-sex-

in the course of my university's ":sex: week," i've found that :sex: is a somewhat bizarrely controversial topic. with so many important issues facing our lives in this day and time, i've spent much time wondering why a biological function could cause such a stir. but i've come to realize that :sex:, in and of itself, really isn't the issue. the issue at hand is :sex:uality...

if there is one culturally defining feature of a person, it is their :sex:uality. we are taught from a young age to behave in a manner consistent with a gender identity and :sex:uality. but why? in a word, security. if one is really forced to consider the meaning and construct of :sex:uality, a basic assumption is shaken, that being the assumption of the "naturalness" of gender and :sex:uality.

when one examines :sex:uality, that person finds not nature, but a social construct. people are taught to dress like "guys" or "girls." this is not an instinct, it's an institution. people are not born "straight" or "gay," they are born as people. people are :sex:ual beings, but putting them into one of two, maybe three, social constructs is trivial and non-thorough.

being "straight" or "gay," in reality, has little to do with actual attraction. when two girls kiss to attract a guy, are they lesbians? if a guy has characteristics culturally defined as feminine, is he gay? often women comment on the attractiveness of other women, but to no questioning of their hetero:sex:uality. what if a male were to do likewise, would this be "hetero:sex:ual" behavior? when one considers such actions, lines start to blur.

so are gender and :sex:ual social constructs a bad thing? not necessarily. but forcing a person to fit a category, or judging them based on a social construct, is certainly a problem. many people use religion, tradition, or out-dated "research" to continue in prejudice, but we can't accept this misuse of the sacred and scientific to continue in blind prejudice. as a progressive generation, it is not only our right, but our duty to stand up for those who have been, and continue to be, oppressed by such prejudice.