Mixed Sexual Socialization, Case Study Example

Turkey Then, Here Now: Mixed Sexual Socialization

To fully embrace holistic approaches- or disciplines, such as Anthropology, which are in that vein- requires a certain amount of good faith and acceptance. Despite the strict mores of the many of the other families in Turkey, I was raised in a very liberal household. Still, there, sex is something that good girls should not know about- much less speak of. Public and family influences greatly affect the unsaid aspects of social learning. In this respect, my upbringing challenged the status quo of the environment in which I was born. However, I learned to adjust, was gradually acculturated. The teachings of childhood are never fully forgotten, though.

In most cases, it does not even occur to women to question the status of traditions which have been known to them since birth. The Muslim faith prides itself on traditions. For women, one of their first and foremost duties is to resist the biological sexual drive which is described by Hammock. Even as a married woman, an enjoyment of sex is often considered a lustful pursuit which interferes with the person’s purity and religious focus. This shyness is a common feature of children (and especially females) raised in an authoritarian household environment. Hammock maintains that biology and culture are anthropological perspectives which are “tandem developments in human history” (23). In effect, the gender socialization which instilled an appreciation of silent reflection in me is the social culmination of many constructs. The social importance of these roles is easily illustrated by the acceptance of gender and sex as two distinct and separate concepts. Gender is viewed much like Sociology itself- as a cultural examination built upon exclusively-scientific foundations.

Simon and Gagnon divide sexuality into cultural, interpersonal, and intrapsychic concepts, which are interrelated.  I was not raised as a Muslim, so- in religious matters- I did not belong to the collective ideal and its teachings about sexuality. Turkey actually has a wide variety of people and attitudes. However, social learning discouraged my sexual exploration nonetheless to the extent that sexual education is often looked upon as an unnecessary evil. Of the many tacit policies of any culture, sexual customs are the easiest to ascertain by observing the public attitude concerning, prostitution, promiscuous youths, and married and unmarried mothers-to-be.

Recent psychological studies have revealed that like an individual’s development is slow and constant, and so is the sexual development of both the individual and of people in general. For me, the constraints of subject matter during my childhood and teenage years continue to influence me; I feel embarrassed to discuss what biologists claim is normal. Sexual scripts themselves are a complex reflection of sex and gender socialization, although there are not as many extremists as Occidental perspectives often imply (Simon and Gagnon). Even in the most traditional societies, sex with certain rules is respected as a necessary part of the life cycle. Despite my tentative journey into the mainstream, the actual process of developing sexuality is not as important as the sociogenic common ground. Every normal adult has gone through the developments. It is constancy and reassurance.

References

Hammock, G.. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Human Sexuality: Biological, Psychological, and Cultural Understanding. Bolin, A. & Whelehan, P. (ed). Ch. 2: 21-45.

Simon, W., & Gagnon, J. Culture, Society, and Sexuality: A Reader. 2^nd ed. Parke, R., & Aggleton, P. (ed).Ch. 3: 31-40.