Hypersexualization Of Queers Essay

Men dancing in little more than underwear to festive music as they decorate a Christmas tree to advertise healthcare, Calvin Klein billboards of two women with strategically placed hands-on-thighs, the Hilton’s “Stop Clicking Around” man-on-man ad campaign, naked women intimately clustered around bold pink letters proclaiming “the L word” - the list could go on. Hypersexualisation of queer people undeniably makes an appearance in media, advertisements, and daily life, but is it undeserved? Queer people exist as a minority group that have a different relationship with sex and gender than their heterosexual, cisgender counterparts. The only differentiating factor between the two is sexuality. Sexual orientation is, by default, an inherently sexual portion of an individual’s identity which directly results in the presentation of queer people as hypersexual. When queer people are featured in media and
The stereotype of promiscuous gay men that contributes to hypersexualisation of LGBT people arose from this very factor, and it holds true among queer women as well. Lesbians and other women-loving-women self report having quite a lot of sex, even at young ages. 29.4% of queer women between 25 and 44 report having sex with more than fifteen people (Bernard). In comparison, a survey by the Center for Disease Control found 10.6% of straight women in that same age group had experienced sex with more than fifteen people. Even queer youth are affected: 55% of LGBTQ kids under the age of eighteen have had sex at some point - over 14% more than among heterosexual youth (Nikels 2). These individuals are actively participating in a more sexual lifestyle than your average heterosexual American, which matches the perception held by