# The Invention of Heterosexuality
URL:: https://share.snipd.com/episode/a7546524-8ae1-44e4-bd8f-551dcf87609d
Author:: Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
## Highlights
> Episode AI notes
> 1. Throughout history and across cultures, men in positions of power have been able to engage in questionable behaviors without consequence, while women's actions have often been overlooked or disregarded.
> 2. Societies tend to admire men in positions of power regardless of their actions, highlighting the disparities in how power and privilege have influenced societal perceptions of behavior based on gender.
> 3. In certain cultures, relationships between powerful men and younger men were accepted historically, shedding light on the influence of cultural norms on societal acceptance of certain behaviors.
> 4. Women engaging in same-sex relationships have often been unseen or dismissed, reflecting the societal tendency to overlook or disregard these relationships. ([Time 0:00:00](https://share.snipd.com/episode-takeaways/ecad6a68-68c5-4c08-bf6f-443fc7fac7fe))
> Power and Privilege in Society
> Summary:
> Men in positions of power have historically been able to engage in questionable behaviors with impunity, whereas women's actions have often gone unnoticed or disregarded. Throughout history and across cultures, powerful men have been excused for their actions due to their status and influence, while women have been overlooked in their activities. This pattern highlights the disparities in how power and privilege have influenced societal perceptions of behavior based on gender.
> Transcript:
> Speaker 1
> What there is evidence of is that men with power have gotten away with doing a lot of things and that that society in general tends to look at men who are in positions of power and say oh you Like to do this thing marvelous and that's true all over the world I mean if you if we look at Chinese history as well if we look at Japanese history as well we find a period you know of the Past where it was considered fairly normal for men with great amounts of power and privilege to have relationships with boys and younger men or other men where it wasn't frowned upon And was often smiled upon not because of what was being done but because of who was doing it uh-huh right and how much power you have how much sort of cultural capital you have and whether Or not you've got a willy has really been the determining factor on the flip side women have often been able to get away with having sex with other women and nobody really noticing or caring Because who notices or cares what women do ([Time 0:15:23](https://share.snipd.com/snip/23a6c6da-8ee2-4345-9863-d6a7f8dc2304))
---
Title: The Invention of Heterosexuality
Author: Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
Tags: readwise, podcasts
date: 2024-01-30
---
# The Invention of Heterosexuality
URL:: https://share.snipd.com/episode/a7546524-8ae1-44e4-bd8f-551dcf87609d
Author:: Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
## AI-Generated Summary
None
## Highlights
> Episode AI notes
> 1. Throughout history and across cultures, men in positions of power have been able to engage in questionable behaviors without consequence, while women's actions have often been overlooked or disregarded.
> 2. Societies tend to admire men in positions of power regardless of their actions, highlighting the disparities in how power and privilege have influenced societal perceptions of behavior based on gender.
> 3. In certain cultures, relationships between powerful men and younger men were accepted historically, shedding light on the influence of cultural norms on societal acceptance of certain behaviors.
> 4. Women engaging in same-sex relationships have often been unseen or dismissed, reflecting the societal tendency to overlook or disregard these relationships. ([Time 0:00:00](https://share.snipd.com/episode-takeaways/ecad6a68-68c5-4c08-bf6f-443fc7fac7fe))
> Power and Privilege in Society
> Summary:
> Men in positions of power have historically been able to engage in questionable behaviors with impunity, whereas women's actions have often gone unnoticed or disregarded. Throughout history and across cultures, powerful men have been excused for their actions due to their status and influence, while women have been overlooked in their activities. This pattern highlights the disparities in how power and privilege have influenced societal perceptions of behavior based on gender.
> Transcript:
> Speaker 1
> What there is evidence of is that men with power have gotten away with doing a lot of things and that that society in general tends to look at men who are in positions of power and say oh you Like to do this thing marvelous and that's true all over the world I mean if you if we look at Chinese history as well if we look at Japanese history as well we find a period you know of the Past where it was considered fairly normal for men with great amounts of power and privilege to have relationships with boys and younger men or other men where it wasn't frowned upon And was often smiled upon not because of what was being done but because of who was doing it uh-huh right and how much power you have how much sort of cultural capital you have and whether Or not you've got a willy has really been the determining factor on the flip side women have often been able to get away with having sex with other women and nobody really noticing or caring Because who notices or cares what women do ([Time 0:15:23](https://share.snipd.com/snip/23a6c6da-8ee2-4345-9863-d6a7f8dc2304))