Sexual polarity is a

concept A concept is an abstract idea that serves as a foundation for more concrete principles, thoughts, and beliefs. Concepts play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied within such disciplines as linguistics, ...

of dualism between

masculine Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some beh ...

and

feminine Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and Gender roles, roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there is also s ...

. More generally, the term may be used to denote mutual opposition between sexual

ideologies An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...

. Metaphorical symbolism of sexual polarity is deeply intertwined in cultural understandings of

nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

. Conceptions of male and female poles are developed through history in relation to each other.

Measurement

Researchers at the University of Connecticut devised a scale of sexual polarity between

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

and

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

sexual

. In a study of 140 undergraduates, correlations along this scale were shown between right-wing sexual ideologies and both church attendance and sex- guilt.

Bacterial conjugation

Sexual differentiation may be seen between pairs of bacteria cells engaged in bacterial conjugation. The genetic-element donor may be characterized as having a 'male' sexual polarity and the recipient a 'female' sexual polarity.

Feminist literature

Historical blurring of boundaries between male and female poles has necessitated debates regarding maintenance of

social order The term social order can be used in two senses: In the first sense, it refers to a particular system of social structures and institutions. Examples are the ancient, the feudal, and the capitalist social order. In the second sense, social orde ...

, particularly during periods of rapid change. Shulamith Firestone's '' The Dialectic of Sex'' presents a vision of radical feminism calling for division of

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

into two modes, Technological and Aesthetic, married by a 'union of opposites'. Chris Middleton argues that this dual organization is intended to reflect and replace the existing sexual polarity of culture. In ''Alternative Shakespeare'', Cotherine Belsey uses sexual polarity as

lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...

for both interpretation of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's comedies and in critique of

second-wave feminism Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades, ending with the feminist sex wars in the early 1980s and being replaced by third-wave feminism in the early 1990s. It occurred ...

Self-help

Sexual polarity is sometimes presented in

New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

and

self-help Self-help or self-improvement is "a focus on self-guided, in contrast to professionally guided, efforts to cope with life problems" —economically, physically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. When ...

materials. In ''The Way of the Superior Man'', David Deida discusses challenges related to the ethical expression of masculine polarity. On the Robbins Research International website, life coach Tony Robbins presents an explanation of sexual polarity in relation to intimate relationships and sexual attraction.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Dichotomies

Measurement

Bacterial conjugation

Feminist literature

Self-help

See also

References