: • Toe Pattern and Hetero-Aversion Homosexuality • Neurobiology of Sexual Desire • Traditional and Non-Traditional medical Treatment for Desire Disorders in Females — Psychopharmacology Perspective

10. Critical sexuality studies • Linked to feminist theory, critical theory, sociology, critical anthropology, social constructivism • Strong emphasis on context, power relationships, questioning of normative binary oppositions • Culture, Health & Sexuality journal (10(6) 2008): • Morality & sexual rights: constructions of masculinity, femininity & sexuality among a group of S.A. soldiers • Vaginal practices: Eroticism and implications for women's health and condom use in Mozambique

11. Sexuality & gender:Intersections • When Harry Met Sally (1989) • When Harry Met Sally (1989) • What is a gendered reading of this scene? • What is a sexuality studies reading? • Can you separate the two? • Feedback

12. Sexuality & gender:Intersections • Pringle referred to the ‘schizoid relationship’ between gender and sexuality: ‘For much of the time they ignore each other completely, with the result that there is a large literature which treats sexuality as if gender barely exists and another literature on gender that ignores or marginalises sexuality’ (Pringle, 1992: 77)

13. Sexuality & gender • Weeks (2003: 41): ‘Gender … and sexuality … have become inextricably linked … Human beings … blur the edges between masculinity and femininity. We create differences that transcend the differences of gender (of age, race, sexual need)’

14. Sexuality & gender • Sexuality & gender: Which is the chicken and which is the egg? Neither is free range • Sexuality is often constrained by gender norms • Who should do what to whom, what body parts they should have, what their born sex should be… • Sexuality norms reinforce gender stereotypes • Men are powerful, women are submissive… • Intersex, trans-gendered or transsexual people are often seen as threatening to both gender & sexuality norms

15. Gender & sexuality:Sites of social (in)justice • Transsexuality still classified as a mental illness (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV) • Amnesty International: • ‘Millions of people across the globe face execution, imprisonment, torture, violence and discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The range of abuses is limitless:

16. Sites of social (in)justice • Women raped to “cure” their lesbianism; • loss of custody of their children; • individuals beaten by police; • attacked, sometimes killed, on the street; • regular subjection to verbal abuse; • bullying at school; • denial of employment, housing or health services; • raped and otherwise tortured in detention; • driven to suicide; • executed by the state’ Amnesty International http://www.amnesty.org/en/sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity

17. Non-Western sexualities Still from ‘Friends in High Places’ documentary (2001) • In Burma/Myanmar, the role of Natkadaw is highly significant • Considered very powerful • ‘The gay men who serve as primary conduits for the nat spirits are considered to be neither male nor female’ • (http://www.der.org/films/friends-in-high-places.html)

18. Non-Western sexualities ‘In most Native American history gay, lesbian, &/or transgendered individuals were considered holy … They possessed the delicate balance of male and female, and were often honoured for … having a different spiritual calling … mediators between the spirit world and the natural world.’ (http://www.denvertwospirit.com/mission.html)

19. Non-Western sexualities • Thailand • Beautiful Boxer (2003) • Based on the real life story of Parinya Charoenphol, a Muaythai boxer who underwent a sex change operation from male to female • Women who are referred to as ‘Tom’ (as in tomboy) wear men’s clothes and work in male-gendered roles such as car mechanic • Their female partners are usually feminised, and referred to as ‘Dee’

20. Non-Western sexualities There are three kind of [MSM] we are working with apone, apwint & t’ngei. Trans: apone is closed [appears masculine], apwint is open [appears feminine] Q: And what’s t’ngei? Sex partner … On the external look [apone & t’ngei] look [the] same [masculine]… but apone are more of a passive receiver … T’ngei are the ones who are the giver. Q: OK. And they’re usually also married, is that right? Yes. Q: And, is apone ever married? To a woman? Some. Ko Thu Yar, INGO field worker, Burma/Myanmar

21. Non-Western sexualities ‘Sometimes I thought he is t’ngei and actually he is apone so I have to fuck him instead of him fucking me … we call it being cut by broken glass, in slang’ Ma Sanda, 20; feminised male sex worker, Burma/Myanmar

22. Sexuality & development ‘The development industry has emphasised the dangers of sex and sexuality. This negative approach to sex has been filtered through a view of gender which stereotypes men as predators, women as victims, and fails to recognise the existence of transgender people’ Jolly, S (2007: 10)

23. Development & sexuality ‘When it comes to the economic, social, political and human rights implications of sex and sexuality, there is a silence at the heart of development’ Cornwall, A, Jolly, S (2006: 1)

24. Challenges • ‘What right do we have intervene in local culture?’ (Jolly, 2000) • ‘Homosexuality is often stereotyped as a Western phenomenon’ • ‘Interfering in “culture” appears to be much less of a concern for most in interventions dealing with issues such as poverty alleviation’ • The very real threat of imprisonment / abuse for local people who identify as non-heterosexual

25. Challenges • National staff are also stigmatised • ‘Male colleagues say I am too interested in sex; I am not a good Khmer woman’ • Unthinking imposition of Western understandings of sexuality and sexual identity • ‘I am only supposed to work with men who call themselves gay, but there are so many other Cambodian men who have sex with other men that do not see themselves as gay. They won’t come here’

26. Opportunities • Sexuality is another tool for challenging dangerous and judgemental binary opposites without falling into the male/female divide Masculine/feminine…heterosexual/homosexual…good/bad • Sexuality is a powerful lens through which to identify, magnify & question inequality • Site of extreme ‘moral’ judgement, of violence, of inequality

27. Opportunities ‘The very mobility of sexuality, its chameleon-like ability to take many guises and forms, so that what for one might be a source of warmth and attraction, for another might be one of fear and hate, makes it a peculiarly sensitive conductor of cultural influences, and hence of social and political divisions’ Weeks, J (2003: 1-2) Sexuality: Second Edition, Routledge

28. Opportunities • Sexuality is obviously relevant to S&RH (inc. HIV) • As with gender, it cuts across all development issues • Livelihoods … human rights … education … water & sanitation (access to) … • Ford Foundation (dist. more than US$15 billion worldwide): ‘We believe that a deeper understanding of human sexuality is essential to healthy societies, culture, human rights, and social relationships’ http://www.fordfound.org/about

29. Thank You gcfletcher@students.latrobe.edu.au