Chapter 9 Flashcards
what is sexual orientation?
enduring pattern of cognitive motivational and behavioral tendencies that regulates the experience and expression of sexuality (reinforces the sex and gender binaries)
when were homosexuality and heterosexuality used widely?
1930s
how do understandings of sexuality and sexual orientation differ across time and culture?
non- western: sexual behavior often has meanings that have little to do with sexual orientation (ex. in new guinea culture pubescent boys must ingest semen from older members of the tribe, this means that they are now a man… NOT that they are gay)
what is a pederastic relationship?
men offered education, socialization and protection in exchange for sexual favors from their younger partners
why did peoples thinking about sexual orientation change?
western medical and scientific fields developed the idea of sexual orientation to control erotic behavior
what were freuds sexual orientation change efforts (SOCEs)?
treated gay and lesbian clients and converted them into heterosexuals
research in the 1960s helped to convert homosexuals into heterosexuals, was it successful?
yes, using psychoanalysis, 18-44% of participants converted to heterosexuality (but these participants already had sexual experience with the other gender and who really wanted to change)
some research from the 1960s to 1980s used aversion therapy to condition gay male clients to associate with sexual stimuli, how did this work?
would put up a picture of attractive nude men and cause the participant pain, nausea or negative mental imagery
ranged from 0-65% success rate
in what year was same sex sexuality no longer a psychological disorder?
1973 (so after this year it was professionally unethical to conduct SOCEs)
in 2000, what did they conclude about SOCEs?
dont reduce same- sex attraction or behavior or increase other sex attraction or behavior and many people suffered harm from these efforts
are SOCEs still practiced today?
yes, mostly only religion based SOCEs are still practiced on vulnerable sexual minority youth (in 2019 the US banned SOCEs on minors in 18 states)
what are three primary dimensions of sexual orientation?
identity
motivation
behavior
what is sexual identity?
label that people use to describe their sexual orientation and their emotional reactions toward this label
ex. heterosexual/ straight, lesbian, gay, bi
how frequently are the sexual identities lesbian, gay represented in the population?
fewer than 5% of individuals in western cultures experience predominantly same- sex attractions (stable over time and culture)
what is aromantic?
lack all romantic interests in others
what is familism?
viewing the family as central and prioritizing family over self
i.e. louisa
how do people who are raised with familism values feel when they are gay?
report experiencing feelings of regret sadness and conflict surrounding their sexual identity if relatives interpret their same- sex sexuality as a family betrayal
what is internalized homophobia?
gay person takes to heart the negative messages they receive about same- sex sexuality from the larger culture
what does fluid mean?
their sexual orientation changes over time or they might not like sexual identity labels
what do evolutionary theorists have to say about love and lust?
sexual desire (lust) and attachment (love) are distinct but overlapping systems that regulate reproduction and mating
ex. someone may feel sexual desire primarily toward people of the other sex while typically falling in love with people of the same sex
they are part of larger behavioral systems that regulate mating, reproduction and parenting
what does the early stage of love/ passionate love consist of?
arousal
urgent longing
exhilaration
obsessive thinking about the love object
passionate love is associated with elevated levels of neurotransmitters, what are they?
dopamine (regulates feelings of reward and positive arousal)
norepinephrine (plays a role in sympathetic arousal and the “fight-or-flight” response)
what do the later stages of love/ companionate love consist of?
calm, warm and emotionally close feelings of intimacy toward a familiar other
what two neurotransmitters regulate compassionate love?
oxytocin
vasopressin (neuropeptide related to intimacy and bonding)
according to evolutionary approaches love (attachment) is adaptive, why?
because it encourages individuals to focus their mating efforts on a specific, preferred love object for the purpose of raising offspring
love is part of the mammalian pair bonding system
what is the pair- bonding system?
tendency for two adults to bond together, produce offspring and coparent
why are humans considered to mate fast according to evolutionary approaches?
because human infants stop nursing at younger ages which means that human adults can have babies at relatively short intervals
what does sexual behavior include?
anything that can be considered an erotic act, including behavior performed alone (ex. masturbation, viewing pornography) or with others (ex. anal, oral sex) as well as acts performed with others who are not physically present (ex. cybersex, sexting)
what are the most frequent sexual behaviors reported?
masturbation and vaginal intercourse
how common is male- male sexual behavior and female-female sexual behavior around the world?
male: 64%
female: 22%
how often do people send sexts (nudes…)?
age 10-17: 10-12% sending them, 16% receiving them
age 18-30: 49-53% sending, 33% receiving them
why distinguish between identity (sexual orientation label), motivation (desire) and behavior when defining sexual orientation?
when researchers analyze these dimensions separately, it becomes apparent that people do not always experience their sexual orientation in a unified manner with all the dimensions lining up consistently
ex. among men who label themselves heterosexual, 1.6% are sexually attracted to men only
ex.among women who label themselves heterosexual, 3.7% are sexually attracted to both women and men
why is the 3 category system of sexual orientation not enough?
fluidity and stability of the identity
ex. stable lesbians, fluid lesbians, fluid bisexual women, unlabeled bisexual women
what is a phase model?
the model explains how people come to think of themselves as gay, straight, pansexual, asexual or another sexual identity, but the phases apart of the model might be in a different order for each person
identifies common phases that presumably unfold sequentially for most people