If we want to fulfill the purpose of fighting against all types of abuse that threaten the integrity of any person in the world, the It is an important element that we must all have access to, in order to know the different concepts that allow us to better understand and assimilate human sexuality.
A topic that we have all heard about at some point, but even today many people do not understand very well, is sexual diversity and the different aspects that this concept covers about sexuality of a person and the right that each individual has to decide about their own body.
Culturally, since we were children we have been limited to a sexual education based on genitality, that is, on the existence of the sexual organs of women and men, and the merely reproductive value that is given to people’s sexuality.
However, the reality is that sexuality goes far beyond genitality. Today there are different types sexual identities, orientations and expressions that identify a person’s sexuality and that, in addition, gives them the right to freely decide about their bodies, as well as what makes them feel comfortable and in tune with their feelings.
On this occasion, within the framework of the International Transgender Day of Visibility celebrated on March 31, we will address the issue of sexuality from a broader point of view than just genitality, and how disrespect for free sexuality of a person It has become one of the main causes of millions of cases of discrimination, violence and abuse in the world.
What is ‘sexuality’ and ‘genitality’?
Often when talking about sexuality, many people tend to confuse this concept with genitality, ignoring the different aspects that a person’s sexuality can encompass, that is, the sexual expression, gender identity and sexual orientation.
In an interview conducted by the Spanish newspaper ABC with Valentín Martínez Otero, a doctor in psychology and pedagogy, who also works as a professor at the Faculty of Education of the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), the professional mentions that “sexuality includes psychological and biological aspectswhile genitality refers to the genital organs and procreation.”
Although procreation can also be included within sexuality, this concept goes much further, covering other aspects that are usually ignored by society. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), Sexuality encompasses sex, gender identities and roles, sexual orientation, eroticism, pleasure, intimacy and reproduction.
In this sense, we can say that genitality, by referring clearly to the female and male genital organs, respond to a biological aspect that is transmitted genetically, while sexuality ranges from the biological to the affective and emotional aspects with which a person interacts with their environmentso it is something that is built as life progresses.
What aspects does a person’s sexuality include?
Within sexuality, four main aspects can be identified that allow us to better understand the way in which a person can decide about your body and how you experience pleasure and eroticism in their life.
The aspects that sexuality includes are:
Gender identity
Gender is the social construction of feminine or masculine identity. This construction varies throughout history and between societies, generally due to norms and attitudes that are culturally usually associated with.
For example, care, aesthetics or delicacy are characteristics that society commonly associates more with the feminine, while strength, competence and independence are more associated with the masculine.
However, gender identity refers to the intimate decision of each person to feel like a man, a woman, both or neither of the two. It is a deep and strong feeling that cannot be controlled or chosen. Which can sometimes be consistent with the gender given at birth (referring to genitals), and sometimes not.
The main gender identities that exist are:
- Nonbinary: This is a person who does not recognize themselves within the gender binary, because their identity does not fall within the feminine or masculine.
- queer: Is a person who describes themselves as neither male nor female, but as both, or a mixture of both. You can also use the term “neutrois.”
- fluid gender: Identifies people whose gender identity and expression is fluid and can change depending on time in life or circumstances. They can be bigender, trigender or pangender.
- Transsexual: Refers to people who have a gender identity that does not coincide with their biological sex, for whom a permanent transition is made through surgical interventions.
- Transgender: It is the person who identifies with the opposite sex to that assigned at birth and externalizes it through the way they act and dress, without the need to make a permanent sexual transition.
In conclusion, gender identity refers specifically to the way a person feels inside and how they express their gender through clothing, behavior, and personal appearance. These feelings usually start at a very early age.
sexual orientation
Regarding sexual orientation, this aspect refers to the attraction that one person feels towards another, in emotional, affective, romantic and/or sexual terms. That is, it basically focuses not on one’s own sexuality, but on the tastes that the person has towards others.
Between the types of sexual orientationthere are the following:
- Homosexual: Homosexuality is the emotional, romantic and/or sexual attraction that a person feels towards another of the same sex. Within this orientation there are ‘gay’ orientations, usually associated with masculine people who are attracted to men, and ‘lesbian’ orientations, which are used to identify women who are attracted to other women.
- Bisexual: A bisexual person is one who feels emotionally, romantically and/or sexually attracted to people of both the female and male sexes.
- Heterosexual: Heterosexuality refers to people who feel emotional, romantic and/or sexual attraction to people of the opposite sex to which they identify themselves.
- Pansexual: Pansexuality encompasses people who feel emotionally, romantically and/or sexually attracted to other people, regardless of their sex or gender identity.
- Asexual: People who do not experience any type of sexual attraction towards others and do not desire sexual contact with people of either sex. An asexual person can identify as heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or pansexual, since they only feel affective or emotional attraction.
Sexual orientation is a process that is discovered as the person develops and experiences the emotional attraction towards other people, which normally occurs in adolescence or puberty. Furthermore, this can change throughout life depending on the attraction that one person feels towards another.
sexual expression
A person’s sexual expression clearly refers to the way in which a person expresses their gender, through the gender norms and roles that have traditionally been adopted in different cultures. These norms include the way of dressing, behaving, etc.
The sexual expression of an individual could be:
- Feminine: It is a person who is guided by the norms and roles culturally assigned to the female gender.
- Androgynous: This is a person who has an ambiguous appearance and is guided by the norms and roles culturally assigned to both the female and male genders.
- Masculine: Refers to people who are guided by the norms and roles culturally assigned to the male gender.
Among these norms and gender roles, there can be found the cultural beliefs that men should wear dark or blue colors, while pink and pastel colors are for women, that women should wear skirts and men pants, that boys should play with toy cars and girls with dolls, among others. many others.
biological sex
In this case, we talk about the different physical and biological characteristics that are generally used to differentiate people on a sexual levelbased on aspects such as genital organs, body hormones and chromosomes.
In sexuality we talk about three biological sexes, which are the following:
- Women: It is identified by the XX chromosomes and the vagina as a sexual organ.
- Man: It is identified by the XY chromosomes and the penis as a sexual organ.
- Intersex: Refers to people who are born with sexual organs that do not match the characteristics traditionally used to describe “masculine” or “feminine.” They may present ovarian and testicular tissues, or even variations in chromosomes, such as XXY.
As for intersex people, they are born with a variation that is totally normal and that, unlike widespread belief, does not represent any type of medical problem. In fact, according to the web portal of it is estimated that in the United States between 1 to 2 in every 100 people are intersex.
Consequences of incorrect education on sexuality and gender equality
In the world, as we mentioned at the beginning, the sexual education that is taught to the little ones bases sexuality purely on genitality and the need for physical contact for procreation and human reproduction, leaving aside the very broad aspects that it covers. this concept, and that also identify a community that has historically been a victim of abuse and all types of discriminationfueled by social norms and gender roles that are culturally accepted as “masculine” and “feminine.”
According to data from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), between March 1, 2013 and March 31, 2014, a total of 770 acts of violence against people from the LGTBIQ+ community (Lesbian, Gay, Transsexual, Bisexual, Intersexual, Queer), which were officially counted in the 25 member countries of the Organization of American States (OAS).
The violence and abuse to which people who decide to exercise their power are systematically subjected full right to decide about their bodies and sexualityis directly influenced by social norms that repress gender equality, such as the following:
- Beliefs that associate masculinity with the passion for extreme activities, risk, abruptness.
- Homophobic and transphobic beliefs and attitudes: contempt for LGTBIQ+ people.
- The belief that parents have power over the body and sexuality of their children.
- The belief that children and adolescents do not have autonomy over their bodies, due to their age and experience, and…