Friday, August 10, 2007

The (Socio-sexual) Matrix... Reloaded

I don't mean to post twice in a row on the same subject… but I had such great feedback, that I just had to update the graphic. You'll notice that ranges of options are now much more obvious, and that "other" and "ambiguous" are now discreet options on their respective facets — I'm still mulling that second choice. Are "other" and "ambiguous" really discrete? Hm...

The new question I'm trying to tackle, though, is whether fertility is a facet of the socio-sexual matrix. Thoughts?

NB: All drafts are available in my public Box.net folder, and other posts on the subject are (of course) available via the socio-sexual matrix topic category.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would think it is, though mostly for folks trying to have kids naturally. It should probably be a three-point thing: fertile, infertile, not trying to procreate sexually

Mickelle said...

very nuanced idea of sexuality. As always I am so impressed at how deeply and throughly you research and explain things that interest you.

Silus Grok said...

Thank you Doug and Mickelle...

Anonymous... I've thought along those lines, but I'm worried that I'm not seeing something below the surface — that there may, indeed, be subtleties of interaction not immediately apparent, regardless of _desire_ to procreate.

Hm...

Anonymous said...

Version 2 is easier to follow. Interesting use of graphical elements, too! I'd be comfortable using it to describe myself.

My previous comment on the Proclamation on the Family was meant in terms of the proclamation having the "right" answers. Many Mormons would look at this graphic representation and be offended when the circles are rotated in the "wrong" direction.

off-topic: I hear that Deseret Book is planning to publish a book of essays on the gay Mormon experience (see http://tinyurl.com/3xzzzt). I wonder if this is their attempt to control public discussion of an important topic -- by selecting essays carefully (and probably editing heavily) they can shape public perceptions and still look like they're open to a wide range of experiences. Anyway, I thought of that because you've written well on your own experience.

Silus Grok said...

Hey DC... sorry about taking so long to reply.

I'm a little behind. In more ways than one...

Some folks may get out of sorts with this... but it's a descriptive not proscriptive device, so they're out of luck.

On the "gay Mormon experience" essays for Deseret Book... I don't see it so much as propaganda as incomplete. But Ty Ray has worked wonders with them previously, so I'm sticking to a "wait and see policy".