This assignment asks you to draw on the first two weeks of readings, lectures, and videos to write a short paper on the
social construction of sexuality and gender in relation to race and class. The course materials have discussed how
categories of sexuality and gender are produced through different institutions in specific historical and cultural contexts,
and the authors we have read have highlighted the importance of an intersectional analysis of sexuality and gender.
In other words, you have thought about where our ideas about sexuality and gender come from and how those ideas
change over time and place. This paper gives you the opportunity to explain what it means to say that sexuality and
gender are social constructions, using examples and evidence from several course readings.
Please write a 2- to 3-page paper to address the following question: How have some sexualities and genders been
socially constructed as normative and others as deviant in specific historical moments?
Use the following questions as a guide to develop your analysis:
• Why can we describe sexuality and gender as social constructions?
• Where do we get our knowledge about sexuality and gender?
• How do different cultural institutions (like the state, science, medicine, religion, the law, and the family)
contribute to the construction of sexuality and gender as concepts?
• How do hierarchies of race, class, and nation shape the production of “normative” and “deviant” sexualities?
Your paper should begin with a clear thesis statement and support your claims with textual evidence from three of the
readings from the course readings we have completed so far. The strongest essays will be well-organized, well-written,
and well-supported, and will illustrate the connections among the authors’ arguments.
Please double-space your paper and use 12-point Times New Roman and 1-inch margins. Give your paper a title that
reflects your argument. Papers are due on Canvas on Friday, July 30th by 11:59pm.
Writing Guide
A. Brainstorming and analysis:
(1) Start by identifying 2-3 examples from the readings that you find compelling and interesting. (Re-read the readings
those examples are from!).
(2) Consider the above questions in relation to your chosen examples and readings to brainstorm your ideas. You do NOT
need to structure your paper according to these questions! Instead, organize your paper around your analysis of the two
main examples which will support your overall argument.
(3) Remember that these examples will serve as the evidence for your thesis statement, which should explain how
sexuality and gender are socially constructed in relation to race, class, and nation.
(4) Outline your main points and the overall structure of your paper.
B. Writing and revising:
(5) Write your first draft, using the readings to support your analysis and argument. Here is a suggested structure for your
paper:
Introduction: Begin your paper with an introduction that briefly describes the problem you are discussing (how
sexuality and gender are socially constructed) and how your paper approaches this problem. For such a short paper,
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your introduction should be less than half a page long! Your introduction should mention the specific institutions and
examples you are using to explain the process of social construction. Please do not list the authors and the titles of
their articles in your introduction! (that is not necessary and also looks like padding). End your introduction with a
clear and specific thesis (1-2 sentences) that explains your argument about social construction and gestures to why
understanding social construction is important.
First body paragraph: Your first body paragraph should introduce your first example. Begin your paragraph with a
clear and specific topic sentence. Your examples can come from any of the course materials (readings, lecture, films).
Remember to contextualize each example; this means locating it in its particular historical, cultural, and political
moment (who, what, when, how). Explain how this example illustrates the process of social construction of sexuality
and gender. Use textual evidence from the course readings to support and develop your points; either by paraphrasing
an author’s point or integrating a direct quote into your sentence as evidence.
Next body paragraph: Your next body paragraph should continue to elaborate your analysis of your first example OR
introduce your second example. Make sure your paragraph begins with a clear transition sentence that explains how
this paragraph is continuing the discussion of the previous paragraph. This paragraph should address (if you haven’t
already done so in the previous paragraph) how this particular example is representative of the larger institution of
which it is a part (such as the state, science, medicine, religion, the law, and the family), in order to highlight the role
that larger institutions play in the production of knowledge about sexuality and gender. Remember that your analysis
should develop through an intersectional lens, which means discussing, when relevant, how race, class, and nation
intersect with gender and sexuality.
Next body paragraph: Your next body paragraph should introduce your second example if you haven’t already begun
to discuss it in the previous paragraph. Make sure your paragraph begins with a clear transition that explains how
these ideas are connected.
Remaining body paragraphs: The following paragraphs (if there are any!) should continue to develop your analysis in
a similar way by using your examples as case studies to make larger claims about the process of social construction.
Remember that your paragraphs are the building blocks of your overall argument, so you need to show the reader how
each new point you are making relates back to your thesis. Always support your claims with textual evidence from the
readings.
Conclusion: Your conclusion should remind the reader of your thesis statement and overall argument. Your
conclusion should not present any new claims or analysis (since you will not be able to develop or substantiate them
in this final paragraph). However, your conclusion can gesture towards the larger implications of your argument
and/or remaining questions for future analysis.
(6) Revise your paper draft, making sure that you have a clear and specific thesis statement in your introduction, and clear
transitions between paragraphs and ideas. Proofread for grammar and clarity; reading your paper out loud to yourself is a
great way to do this!
Paper Checklist
Please make sure your paper does all of the following in order to receive a passing grade.
✓ Defines social construction and explains how sexuality and gender are socially constructed
✓ Analyzes sexuality in relation to race and class in particular historical moments
✓ Discusses at least two specific examples of the social construction of sexuality from the readings
✓ Cites at least three course readings to develop your analysis. You don’t need a works cited page. Use MLA
format for in-text citations (author last name pg #). Examples: (Vance 2) and (Mogul et al 14).
✓ Begins with a clear thesis statement and supports your claims with textual evidence from the readings.
✓ Meets page length requirements of 2-3 pages. This means at least 2 full pages! Papers shorter than 2 pages will
automatically receive a D. It’s fine if your paper is a little longer than 3 pages.