Sexual Philosophy

Introduction

Sexuality is a broad term, which covers a wide range of aspects of human life. It starts from biological differences between men and women and goes as far as feelings and emotions in sexual identity. Sexuality can be defined as all aspects of biological differences between males and females. Under this bracket, there exist several concepts, which help to understand the broad term. These concepts include gender, sex, love, sexual harassment, sexual identity rape, and many others. For this philosophy essay example, gender, sexual harassment, and rape, as well as sex, will be discussed. The purpose of this paper is to understand the wide concept of sexuality from a personal view. That is what the learner has understood from some of the concepts of sexuality, as well as how the concepts have helped the learner to understand himself or herself as a sexual being (Soble, 2008).

Concepts

• The first concept under focus is gender

Gender is the biological differentiation between males and females. In a layman’s language, gender is seen from men's and women's points of view. In society, there are so many differences that are attached to gender that cannot be scientifically proved. Gender only covers the biological differences, but in societies, it is taken to mean more than that (Sanders, & Reinisch, 1999). To begin with, roles in societies are divided on a gender basis. Research shows that these divisions are based on social and cultural norms, but not on biological differences that define gender. Every society has its beliefs of what women should do. In most cases, these beliefs are not really what women can do, but what people believe they should do. In most societies, women are the disadvantaged group from social and cultural beliefs. Even though women are generally less strong as compared to men, this does not mean they are unfit for all duties. Some women are actually stronger than men. Therefore, how to fit an individual is to carry on a task should depend on evaluation, but not generalized assumptions. In the current economy, women have been given a chance to participate in building the economy, and they have proved to be as good as their male counterparts. Even though some duties were predestined by nature, there are many others that women and men can perform uniformly. For instance, child-bearing is a female’s duty. This is a duty that men cannot perform regardless of strength or will. On the other hand, economic activities are open for both males and females to participate equally. Therefore, both males and females should be given equal chances and environments to perform duties that do not need a specific gender.

• The second concept that is of interest in this paper is sex

Sex is the layman’s language term for sexual intercourse (Stewart, 1995). Sex is seen from two main perspectives. It can be viewed as a negative practice or a positive one. Those who view sex as a negative practice argue that it is a way of using other people for pleasure. They argue that sex should be used for creative purposes only. Most of the people who argue this way are religious individuals. In most religions, sex is sacred and should only be between the married for creation purposes. These critics argue that nobody should use others for pleasure. They insist that people are not objects of pleasure (Soble, 2008). On the contrary, those people that view sex as a positive practice, view it as a way of getting pleasure and, at the same time, giving pleasure to the other person. It is also seen as a measure of defining deep relationships between people. To some, it is an indication of love. These supporters argue that sex is good provided the people involved have consented to it. They insist that the opinion and the willingness of the participants are what matters. This group of individuals only considers sex to be a negative practice when one part is not doing it from the will. This falls under sexual harassment (Scheer, 1996). Under this condition, they agree with the critics that one party has used the other for their pleasure, without involving the feelings of the other party. This, in most societies, is condemned. Therefore, sex is natural, and all human beings are sexual beings. Sex is actually animalistic; that means all animals are sexual. The issue of right or wrong, positive or negative depends on norms, culture, beliefs, and religion. There is no universal opinion, of whether sex is right or wrong, positive or negative.

• The third concept of discussion is sexual harassment

Sexual harassment is when a person is either handled inappropriately, by a person from the opposite gender. In the current world, it is also occurring between people of the same gender (Primoratz, 1999). Rape is an extreme case of sexual harassment. Rape is when an individual is forced to have sexual intercourse with an assailant. Sexual harassment does not necessarily involve sexual intercourse. Both sexual harassment and rape occur under similar circumstances. That is the victim is not willing to comply with the assailant. Initially, sexual harassment was to given many thoughts, and it used to be treated with laxity. Rape cases affect more women than men. Most victims of rape cases are women. There are cases where males are victims of rape cases; in most of which the assailants are also males (Scheer, 1996). Previously, both rape and sexual harassment were treated with less seriousness. Today, serious measures are taken to curb rape. There is little improvement in dealing with sexual harassment cases. In conclusion, there is a great need for improvement in handling gender issues, as well as rape and sexual harassment cases. Gender should not be a basis for discrimination, in employment and duty allocation especially. People should be awarded jobs depending on their abilities and qualifications, but not on their gender. Gender should work as a limitation that hinders anyone from getting hired or getting good occupations. Although currently this has been achieved to some extent, in some cultures, it is still a problem. There is a need to get these cultures from such retrogressive reasoning. In most cases there are very lenient measures against assailants of sexual harassment; these cases are often not even reported. A solution must be found for this situation. It is important to note that there measures and policies that are trying to curb rape cases. Although these policies and measures are not absolute, they have helped to curb most rape cases to some extent.

Sexual harassment has not been considered with the seriousness it deserves (McEvoy, 2011). Victims feel intimidated because they cannot report the case to the relevant authorities. Another problem is that it is difficult to prove sexual assault. This makes it hard to handle cases of sexual harassment. Lastly, as a sexual being, understanding these concepts has helped me to consider life from a different perspective. For instance, my point of view on women and men, regarding the roles they should play in society, has changed greatly. It has also opened my eyes to the fact that every human being is a sexual being, without any exceptions. It has also helped me realize that an individuals’ point of view about sex is determined by their faith.