Gender and Sexualities: An Inquiry

game will expose the ways you both were socialized to and resisted socialization to gender- normativity and heteronormativity. Perhaps this exploration will shed light on how you may make intentional choices now, with the new understanding you continue to develop about the forces of socialization we all exist under, to perform gender, the sexed body, and sexuality in your daily life. Key words and phrases: biological sex, embodiment, gender binary , gender identity/identification, gender normativity gender performance, gender role, heteronormative/heteronormativity, institution, sexed body, sexual scripts, socialization Key questions: First, create a sketch or a map of a remembered childhood game that you played. Then use your map to answer the following questions, based on the article by Thorne and Luria:  “The core of sexuality is desire and arousal. Desire and arousal are shaped by and associated with socially learned activities and meanings…[called] ‘sexual scripts.’ Sexual scripts—defining who does what, with whom, when, how, and what it means—are related to the adult society’s view of gender” (Thorne & Luria, 127). What are the sexual scripts in your game?  Is gender segregated in your play? Are sexed bodies organized by/in your play? How is gender understood? How might segregation be evidence of heteronormativity? (Think about how the construction of heterosexuality counterintuitively relies upon gender- segregated behavior.)  “…[C]hildren so often separate themselves by perceived genders—ritualizing boundaries between girls and boys, and talking about them as separate ‘teams’ or ‘sides’…” (Thorne & Luria, 129). What are the ritualized boundaries and rules in your sketch/map? What, if any, are the violations of these boundaries/rules? What were/are these boundaries/rules violated/sustained in your game?