Chapter 10 & 19 Flashcards
What are the characteristics of infancy stage?
0-2years
● Tumescence
● Self-stimulation
● Infant - infant encounters -sexual encounters – gazing, patting, kissing
● Non-sexual, sensual experiences – bathing, cuddles
● Attachment - psychological bond that forms between an
infant and the mother, father, or other caregiver
● Knowing about gender differences
What are the characteristics of early childhood?
3-7years ● Masturbation ● Same-sex behaviour ● Sex knowledge and interests ● Some other sex play – boys and girls may hold hands or “play doctor”
What is masturbation?
● pleasurable and normal behaviour
● children learn that masturbation is private behaviour during this
period
What is same sex behaviour?
● sexual play with one’s own gender during late childhood and preadolescence may be common
Why is childhood sexuality research done?
Early theories still influence psycho-social discussion about childhood sexuality
Stages of development
Research wasnt sound or ethically procured back in the day for sexuality research
What is the issue with sexual research in children?
Need to understand childhood sexuality because we always looking at it from adult point of view
Absence of data in sufficient quantities to make strong conclusions, Leads to theories, and unsubstantiated
hypotheses
How is sexual data collected?
Surveys in which people recall their childhood sexual behaviour.
Interviews of children – raises ethical issues
Talking computer interviews – computer presents questions
through headphones, child types in answers
What did Kinseys work show?
(-) biases due to memory and estimates
✤ Non-purposeful distortions
-Might just remember wronge, not purposefully hiding anything
✤ Purposeful distortions
-Give worng answer as a participant because they feel shae because of the answer theyy mightgi give
Influences on memories
✤ Family stories, pictures
✤ Effects of trauma
Over and under-estimates
What are the benefits of child surveys?
There are benefits to collecting accurate data on childhood sexuality
Informed by social, political and religious ideas
Parents and guardians must provide consent on behalf of the child
What has to be done every time there is a child sexuality study?
harms benefit analysis
-cant harm one group for data
Why is it important to study childhood sexual behaviour?
In part, due to its relationship to sexual abuse
Teachers and parents comfortable teaching sexual educaiton?
Some parents don’t want it taught in school
What are the data sources used in childhood sexual behaviour studies?
Direct observation
(-) ethical issues
- Location, representative conditions
- Practicality
(-) infrequency of sexual behaviour
(-) observer effects
-Looking for certain behaviours
What was the AAP study about?
1998
1000 children (2-12yrs)
Used Child Sexual Behaviour Inventory (3rd)
Also a checklist to assess other familial factors (hours in daycare, family stress etc)
Assessed by primary female caregivers (who were trained)
What are some of the childhood sexual behaviours most frequently seen in children 2-5?
✤ Touches genitals at home & public ✤ Touches breasts ✤ Tries to look at others when they are nude ✤ Gets upset when adults kiss ✤ Hugs adults they do not know well ✤ Stands too close to others ✤ Shows genitals to adults
What are some of the childhood sexual behaviours most infrequently seen in children 2-5?
Talks flirtatiously
Makes sexual sounds
Touches animal sex parts
Pretends toys are having sex
Shows sex parts to children
Undresses adults against their will
What is the conclusion of the child sexual behaviour studies?
Children display various types of sexual behaviors with varying frequency
Even when there was no indication of sexual abuse
Self-stimulating behaviors and exhibitionism are most frequent
What is the observer effect?
Primary female care-givers (mothers) who felt childhood sexual behaviour was normal reported more sexual behaviours within the study
Self stimulatin behaviour normal in 205 yrs, and is normal but should tell them to do it in proivate
How do children construct their own initiated activities and social relationship?
rule breaking
labels and categories
differing tolerances for boys and girls
gender normative rules of behavior
Different in ways male and female play and tolerance of behaviour, rules, hierarchies
Do boys and girls see things differently?
✤ Social separations of boys and girls ✤ In-group emotional excitement ✤ Power hierarchies ✤ Negotiating friendships and dyads (constructing intimacy) ✤ Bonding through mutual self disclosure
What do boys do more of?
Boys used more “dirty” words compared to girls
✤ linked to bonding
Boys more active atheltically
Little discussion of intimacy and less perosnal disclosures
What do women do more of?
✤ Girls more interested in relationship building and romance
✤ lots of discussions of relationship rules
✤ more self disclosures
✤ more emphasis on appearance
What are influences on children sexuality beyond the school environment?
✤ After school activities ✤ Sports clubs ✤ Summer camps ✤ Neighbourhood interactions ✤ Religious ceremonies and rituals ✤ Familial generational expectations ✤ Cultural frameworks ✤ Audio and visual media
What are the ambiguities of sex through the lifespan?
Learn things about sexual behaviour at different times
we learn interrelationship between: ✤biological sex ✤gender identity ✤attraction ✤physical sexuality ✤emotional connection ✤desire and arousal ✤cultural norms
✤socially learned activities and their meanings
✤navigating and making sense of first experiences ✤sexuality through the lifespan
Why should we acknowledge child as sexual being?
Most people think they are Not sexual beings, pure souls, but we are negating am aspect of the human condition and sheltering children from that info
What is the social construct of sexuality?
Sexual meanings of an adult world influence children and youth
✤ Misunderstood by youth
✤ Uncomfortable for adults
✤ Boundaries shifting with globalization and mass media abundance
If respinse by adult is kinda negative then you are going to be less apt to be open and not ask those kinds of questions ini the future
How is sexuality in infancy and preschool years portrayed?
Our first attachments are to our parents and first care- givers
Research supports that infant attachment style may be predictive of a person’s ability to attach within interpersonal romantic relationships later in the lifespan (sexual beings from birth to death)
What are the caregivers attachment styles?
if caregiver is attentive, adults attachment style is secure approach to relationships
if caregiver is cold/rejected, adults attachment style its avoidant approach to relationships
if caregiver is inconsistent, adults attachment style its anxious approach to relationships
When do kids discover their genitals?
6-12 months
Touching increases as overall coordination improves (normal)
Observed at homes, day cares, pre-schools
When do we say child-child encounters?
Parallel play
Socialization begins around age 4-5 and may include body explorations
-Playing doctor
-Observances of intimate contacts
-Primal scene (parents having sex)
-Age-appropriate de-briefing depending on the comfort level of parents
What are infants and preschoolers interested in in terms of sexuality?
Interest in nudity & other peoples bodies
Interest in intimate behaviours such as kissing
Beginning knowledge of anatomical differences between the genders
Optimal age to introduce language that challenges societal stereotypes
What happens in children 5-11?
Technically during Freud’s latency period
Huge point of critique since MUCH is happening during this time period
Adrenarche 8-10 years
-Increasing hormones nin males nd females,
Secondary sex characteristics (shouldn’t be a surprise)
- Maturing of the adrenal glands
- Females will begin maturation processes before males typically
What is the mixed sex behaviour in children 5-11?
Pre-adolescence is a time when youth often learn about intercourse (Attraction can come in a variety of ways and have questions about it and what these terms mean )
May or may not learn about the diversity of sexual encounters or all the ways in which attraction can evolve over the lifespan
✤ Same-sex relationships
✤ Manual sex/ penetrative sex
✤ Oral sex
What are the sex knowledge and interest in children 5-11?
Societal heteronormativity is acknowledged in progressive schooling environments
Safe Spaces
Gay Straight Alliances
Overt effort must be made to discuss heterosexism and its links to homophobia in order to support LGBTQ-identified youth during adolescence
What is the transition from children to adolescent norms like?
Genders often socially separated in elementary school
9-11 years of age mixed friendships and relationship explorations begin to evolve
Gender differences
✤ romance or sexual acts first?
Sexual boundaries pre-defined
✤ sexual scripts of adolescence
✤ heterosexist norms
When do puberty changes start to occur?
9-10 first puberty changes occur
What happens to children in 8-12 years?
Other-sex behaviour
● May experience first sexual attraction
● Boys and girls who are attracted to the same gender may do
some sexual questioning
Boys and girls learn about masturbation in different ways
Why is same sex behaviour common in preadolescent?
Same-sex behaviour quite common due to preadolescent social organization.
What is gender segregation?
Sex/gender-segregated - social grouping in which males play and associate with other males and females associate with other females; genders are separate from each other
When do kids start to hang out with the opposite sex?
By age 10 or 11 children begin to spend time in mixed gender groups
What are adolescent more influenced by?
Mass media
Research found that media portrayals reinforce stereotype views of sexual behaviour and sexual relationships
What does the media do to women?
Sexualization of girls and women
● Sexual objectification
● Emphasis on sexual body parts
● A person is a sexual object
● Physical attractiveness is linked to being sexy
● Personal worth based on their sexual desirability
What are the attitudes adolescence have towards masturbation?
Attitudinal change from fearing self-abusing masturbation as a scourge that can lead to physical and mental illness
Health data supports masturbation as a part of partnered and un-partnered sexuality
Female masturbation still lacking within sexual health curriculums
What is the heteronormative sexual script for adolescence?
Deep open mouth kissing
Touching above the waist
Touching below the waist
Oral sex
Sexual intercourse
Some behaviours are engaged outside of a relationship
What has resulted from the sexual revolution for females?
Birth control became available
separation sexual please and procreation
Changes in attitudes
Access to online information
What is abstinence?
No intercourse
Especially outside of marriage
“Preached” in early sex education as the most reliable form of birth control
What do adolescent romantic relationships involve?
BF/GF often involves sexual activities of varying, progressing degrees
May or not be acknowledged by parents and educators
Huge impact on psychological development, self-esteem, sense of self-efficacy
Quality of the relationship and communication will be influential throughout the life-span
What is the first intercourse experience like?
More positive experiences associated with:
- Experience of orgasm
- Close relationship with partner
- Males are likely to experience orgasm than females
- Men reported less guilt and greater pleasure but also more anxiety (performance, supposed to know it all)
What are the 4 attitudes toward adolescent intercourse?
Abstinence
Permissiveness with affection
Permissiveness without affection
Double Standard
What is permissiveness with affection?
intercourse is permissible if occurs
within stable relationship which involves love and commitment
What is permissiveness without affection?
intercourse is right for both sexes just on the basis of physical attraction
What is a double standard?
acceptable for males to have sex but not females
What are the dangers of learning about sexuality through the media?
✤ No clarification
✤ misunderstanding about sexual scripts
✤ communication
✤ consent
✤ Pressure to have expertise
✤ Dangers of exposure to explicit and/or pornographic content
