Queer Theory LGBTQ View



These are some definitions on the different issues that are covered here. If you know of something that needs a definition here please feel free to email me.

Gender vs Sex

Until the 1950s, the idea of differentiating between sex and gender was completely foreign to the medical and psychological communities. After all, aside from extremely rare instances, every human being has either two X chromosomes, and is therefore biologically female, or an X and a Y chromosome, and is therefore biologically male. It was not until the past decade or so that a distinction between sex and gender became popularized. Popular culture and postmodern psychology, however, do not change the fact that human beings are either XX or XY. No amount of hormone therapy or surgery can change that fact. (Got Questions)

Bisexual

1a: see usage paragraph below : of, relating to, or characterized by sexual or romantic attraction to people of one's same sex and of the opposite sex

Also: of, relating to, or characterized by sexual or romantic attraction to people of one's own gender identity and of other gender identities

1b: biology : possessing characters of both sexes and especially both male and female reproductive structures : hermaphroditic

2: of, relating to, involving, or characteristic of both sexes

Other Forms
bisexuality
bisexually

While educational and advocacy groups tend to define bisexual broadly as applying to sexual or romantic attraction to members of one's own gender identity as well as to members of other gender identities, the older, narrower application describing attraction to male and female people persists among English speakers, aided, no doubt, by the word's morphology: the prefix bi- means "two."

Note that while the broader meaning of bisexual can be understood as occupying the same semantic territory as pansexual, there are people who identify as one but not the other, as well as people who identify as both.

First Known Use 1793, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Child Exploitation

Using a minor child for profit, power, status, sexual gratification, or some other purpose.

Origin of Exploitation 1795-1805, French exploit +-ation

Unfortunately, there is a large market and interest in using children of all ages for cheap labor, sexual purposes, child pornography, and other purposes. Many individuals taking part in child exploitation do it because there is a large profit to be made, essentially selling the services of children, or the children themselves, to others. Others use children to create child pornography, or for personal sexual gratification.

Thorn.org
A broad term that encompasses all forms of child sexual exploitation. This may include many of the other terms on this list, such as child sexual abuse material, child sex trafficking, and others like sextortion. This is one of the broadest ways to talk about the issue as a whole, rather than the individual and nuanced pieces.

Legal Definition
18 U.S. Code § 2251 - Sexual exploitation of children

(a) Any person who employs, uses, persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any minor to engage in, or who has a minor assist any other person to engage in, or who transports any minor in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, or in any Territory or Possession of the United States, with the intent that such minor engage in, any sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of such conduct or for the purpose of transmitting a live visual depiction of such conduct, shall be punished as provided under subsection (e), if such person knows or has reason to know that such visual depiction will be transported or transmitted using any means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or mailed, if that visual depiction was produced or transmitted using materials that have been mailed, shipped, or transported in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce by any means, including by computer, or if such visual depiction has actually been transported or transmitted using any means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or mailed.

(b) Any parent, legal guardian, or person having custody or control of a minor who knowingly permits such minor to engage in, or to assist any other person to engage in, sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of such conduct or for the purpose of transmitting a live visual depiction of such conduct shall be punished as provided under subsection (e) of this section, if such parent, legal guardian, or person knows or has reason to know that such visual depiction will be transported or transmitted using any means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or mailed, if that visual depiction was produced or transmitted using materials that have been mailed, shipped, or transported in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce by any means, including by computer, or if such visual depiction has actually been transported or transmitted using any means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or mailed.

(c) (1) Any person who, in a circumstance described in paragraph (2), employs, uses, persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any minor to engage in, or who has a minor assist any other person to engage in, any sexually explicit conduct outside of the United States, its territories or possessions, for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of such conduct, shall be punished as provided under subsection (e).

(2) The circumstance referred to in paragraph (1) is that—

(A) the person intends such visual depiction to be transported to the United States, its territories or possessions, by any means, including by using any means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce or mail; or

(B) the person transports such visual depiction to the United States, its territories or possessions, by any means, including by using any means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce or mail.

(d) (1) Any person who, in a circumstance described in paragraph (2), knowingly makes, prints, or publishes, or causes to be made, printed, or published, any notice or advertisement seeking or offering—

(A) to receive, exchange, buy, produce, display, distribute, or reproduce, any visual depiction, if the production of such visual depiction involves the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and such visual depiction is of such conduct; or

(B) participation in any act of sexually explicit conduct by or with any minor for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct; shall be punished as provided under subsection (e).

(2) The circumstance referred to in paragraph (1) is that—

(A) such person knows or has reason to know that such notice or advertisement will be transported using any means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce by any means including by computer or mailed; or

(B) such notice or advertisement is transported using any means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce by any means including by computer or mailed.

(e) Any individual who violates, or attempts or conspires to violate, this section shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not less than 15 years nor more than 30 years, but if such person has one prior conviction under this chapter, section 1591, chapter 71, chapter 109A, or chapter 117, or under section 920 of title 10 (article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), or under the laws of any State relating to aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact involving a minor or ward, or sex trafficking of children, or the production, possession, receipt, mailing, sale, distribution, shipment, or transportation of child pornography, such person shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for not less than 25 years nor more than 50 years, but if such person has 2 or more prior convictions under this chapter, chapter 71, chapter 109A, or chapter 117, or under section 920 of title 10 (article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), or under the laws of any State relating to the sexual exploitation of children, such person shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not less than 35 years nor more than life. Any organization that violates, or attempts or conspires to violate, this section shall be fined under this title. Whoever, in the course of an offense under this section, engages in conduct that results in the death of a person, shall be punished by death or imprisoned for not less than 30 years or for life.

Child Sex Trafficking

Refers to the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a minor for the purpose of a commercial sex act. Force, fraud or coercion do not need to be present for the crime to be considered child sex trafficking (justice.gov, humantraffickinghotline.org)

Sex trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing or soliciting of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act, in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act is 17 or younger.

Labor trafficking involves the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision or obtainment of a person through the use of force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery.

Those trafficked are of all ages, races, ethnicities, nationalities, religions, genders, sexual orientations, socioeconomic backgrounds and citizenship statuses. Traffickers can be anyone, including family members, intimate partners, business owners and community leaders. Trafficking occurs in various industries, such as restaurants, massage parlors, hotels, factories, domestic services, child care, health care and sexually oriented businesses.

Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM)

Refers to any content that depicts sexually explicit activities involving a child. Visual depictions include photographs, videos, live streaming, and digital or computer generated images indistinguishable from an actual minor. CSAM better describes the reality of this crime, rather than the legal term of child pornography. It’s important we use terminology that reflects the impact of this crime on its victims (Thorn.org).

Human Trafficking

Involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. (DHS.gov)

Incest

1 sexual intercourse between persons so closely related that they are forbidden by law to marry
2 the statutory crime of such a relationship

First Known Use: 13th century, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology:
Middle English, from Latin in cestus sexual impurity, from in cestus impure, from in- + castus pure, more at CASTE

Incest Medical Definition
sexual intercourse between persons so closely related that they are forbidden by law to marry the statutory crime of engaging in such sexual intercourse

History and Etymology
Latin in cestus sexual impurity, from incest us impure, from in- not + castus pure

Pedophilia

1. sexual perversion in which children are the preferred sexual object
2. a psychiatric disorder in which an adult has sexual fantasies about or engages in sexual acts with a prepubescent child

First Known Use 1906, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology: New Latin

Pedophilia Medical Definition
1. sexual perversion in which children are the preferred sexual object
2. a psychiatric disorder in which an adult has sexual fantasies about or engages in sexual acts with a prepubescent child