Essay: It’s Just Sex…Isn’t It? (NSFW) [Reblogged from Alchemy of the Word]

It’s difficult to imagine what kind of beasties we’d be if we didn’t have gender.

I saturates all human culture and history. Thinking about it, I can’t recall anything in human history that doesn’t at least make mention of the sex of the individuals involved; and never in just a passing way.

It gives the lie to the notion that sex and sexuality is, or should be, a minimal concern to humanity. How many cultural, religious, and political institutions have tried to control, corral, or redefine for us what we should be as male and female? What’s the point of trying? Why do they try?

There has been (but is no longer, in my opinion) justification for different gender roles as well as rules governing sexual behavior. They had to do with scarcity of resources in the earliest historical periods we have a record of. Restrictions took on the aspect of absolute moral standards rather than the practical expedients they once were. That, and the logical errors inherent in oral traditions (‘It must be true because everyone says it is.’ & ‘It must be true because my parents told me it was and their parents told them &c.’) cemented the notions of gender roles and proper sexual behavior.

And yet, the more I think about this, the surer I become that gender and sexuality are not, in fact, a large part of our being. Not as large as it has been made out to be, anyway…

Click to read the Full Original Entry on Alchemy of the Word