ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses two themes in the sociology of sexualities that are relevant to the study of human rights. First, the sociology of sexualities challenges the assumption that sexuality is essentialist, a property of individuals, which has its own truth and exists outside social forces, that is somehow presocial and biologically driven or perhaps divinely ordained. Second, sociologists of sexualities theorize the ways in which sexuality serves as an axis of domination and is part of every major social institution. In the United States, heteronormativity structures contemporary sex-education programs and research on sexual health. The Yogyakarta Principles outline the deleterious consequences that people suffer because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. They include extra-judicial killings, torture and illtreatment, sexual assault and rape, invasions of privacy, arbitrary detention, denial of employment and education opportunities, and serious discrimination in relation to the enjoyment of other human rights.
