Chapter+06+Sexuality+and+Society



Sexual orientation – a person’s romantic and emotional attraction to another person In the Princess Bride, both Westley and Buttercup show sexual orientation towards each other. In the beginning of the story, they only show attraction towards each other but that quickly grew into romance. They are pulled together by emotion and love.

Heterosexuality – sexual attraction to someone of the other sex Westley and Buttercup demonstrate heterosexuality. Valerie and Miracle Max are also heterosexual towards each other. Both couples show sexual attraction to a person of the opposite sex. They are the opposite of homosexual because they show no attraction towards members of the same sex.

Sex – the biological distinction between females and males Westley, Inigo, and Prince Humperdinck are examples of males. They are distinguished from females by their facial hair, muscular body, and male genitals. Princess Buttercup and Valerie are females distinguished from the males by their feminine features.

primary sex characteristics: the genitals, organs used for reproduction Buttercup contains the primary sex characteristic of a female, she has a vagina. Prince Humperdinck and Westley have the primary sex characteristics of a male, they each have a penis. Each of the characters has the proper organ for each sex.

secondary sex characteristics: bodily development, apart from the genitals, that distinguishes biologically mature females and males Buttercup displays secondary sex characteristics in her breast and curvy figure showing wide hips, this occurs to females as they mature. Westley displays facial hair and strength which is a characteristic of males as they mature. Westley is also tall which is generally a characteristic of males as they mature.

asexuality: a lack of sexual attraction to people of either sex The Albino enjoys torturing both sexes and does not seem to be attracted to either type of sex. He doesn’t seem to be interested in any sexual activities at all. He just enjoys torturing people.