12.4 Sexuality and Queer Anthropology

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

  • Explain how sexuality is threaded through the life cycle and various realms of culture.
  • Describe the prevalence of same-sex relationships in heteronormative societies.
  • Define the concept and practices related to ritualized sexuality.
  • Give two examples of transgender roles in heteronormative contexts.

Intersecting with gender, the anthropological study of sexuality explores the diversity of meanings, practices, relationships, and experiences associated with erotic interactions. Since the 1980s, the study of sexuality in anthropology has burgeoned into the dynamic subfield of queer anthropology. Anthropologists working in this subfield focus on areas of sociocultural activity distinguished from the presumed norms of heterosexuality and binary gender identities (Howe 2015).

The content of this course has been taken from the free Anthropology textbook by Openstax