Males, Females and Choice in Sexuality

[Jaiden]

Originally Posted by Lukie

You missed the context of my post.

"In that regard" ... meaning, in terms of sexuality. I wasn't talking in terms of stay-at-home-mums, or the household cleaner, etc...

My context was regarding purely to sexuality, particularly the freedoms women have in being homosexual. Lesbianism, to me, seems like a much more accepted thing than male-male relationships.

No, I understood what you meant, I just disagreed with the premise.

My point was that the expected female gender role - the stay-at-home-mum, household cleaner stuff - would constiture just as pertinent a pressure on female sexuality as the 'manly', patriarchal, breadwinner stuff on male sexuality. Further, you must say that those social pressures on women are directly related to their sexual freedom and acceptance if the equivalent pressures on men are held to do so.

I don't see how you can say the expectations on men tie into their sexuality and how it is perceived but those on women don't. If men have a 'manly' image to uphold then women have a 'womanly' image to uphold and both those images are of straight people. I also disagree that gay women are more accepted than gay men; there are differences in how the two are perceived but no substantive dichotomy of a lesser or greater prejudice or acceptance.

[Lukie]

Originally Posted by Jaiden

No, I understood what you meant, I just disagreed with the premise.

My point was that the expected female gender role - the stay-at-home-mum, household cleaner stuff - would constiture just as pertinent a pressure on female sexuality as the 'manly', patriarchal, breadwinner stuff on male sexuality. Further, you must say that those social pressures on women are directly related to their sexual freedom and acceptance if the equivalent pressures on men are held to do so.

I don't see how you can say the expectations on men tie into their sexuality and how it is perceived but those on women don't. If men have a 'manly' image to uphold then women have a 'womanly' image to uphold and both those images are of straight people. I also disagree that gay women are more accepted than gay men; there are differences in how the two are perceived but no substantive dichotomy of a lesser or greater prejudice or acceptance.

Maybe it's just a difference in culture. I see what you are saying, woman still have the pressures of an image to uphold, but the whole concept of lesbianism is much more accepted in comparison to the concept of same-sex male relationships. Usually when I hear people refer to a "gay couple", most of the time they are talking about two men, and most of the time in a negative tone. When I hear discussion of lesbians, conversation is less serious, much more casual and hits positive notes at times.

I think that stems from the fact our culture has spawned from a male-dominated society. Men were, and in most places still are considered to be the breadwinner, whilst the woman takes the backseat in and around the home. I'm not saying woman don't have any less of an image to convey, I'm just saying that their sexuality seems to be less of a concern among slightly conservative and traditional people, as opposed to two men being in a relationship.

Perhaps men, who can be notorious for viewing women as sex objects, are more lenient in allowing such activity to occur, simply because the pursuit of sex or getting off overwhelms the fact it's still a homosexual relationship. Think of it like a "two women naked are better than one" mentality.

[StefanHasDiapees]

Neat conversation. I've always felt very ambiguous about my own sexuality; infantilism is just a flavor in the pie. I have felt 'gay' since earliest puberty, but what happens when, via a lack of any boyfriend/girlfriend and a fear of them, one's sexuality seems stuck in the hugs+cuddles mode? Sometimes I feel so ambiguous about sex that I think I'd be best off in a world that had three genders; male, female and neuter. I'm a boy, wouldn't want to be a girl, but living somehow in-between the expectations of both seems like a very comfy spot sometimes.

Try convincing anybody of the validity of that, though. Sigh.