Sexes, Volume 4, Issue 3 (September 2023) – 7 articles

On 7 September 2022, the Miami-Dade School Board (MDSB), the governing body of one of the largest school districts in the U.S., rejected a resolution requiring the MDSB to observe October 2022 as LGBTQ History Month and directing the district’s superintendent to investigate the feasibility of providing “information and resources” about landmark LGBTQ Supreme Court cases for optional use in high school government classes. The current study coded the transcript of the September 7 meeting utilizing qualitative research protocols based on grounded theory. The resulting analysis identified three themes (curriculum, coercion, and illegality) associated with comments made by members of the public who opposed the resolution and three themes (curriculum, well-being, and anti-LGBTQ bigotry) associated with comments made by members of the public who supported the resolution. Analysis of the September 7 transcript also identified one primary theme (illegality) associated with MDSB members who opposed the resolution and two themes (disinformation and choice) associated with the MDSB member who supported the resolution. In addition to illustrating certain aspects of a contemporary moral panic in the U.S. and other countries, these results provide insights into how the public and U.S. school board members perceive the appropriateness and limitations of addressing the needs of contemporary LGBTQ students. Full article

The presently ubiquitous idea of how gender is defined remains deeply indebted to modern thought, depending on the concept of sex as its reference point. Originating with practices arising from capitalism, modern thought’s concept of sex was enhanced with the search for the norm regarding standardization, then further refined through the research program of eugenics. Gender, in contrast to sex, has its roots in sexual practice changes from the second half of the twentieth century onward, developed in association with 1980s postmodern thought. The presuppositions of the two concepts differ radically. Understanding the difference between sex and gender matters because gender is now more than a critique of sex—it is an idea that is accepted and understood in popular culture and affects how people interpret their sexuality. This review examines the foundations of modern and postmodern thought, then focuses on sex and gender with respect to their history within these modes of thought. The conclusion, pointing to future research, is that a further reformulation of sexuality will be required for gender, as a postmodern idea, to truly separate itself from the presumptions of sex as a modern concept, permitting individuals to express their sexuality as they choose without negative social and psychological repercussions. Full article

Traumatic psychosocial environments directly impact adult life. Compromised self-esteem, emotional self-regulation, and interpersonal relationships are observed, and a predisposition to the presence of mental and personality disorders is exacerbated in cases of sexual abuse. Science has presented quantitative and statistical studies on child abuse and a limited number of studies that have investigated the consequences and long-term impacts on the lives of individuals who suffered maltreatment in childhood and did not have access to forms of protection or social support after the identification of child abuse, especially in Brazil. Therefore, this case report is a qualitative study of an ideographic nature which aims to evaluate the “particular” form of abuse repercussions in the life of a 60-year-old woman, giving voice to the victim of child abuse through the process of the investigation and complex analysis of her life history and family relationships. The psychological assessment protocol included a semi-structured interview, active listening, a genogram, and a mental status examination. The results reveal the coexistence of a rigid and violent environment with the presence of physical punishment and child sexual abuse. Self-injurious episodes and suicide attempts began in adolescence. Changes in mood, changes in remote memory, negative thoughts, self-injurious behavior, suicidal ideation and attempts, clinical comorbidities, a lack of interest in romantic relationships, and the repetition of behaviors that perpetuate the cycle of abuse and violence (physical, psychological, and patrimonial) were identified. The diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder with dependent and borderline personality traits have been established. The case requires a multi-disciplinary follow-up with the use of medication to control and remit the symptoms. Full article

Sexuality and occupation are two constructs studied in different fields of knowledge. Particularly, in occupational therapy and occupational science, their relationship has been sparsely explored from a philosophical perspective. In the following reflection, we present some philosophical approaches to sexuality, occupation, and performativity to inquire about the impact of discourses about sexuality on the practice of occupations. For this analysis, we take an example developed by Foucault in one of his classes at the Collège de France. We believe that this helps us question the established discourses surrounding truth, especially concerning sexuality. Subsequently, we address the concept of occupation, taking into consideration Schliebener’s proposal from existentialist philosophy. Understanding occupation as a dimension of being, we explain how it can be comprehended through Butler’s theory of performativity and, consequently, express a sexual dimension. Finally, we establish an interconnection between the preceding concepts, taking sexual dissidents as an example. We propose that this reflection can broaden the possibilities of understanding occupations as points of resistance against normative discourses about sexuality. This may be relevant for contemplating practice and research in occupational science and occupational therapy, as it expands the understanding of sexuality beyond mere activities and centers it as a form of expression of being through occupation. Full article

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition with a prevalence rate of 2.78%, and it is characterized by deficits in sociability and communication and restricted patterns of interests and activities. Remarkably, this psychiatric disorder exhibits a pronounced gender bias, with 80% of children diagnosed with ASD being boys. In this review, we will present advancements in mouse models of ASD and their potential contributions to our understanding of the disorder. We will highlight how initial pre-clinical investigations focused solely on male mice due to the gender bias in ASD and explain why we believe that this approach might have had detrimental consequences regarding our understanding of ASD etiology and pathophysiology. We will highlight the evidence of two sensitive periods during brain development when differential exposure to gonadal hormones may result in sex differences in brain function and behavior: the perinatal period and the pre-pubertal period. Finally, we will suggest neuroinflammation as a feasible biological mechanism that may converge different ASD etiological factors and cellular mechanisms into a brain sexual differentiation context, thus accounting for the gender disparities observed in the disorder. Full article

Effective sexual health education provides individuals medically accurate knowledge and promotes the skills necessary for positive behaviors related to sexual health. This qualitative study employs focus groups to examine learning experiences of nine participating adolescents from a comprehensive youth empowerment and sexual health virtual summer program (The YES! Program). Focus group interviews were coded using inductive analysis to compute student learning themes (safety and prevention, preparation, and communication) and utterance coverage. Narrative inquiry highlighted the experiences of the participants. The results highlight students’ learning experiences through participation in the YES! Program and the skill outcomes of comprehensive sexual health education. Full article

Men often perceive greater sexual willingness underlying women’s behaviors than women themselves intend. This discrepancy can contribute to sexual miscommunication and, sometimes, acts of sexual assault. The current study tested whether actor–observer asymmetry is present in women’s ratings of sexual intent to offer an additional explanation for past findings. We hypothesized that women rating their own behaviors would report less sexual intent compared to women rating another woman’s behaviors. We also hypothesized that these ratings would be influenced by the physical attractiveness of a male target through self-reported sexual arousal as a mediation pathway. Results from a community sample of 164 women (M_age = 42 years) generally supported these hypotheses. Sexual arousal was positively associated with ratings among all participants, but the mediation pathway was significant only for women rating another woman’s behavior. The findings suggested that actor–observer asymmetry is present in ratings of sexual intent. This effect might account for some of the sexual overperception phenomena and explain why third-party observers of women’s sexual behavior (e.g., potential partners, Title IX investigators, jurors) sometimes misinterpret sexual willingness. Full article