If you have read some of our other blog posts you know by now that sexuality is socially constructed and you know what this means. Now comes the question is sexuality real? Once we get our head wrapped around the fact that it is socially constructed it kind of makes the concept of sexuality feel like make believe. "Well that's what you're telling us right? We're just making it up?" These claims are similar to the viewpoints of those who oppose the social construction theory, however if you were to ask Carole S Vance she would tell you these assumptions come from misreading's and misunderstandings of the theory. In her article "Social Construction Theory: Problems in the History of Sexuality" Vance states "To explain how reality is constructed does not imply that it is not real for the persons living it--or trivial, unimportant, or ephemeral-- though it is also true that the insight of construction, when absorbed by the natives (that is, us) has the potential to subvert the natural status of the sexual system and cause us to question and re-think our experience of essential identity." Vance is saying that although sexuality is constructed that does not mean it not real for those experiencing it, however with this realization comes challenges with how we see the natural state of things and can make us question our own sense of identity. This discomfort that comes with these questions makes the criticisms' surrounding social construction unsurprising. Sexuality has been given a very ambiguous and liberated life now more so than ever through social construction and all of the possibilities we can imagine because of it makes it all the more real (Vance).
Sexuality: Is it Real?
Updated: 6 days ago
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