Metrosexual to Spornosexual: An exploration of 'male' gender

Mark Simpson - 'Father of the Metrosexual'

Metrosexuality has always been a topic I've avoided. Its a term that was thrown into the public sphere and endorsed by many, but hardly understood by those who used it. In the past I found it to be wholly uninteresting. Straight men obsessing about their looks and their clothes? Not really my area of interest.

This week, I attended a talk by 'the father of the metrosexual' -the man who coined the term- Mark Simpson. Admittedly I wasn't expecting much, but the talk turned out to be extremely enlightening and intriguing.

Trans* Rights - Disclose Your Gender History or it May Be Rape

The idea of transgender rights is not all that new. In many civilizations transgender, genderqueer, and in general gender minorities have been treated in certain specific ways. These customs may or may not have been codified into written laws but they can be seen as conventional laws or practices. However it is relatively new to our society and as such, there are no rules on how treat individuals who defy our gender norms and it seems that the law is struggling to keep up.

In the United Kingdom there has been a flurry of recent cases (here, here, and here) that all have to do with gender representation and how it affects sexual activity. Particularly, these cases revolve around issues of consent. These cases are important because they are setting the legal precedent for future cases, and unfortunately it seems that they are finding it to be a criminal offense to have sex with someone without disclosing your 'gender'.

Law and Sexuality: A Theoretical Exploration - Part 1 Defining Terms/Concepts

Often times the law does not reflect academic results. This is especially true when it comes to mental disorders and issues of psychology. A big area that the law doesn't seem to recognize or understand fully seems to be the idea of human sexuality. Human sexuality is complex, and our understanding of it ever growing, but it seems difficult for the law to keep up with developments in the academic fields.

Sexuality is first broken down into three main categories:

Sexual Identity, which constitutes one's inner feelings about themselves in relation to others and even their bodies. It incorporates the biological aspect of sex, but also things around intercourse.

Sexual Expression, is similar to identity in that it also incorporates biological sex and intercourse, but as the name implies it is more about how such things are expressed. It seems to be a more physical whereas sexual identity is more internalized and metaphysical, and has to do with self association.

And then Gender. Gender has to do with ones social role and social identities.

Each of these categories are part of sexuality as they have to do with how you relate to yourself and others sexually, as well as your sexual desires and actions. Each aspect can be broken down into other aspects that address such desires and relations more specifically.