ABSTRACT
This chapter briefly explores diverse sexualities like:
lesbianism
queer or transgressive sexuality
a redefined heterosexuality.
Sexual difference refers not only to various expressions of sexual pleasure, but to women’s desire to become empowered as embodied subjects. The chapter’s main purpose is to examine sexual politics, the ways in which sexual relations are influenced by inequalities of power. Sexualized violence exacerbates sexual politics and makes people (mainly women) appear as mere sex objects. Examples of sexualized violence include:female genital mutilation
pornography as explicit representations of sexual behaviour that degrade and harm
women who regard themselves positively as sex objects
;prostitution as commercialized sexual abuse.
The aims of the chapter are to criticize sexualized power and to respect the complexities of sexual lives.