JACQUELYN W. WHITE, BARRIE BONDURANT, AND
CHERYL BROWN TRAVIS
Sexuality is an ambiguous term. It can refer to a variety of phenomena, including sexual identity, sexual preference, and sexual behavior. Depending on one’s theoretical perspective, sexuality may be defined in physiological, intrapersonal, or interpersonal terms. Following from these perspectives there are questions regarding what constitutes sexuality. Is sexuality to be defined by physiological reactions in certain body parts, but not others? When does one experience sexuality? Is it lodged in one’s sense of identity as a woman or man? Or must it be defined by the sex of one’s intimate partner? And what does it mean to be intimate with another? These questions have been addressed within frameworks derived from conventional wisdom and traditional science. However, increasingly there is a dissatisfaction with modem scientific traditions. There is a desire for theories, methods, and results that encompass an array of phenomena, including, for example, patterns of relating, language, consciousness, intentionally, and meaning. From feminist perspectives, there is a desire to develop a science for, as well as about, women. We propose that sexuality is interactive and contextual; as such, it requires a social account. It is this social, emergent, and dynamic quality of sexuality that is the focus of this volume.
Approaching sexuality from a social and political context as well as from a personal context leads to a criticism of traditional science and conventional wisdom. These criticisms, when applied to the study of sexuality, reveal numerous ways that the traditional study of sexuality has supported and reproduced gender inequalities in society. Deconstructing sexuality within a social framework enables alternative conceptions of sexuality that may promote equality and provide an understanding of the limits of both traditional and modernist epistemologies.
In the first part of this chapter we review problems associated with modernism and present a summary of social constructionism. We then discuss feminism and social constructionism, as well as modernist and constructionist approaches to sexuality. We conclude with a summary of how social constructionist approaches to sexuality can transform knowledge.