,TESTBANK FOR Sociology of Sexualities Second
Edition by Kathleen Fitzgerald
Notes
1- The file is chapter after chapter.
2- We have shown you few pages sample.
3- The file contains all Appendix and Excel sheet
if it exists.
4- We have all what you need, we make update
at every time. There are many new editions
waiting you.
5- If you think you purchased the wrong file You
can contact us at every time, we can replace it
with true one.
Our email:
, Fitzgerald, Sociology of Sexualities, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Chapter 1: The Social Construction of Sexuality
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Taking a sociological approach to sexuality requires ______.
A. understanding the relationship between biology and sexuality
B. analyzing how culture and society shape sexuality
C. taking an individualistic lens on sexuality
D. isolating the effect of sexuality in our lives
Ans: B
Learning Objective: 1-1: Describe the sociological approach to the study of sexuality.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Sociology of Sexualities
Difficulty Level: Easy
2. The term ______ refers to being sexually attracted to people of all sexes or genders.
A. pansexuality
B. bisexuality
C. homosexuality
D. asexuality
Ans: A
Learning Objective: 1-1: Describe the sociological approach to the study of sexuality.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Terminology
Difficulty Level: Easy
3. A person who claims that all people are either heterosexual or homosexual would
likely support which of these ideas?
A. monogamy
B. compulsive sexuality
C. sexual binary
D. essentialism
Ans: C
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Sexual Binaries
Difficulty Level: Medium
4. “Sexuality is unchanging and innate” can be categorized as a(n) ______ belief.
A. essentialist
B. heterocentric
, Fitzgerald, Sociology of Sexualities, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
C. intersectional
D. sexophobic
Ans: A
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: Evidence of the Social Construction of Sexuality
Difficulty Level: Hard
5. What do the authors conclude about nature, nurture, and sexuality?
A. More research is needed into potential “gay genes.”
B. Human sexuality emerges at the intersection of nature and nurture.
C. Nature plays no role in shaping sexuality.
D. Sexual revolutions affect how nature impacts sexuality.
Ans: B
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Nature Versus Nurture
Difficulty Level: Medium
6. How did the invention of “heterosexuality” and “homosexuality” shape how people
thought about sexuality?
A. Sexual behaviors became more central to a person’s identity.
B. Sexual behaviors became less central to a person’s identity.
C. People became more likely to experiment sexually.
D. People became less likely to experiment sexually.
Ans: A
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: The Invention of Heterosexuality and Homosexuality
Difficulty Level: Hard
7. Taking an intersectional approach to understanding sexuality involves ______.
A. analyzing diverse and emerging expressions of sexuality
B. understanding gender inequality as the dominant form of oppression
C. recognizing that multiple forms of oppression simultaneously shape each other
D. focusing on social categories rather than biological categories
Ans: C
Learning Objective: 1-5: Explain the sexualization of racial/ethnic minorities.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Sexualizing Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Difficulty Level: Easy
8. Compulsory heterosexuality means an individual is ______.
, Fitzgerald, Sociology of Sexualities, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
A. heterosexual by choice
B. shaped by cultural forces to be heterosexual
C. denying their own homosexuality
D. obsessed with sexuality
Ans: B
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Compulsory Heterosexuality
Difficulty Level: Easy
9. Traditionally, U.S. society has linked childhood sexuality with ______.
A. dysfunctionality
B. heterosexuality
C. asexuality
D. healthy exploration
Ans: C
Learning Objective: 1-4: Depict sexuality across the life course.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Childhood Sexuality
Difficulty Level: Easy
10. When sociologists talk about sexual invisibility, they are referring to ______.
A. covert sexual behavior
B. aspects of sexuality that are ignored in society
C. an individual’s ability to traverse sexual identities
D. media’s censoring of sex
Ans: B
Learning Objective: 1-6: Discuss sexual minorities beyond lesbian and gay.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Sexual Invisibility
Difficulty Level: Medium
11. When did a major sexual revolution occur in the United States?
A. 1940s–1950s
B. 1960s–1970s
C. 1980s–1990s
D. 2000s–2010s
Ans: B
Learning Objective: 1-3: Identify key characteristics of a sexual revolution.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Sexual Revolutions
Difficulty Level: Easy
12. Sexual revolutions usually emerge in response to ______.
A. new forms of birth control
, Fitzgerald, Sociology of Sexualities, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
B. sexual freedom
C. changing gender roles
D. sexual repression
Ans: D
Learning Objective: 1-3: Identify key characteristics of a sexual revolution.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Sexual Revolutions
Difficulty Level: Medium
13. Julie is in a loving, emotionally involved, and consensual relationship with two
different people. This is an example of ______.
A. mononormativity
B. bisexuality
C. polyamory
D. intersectionality
Ans: C
Learning Objective: 1-6: Discuss sexual minorities beyond lesbian and gay.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: Sexual Relationships: Beyond Monogamy
Difficulty Level: Hard
14. What sexual behavior is preferred by teenagers?
A. kissing
B. oral sex
C. sexual intercourse
D. mutual masturbation
Ans: B
Learning Objective: 1-4: Depict sexuality across the life course.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Adolescent Sexuality
Difficulty Level: Easy
15. How were the sexual practices of BDSM viewed historically?
A. as symptomatic of mental illness
B. as consensual experimentation
C. as acceptable only in monogamous relationships
D. as falling outside the sexual hierarchy
Ans: A
Learning Objective: 1-6: Discuss sexual minorities beyond lesbian and gay.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Sexual Minorities Beyond LGBTQ
Difficulty Level: Medium
16. ______ allows us to study how Black men are hypersexualized while Asian men are
desexualized.
A. Intersectionality
, Fitzgerald, Sociology of Sexualities, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
B. Stereotyping
C. Essentialism
D. Heteronormativity
Ans: A
Learning Objective: 1-5: Explain the sexualization of racial/ethnic minorities.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: Sexualizing Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Difficulty Level: Medium
17. Imagine two female performers kiss each other as part of a live performance. This
exemplifies which concept?
A. mononormativity
B. heteronormativity
C. heteroflexibility
D. pansexuality
Ans: C
Learning Objective: 1-1: Describe the sociological approach to the study of sexuality.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: The Sociology of Sexualities
Difficulty Level: Medium
True/False
1. Stereotypes about sexuality are less gendered for seniors compared to young adults.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 1-4: Depict sexuality across the life course.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Sexuality and the Aged
Difficulty Level: Hard
2. Contemporary sexual stereotypes for Black men reflect historical stereotypes that
labeled Black men as threats to White women.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 1-5: Explain the sexualization of racial/ethnic minorities.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Sexualizing Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Difficulty Level: Hard
3. Biological determinism is a form of essentialism.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Evidence of the Social Construction of Sexuality
, Fitzgerald, Sociology of Sexualities, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Difficulty Level: Medium
4. The sexual revolution in Russia led to better sex education in the country.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 1-3: Identify key characteristics of a sexual revolution.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Box 1.1 Global/Transnational Perspectives on Sexuality: The Sexual
Revolution in Russia
Difficulty Level: Medium
5. Pansexuality is the same thing as bisexuality.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Terminology
Difficulty Level: Medium
Short Answer
1. Provide three examples of binary categories in culture, and explain how they are
being challenged.
Ans: Binary categories refer to the idea that there are two groups, and people must be
in one or the other of those groups. The gender binary (that people are male or female)
persists today, although that is slowly being changed as more people identify as
genderqueer or gender fluid. Another binary would be heterosexual versus homosexual;
while people still tend to think in terms of straight or “not straight,” we know that there
are diverse sexual identities. A final category is White or non-White. This assumes that
all people who are non-White have similar features, identities, and experiences. The
examples of sexual stereotypes in this chapter challenge that binary by showing that
race, gender, and social class can all impact these stereotypes.
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Sexual Binaries
Difficulty Level: Hard
2. Define the sexual double standard.
Ans: This refers to the cultural beliefs and norms that allow and even encourage men’s
sexual permissiveness while discouraging or even condemning women’s sexual
experiences.
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
, Fitzgerald, Sociology of Sexualities, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Answer Location: Sexual Socialization
Difficulty Level: Easy
3. Briefly describe a sexual script in our culture.
Ans: Scripts help us make sense of our interactions with others, and sexual scripts refer
to those shared meanings and expectations that people hold for sexual encounters.
One example in contemporary culture is a hookup script. This is a script that generally
involves having “no strings attached” sex that is focused on the pleasure of sex with
little emotional involvement.
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: Sexual Socialization
Difficulty Level: Medium
4. Explain how sexual stereotypes reflect inequality in society.
Ans: Sexual stereotypes are created and reinforced by the dominant group(s) in society.
Many of the sexual stereotypes imposed on racial and ethnic minorities are used to
justify unfair policies, or they reflect prejudice from earlier periods that painted Black
men as threats to White women. Thus, these stereotypes contribute to the normalization
of “White” sexuality while characterizing the sexuality of other groups more negatively.
Learning Objective: 1-5: Explain the sexualization of racial/ethnic minorities.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Sexualizing Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Difficulty Level: Hard
5. Define polyamory.
Ans: Polyamory refers to being in multiple loving, consensual, and emotionally bound
relationships with partners. These relationships are generally characterized by their
intentional efforts to support gender equality.
Learning Objective: 1-6: Discuss sexual minorities beyond lesbian and gay.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Sexual Relationships: Beyond Monogamy
Difficulty Level: Easy
Essay
1. Explain the sociological approach to the study of sexuality. How is it different from a
biological or psychological approach?
Ans: The sociological approach has three main characteristics. First, this approach
requires trying to make the familiar unfamiliar by taking a new angle. Second, this
approach means looking beyond the individual to understand how culture shapes
perceptions and ideas about sexuality. Third, the focus is on understanding how
sexuality is socially constructed--that is, resulting from culture and interactions and not
, Fitzgerald, Sociology of Sexualities, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
from biology. A biological approach would focus more on understanding how genetics or
evolution, for example, contributes to some aspects of sexuality, while a psychological
approach would focus on individuals without always considering the broader context.
Learning Objective: 1-1: Describe the sociological approach to the study of sexuality.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: The Sociology of Sexualities
Difficulty Level: Medium
2. What does it mean to say that sexuality is socially constructed? Provide three pieces
of evidence that support the argument that sexuality is a social construction.
Ans: To say that sexuality is social constructed means that how sexuality is defined and
understood is shaped by the cultural and social contexts, which means that sexuality
takes different forms and meanings across time and space; this counters a biological
understanding of sexuality, which would require sexuality to be fixed and static. One
piece of evidence is that the terms “heterosexuality” and “homosexuality,” which we
tend to take for granted as identities today, were not invented until the late 1800s;
furthermore, their original meanings--both were about deviance from sexual norms--
have changed over time. A second piece of evidence is the sexual double standard,
which people learn through sexual socialization; this idea can contribute to men’s and
women’s sexualities being treated very differently. Third, there is no evidence of an
alleged “gay gene,” suggesting that sexuality cannot be reduced to genetics but rather
must be shaped by society.
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Evidence of the Social Construction of Sexuality
Difficulty Level: Hard
3. Using concepts from the text, make an argument that we are currently in a historical
era that later generations will look back on and describe as a sexual revolution. Now
make the counterargument: provide evidence that shows that we are probably NOT
currently in a sexual revolution.
Ans: Sexual revolutions generally develop in response to sexual repression--
Historically, this repression has taken the form of anti-LGBTQ laws, efforts to control
women’s sexuality, and efforts to limit reproductive rights. One could argue that we are
in a sexual revolution for two key reasons. First, same-sex marriage was legalized
relatively recently and quickly; this legal change continues to prompt conversation about
other loving, consensual relationships that are currently lower on the sexual hierarchy,
such as polyamory. Second, the widespread hookup culture on college campuses could
be evidence that young people are focused on pleasure, sex for fun and without strings
attached, and instant gratification. This could be in response to persistent norms that
say sex should occur within a serious relationship. To counter this argument, students
might point to the ongoing efforts by the Trump administration to curtail access
(particularly women’s access) to reproductive health care, including access to abortion.
This would be evidence of a countermovement.
Learning Objective: 1-3: Identify key characteristics of a sexual revolution.
Edition by Kathleen Fitzgerald
Notes
1- The file is chapter after chapter.
2- We have shown you few pages sample.
3- The file contains all Appendix and Excel sheet
if it exists.
4- We have all what you need, we make update
at every time. There are many new editions
waiting you.
5- If you think you purchased the wrong file You
can contact us at every time, we can replace it
with true one.
Our email:
, Fitzgerald, Sociology of Sexualities, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Chapter 1: The Social Construction of Sexuality
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Taking a sociological approach to sexuality requires ______.
A. understanding the relationship between biology and sexuality
B. analyzing how culture and society shape sexuality
C. taking an individualistic lens on sexuality
D. isolating the effect of sexuality in our lives
Ans: B
Learning Objective: 1-1: Describe the sociological approach to the study of sexuality.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Sociology of Sexualities
Difficulty Level: Easy
2. The term ______ refers to being sexually attracted to people of all sexes or genders.
A. pansexuality
B. bisexuality
C. homosexuality
D. asexuality
Ans: A
Learning Objective: 1-1: Describe the sociological approach to the study of sexuality.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Terminology
Difficulty Level: Easy
3. A person who claims that all people are either heterosexual or homosexual would
likely support which of these ideas?
A. monogamy
B. compulsive sexuality
C. sexual binary
D. essentialism
Ans: C
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Sexual Binaries
Difficulty Level: Medium
4. “Sexuality is unchanging and innate” can be categorized as a(n) ______ belief.
A. essentialist
B. heterocentric
, Fitzgerald, Sociology of Sexualities, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
C. intersectional
D. sexophobic
Ans: A
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: Evidence of the Social Construction of Sexuality
Difficulty Level: Hard
5. What do the authors conclude about nature, nurture, and sexuality?
A. More research is needed into potential “gay genes.”
B. Human sexuality emerges at the intersection of nature and nurture.
C. Nature plays no role in shaping sexuality.
D. Sexual revolutions affect how nature impacts sexuality.
Ans: B
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Nature Versus Nurture
Difficulty Level: Medium
6. How did the invention of “heterosexuality” and “homosexuality” shape how people
thought about sexuality?
A. Sexual behaviors became more central to a person’s identity.
B. Sexual behaviors became less central to a person’s identity.
C. People became more likely to experiment sexually.
D. People became less likely to experiment sexually.
Ans: A
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: The Invention of Heterosexuality and Homosexuality
Difficulty Level: Hard
7. Taking an intersectional approach to understanding sexuality involves ______.
A. analyzing diverse and emerging expressions of sexuality
B. understanding gender inequality as the dominant form of oppression
C. recognizing that multiple forms of oppression simultaneously shape each other
D. focusing on social categories rather than biological categories
Ans: C
Learning Objective: 1-5: Explain the sexualization of racial/ethnic minorities.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Sexualizing Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Difficulty Level: Easy
8. Compulsory heterosexuality means an individual is ______.
, Fitzgerald, Sociology of Sexualities, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
A. heterosexual by choice
B. shaped by cultural forces to be heterosexual
C. denying their own homosexuality
D. obsessed with sexuality
Ans: B
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Compulsory Heterosexuality
Difficulty Level: Easy
9. Traditionally, U.S. society has linked childhood sexuality with ______.
A. dysfunctionality
B. heterosexuality
C. asexuality
D. healthy exploration
Ans: C
Learning Objective: 1-4: Depict sexuality across the life course.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Childhood Sexuality
Difficulty Level: Easy
10. When sociologists talk about sexual invisibility, they are referring to ______.
A. covert sexual behavior
B. aspects of sexuality that are ignored in society
C. an individual’s ability to traverse sexual identities
D. media’s censoring of sex
Ans: B
Learning Objective: 1-6: Discuss sexual minorities beyond lesbian and gay.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Sexual Invisibility
Difficulty Level: Medium
11. When did a major sexual revolution occur in the United States?
A. 1940s–1950s
B. 1960s–1970s
C. 1980s–1990s
D. 2000s–2010s
Ans: B
Learning Objective: 1-3: Identify key characteristics of a sexual revolution.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Sexual Revolutions
Difficulty Level: Easy
12. Sexual revolutions usually emerge in response to ______.
A. new forms of birth control
, Fitzgerald, Sociology of Sexualities, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
B. sexual freedom
C. changing gender roles
D. sexual repression
Ans: D
Learning Objective: 1-3: Identify key characteristics of a sexual revolution.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Sexual Revolutions
Difficulty Level: Medium
13. Julie is in a loving, emotionally involved, and consensual relationship with two
different people. This is an example of ______.
A. mononormativity
B. bisexuality
C. polyamory
D. intersectionality
Ans: C
Learning Objective: 1-6: Discuss sexual minorities beyond lesbian and gay.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: Sexual Relationships: Beyond Monogamy
Difficulty Level: Hard
14. What sexual behavior is preferred by teenagers?
A. kissing
B. oral sex
C. sexual intercourse
D. mutual masturbation
Ans: B
Learning Objective: 1-4: Depict sexuality across the life course.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Adolescent Sexuality
Difficulty Level: Easy
15. How were the sexual practices of BDSM viewed historically?
A. as symptomatic of mental illness
B. as consensual experimentation
C. as acceptable only in monogamous relationships
D. as falling outside the sexual hierarchy
Ans: A
Learning Objective: 1-6: Discuss sexual minorities beyond lesbian and gay.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Sexual Minorities Beyond LGBTQ
Difficulty Level: Medium
16. ______ allows us to study how Black men are hypersexualized while Asian men are
desexualized.
A. Intersectionality
, Fitzgerald, Sociology of Sexualities, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
B. Stereotyping
C. Essentialism
D. Heteronormativity
Ans: A
Learning Objective: 1-5: Explain the sexualization of racial/ethnic minorities.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: Sexualizing Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Difficulty Level: Medium
17. Imagine two female performers kiss each other as part of a live performance. This
exemplifies which concept?
A. mononormativity
B. heteronormativity
C. heteroflexibility
D. pansexuality
Ans: C
Learning Objective: 1-1: Describe the sociological approach to the study of sexuality.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: The Sociology of Sexualities
Difficulty Level: Medium
True/False
1. Stereotypes about sexuality are less gendered for seniors compared to young adults.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 1-4: Depict sexuality across the life course.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Sexuality and the Aged
Difficulty Level: Hard
2. Contemporary sexual stereotypes for Black men reflect historical stereotypes that
labeled Black men as threats to White women.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 1-5: Explain the sexualization of racial/ethnic minorities.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Sexualizing Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Difficulty Level: Hard
3. Biological determinism is a form of essentialism.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Evidence of the Social Construction of Sexuality
, Fitzgerald, Sociology of Sexualities, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Difficulty Level: Medium
4. The sexual revolution in Russia led to better sex education in the country.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 1-3: Identify key characteristics of a sexual revolution.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Box 1.1 Global/Transnational Perspectives on Sexuality: The Sexual
Revolution in Russia
Difficulty Level: Medium
5. Pansexuality is the same thing as bisexuality.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Terminology
Difficulty Level: Medium
Short Answer
1. Provide three examples of binary categories in culture, and explain how they are
being challenged.
Ans: Binary categories refer to the idea that there are two groups, and people must be
in one or the other of those groups. The gender binary (that people are male or female)
persists today, although that is slowly being changed as more people identify as
genderqueer or gender fluid. Another binary would be heterosexual versus homosexual;
while people still tend to think in terms of straight or “not straight,” we know that there
are diverse sexual identities. A final category is White or non-White. This assumes that
all people who are non-White have similar features, identities, and experiences. The
examples of sexual stereotypes in this chapter challenge that binary by showing that
race, gender, and social class can all impact these stereotypes.
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Sexual Binaries
Difficulty Level: Hard
2. Define the sexual double standard.
Ans: This refers to the cultural beliefs and norms that allow and even encourage men’s
sexual permissiveness while discouraging or even condemning women’s sexual
experiences.
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
, Fitzgerald, Sociology of Sexualities, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Answer Location: Sexual Socialization
Difficulty Level: Easy
3. Briefly describe a sexual script in our culture.
Ans: Scripts help us make sense of our interactions with others, and sexual scripts refer
to those shared meanings and expectations that people hold for sexual encounters.
One example in contemporary culture is a hookup script. This is a script that generally
involves having “no strings attached” sex that is focused on the pleasure of sex with
little emotional involvement.
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: Sexual Socialization
Difficulty Level: Medium
4. Explain how sexual stereotypes reflect inequality in society.
Ans: Sexual stereotypes are created and reinforced by the dominant group(s) in society.
Many of the sexual stereotypes imposed on racial and ethnic minorities are used to
justify unfair policies, or they reflect prejudice from earlier periods that painted Black
men as threats to White women. Thus, these stereotypes contribute to the normalization
of “White” sexuality while characterizing the sexuality of other groups more negatively.
Learning Objective: 1-5: Explain the sexualization of racial/ethnic minorities.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Sexualizing Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Difficulty Level: Hard
5. Define polyamory.
Ans: Polyamory refers to being in multiple loving, consensual, and emotionally bound
relationships with partners. These relationships are generally characterized by their
intentional efforts to support gender equality.
Learning Objective: 1-6: Discuss sexual minorities beyond lesbian and gay.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Sexual Relationships: Beyond Monogamy
Difficulty Level: Easy
Essay
1. Explain the sociological approach to the study of sexuality. How is it different from a
biological or psychological approach?
Ans: The sociological approach has three main characteristics. First, this approach
requires trying to make the familiar unfamiliar by taking a new angle. Second, this
approach means looking beyond the individual to understand how culture shapes
perceptions and ideas about sexuality. Third, the focus is on understanding how
sexuality is socially constructed--that is, resulting from culture and interactions and not
, Fitzgerald, Sociology of Sexualities, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
from biology. A biological approach would focus more on understanding how genetics or
evolution, for example, contributes to some aspects of sexuality, while a psychological
approach would focus on individuals without always considering the broader context.
Learning Objective: 1-1: Describe the sociological approach to the study of sexuality.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: The Sociology of Sexualities
Difficulty Level: Medium
2. What does it mean to say that sexuality is socially constructed? Provide three pieces
of evidence that support the argument that sexuality is a social construction.
Ans: To say that sexuality is social constructed means that how sexuality is defined and
understood is shaped by the cultural and social contexts, which means that sexuality
takes different forms and meanings across time and space; this counters a biological
understanding of sexuality, which would require sexuality to be fixed and static. One
piece of evidence is that the terms “heterosexuality” and “homosexuality,” which we
tend to take for granted as identities today, were not invented until the late 1800s;
furthermore, their original meanings--both were about deviance from sexual norms--
have changed over time. A second piece of evidence is the sexual double standard,
which people learn through sexual socialization; this idea can contribute to men’s and
women’s sexualities being treated very differently. Third, there is no evidence of an
alleged “gay gene,” suggesting that sexuality cannot be reduced to genetics but rather
must be shaped by society.
Learning Objective: 1-2: Explain what it means to say that sexuality is socially
constructed.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Evidence of the Social Construction of Sexuality
Difficulty Level: Hard
3. Using concepts from the text, make an argument that we are currently in a historical
era that later generations will look back on and describe as a sexual revolution. Now
make the counterargument: provide evidence that shows that we are probably NOT
currently in a sexual revolution.
Ans: Sexual revolutions generally develop in response to sexual repression--
Historically, this repression has taken the form of anti-LGBTQ laws, efforts to control
women’s sexuality, and efforts to limit reproductive rights. One could argue that we are
in a sexual revolution for two key reasons. First, same-sex marriage was legalized
relatively recently and quickly; this legal change continues to prompt conversation about
other loving, consensual relationships that are currently lower on the sexual hierarchy,
such as polyamory. Second, the widespread hookup culture on college campuses could
be evidence that young people are focused on pleasure, sex for fun and without strings
attached, and instant gratification. This could be in response to persistent norms that
say sex should occur within a serious relationship. To counter this argument, students
might point to the ongoing efforts by the Trump administration to curtail access
(particularly women’s access) to reproductive health care, including access to abortion.
This would be evidence of a countermovement.
Learning Objective: 1-3: Identify key characteristics of a sexual revolution.
