Introduction to Sexuality Flashcards
Sex
genetic and physical characteristics that differentiate male & female
Gender
psychosocial characteristics that differentiate masculinity and femininity
Sexuality
the physical, psychological, social, cultural and spiritual aspects of an individual that make up his or her unique sexual being
Beliefs and Values of Sexuality
communication (verbal/nonverbal), personality (personal choice), body image, self image, physical expression, socialization (relationships), gender (roles & orientation)
sexuality is mostly a…
learned phenomena & has physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects
Foreplay
Mutual sexual stimulation that may or may not lead to sex
Dailey (1984) described 5 aspects of sexuality
- Sensuality
- Intimacy
- Sexual Identity
- Reproduction
- Sexualization
Sensuality
the need & ability to be aware of and acceptation of our own body
Intimacy
the need & ability to experience emotional closeness to another human being
Sexual Intimacy
ability to give feedback & be heard in sexual relationships
Sexual Identity
the continual process of discovering who we are in terms of our sexuality
Reproduction
our values, attitudes & behaviours related to reproduction
Sexualization
use of our sexuality to influence, control, manipulate others
Values
the qualities in life that are deemed important or unimportant, right or wrong, desirable or undesirable
Moral Values
related to our conduct with and treatment of other people, more than just right or wrong. It looks at the whole picture
Sexual Moral Values
related to the rightness and wrongness of sexual conduct & when and how sexuality should be expressed
Sources of Sexual Values
our sexual values are learned in different ways, at different rates, and with different results
- we acquire our sexual values from our social environment (parents, friends, media, etc)
What are the perspectives of human sexuality?
- historical
- biological
- cross-species
- cross-cultural
- psychological
- sociocultural
Perspectives on Human Sexuality: Historical
moral and ethical behaviours tied to the supernatural and religion..
Prehistoric — stone age
evidence that female body was revered from reproductive ability
Agrarian Society
aware of male role in reproduction
phallic worship
Worship of the penis as a symbol of generative power
Incest taboo
The prohibition against intercourse and reproduction among close blood relatives
Ancient Hebrews
positive about marital reproductive sex
- disapproved homosexuality
Ancient Hebrews: permitted but practices
permitted polygamy, the vast majority of the Hebrews practised monogamy
Ancient Greeks
500-300BC —> valued family life
Ancient Greeks: Male Roles
male sexual roles varied, e.g.. pederasty —> admired male bodies and slim, sensual women
pederasty
sexual love of boys
Ancient Greeks: what flourished?
prostitution flourished and ranged from refined courtesans to concubines
courtesan
a prostitute— especially the mistress of a noble or wealthy man
concubines
secondary wife, usually of interior legal and social status
Ancient Greeks: viewed men and women as…
bisexual
Ancient Romans
- sexual excesses in upper classes
- male-male threat to family which was strength of society
- women more involved socially but still property of husbands
- being bisexual was common
Early Christians
- St. Paul (1st Century)
- Augustine (4th Century)
- sex distraction from God
- marital sex accepted, but not passion (no homosexuality)
- behaviours non-procreative disapproved
Eastern Religions: Islam
- valued family and pleasure in marital sex
- punished pre-marital sex
- double social and sexual standards for men and women
Eastern Religions: China
- sexuality linked to spirituality
- first manual art of lovemaking
- wasteful to “spill seed”
- women kept to domestic role
Eastern Religions: India
- ancient Hindus erotica
- Kama Sutra code of sexual conduct (3rd-5th Century)
- sex religious duty
- more restrictive after 1000AD
Middle Ages (Christianity)
- Western history 1st-15th Century R.C church strong influence
- Crusaders influenced change from women as sinful (Eve) to revered (Virgin Mary)
- upper classes courtly love, chivalry and romance
Protestant Reformation: 16th Century
- Luther and Calvin spilt from R.C church
- priest could marry
- pleasurable martial sex
- non-marital sex disapproved
- women mostly restricted to home until 19th Century
Victorian Period
- sexually repressive on the surface
- furniture legs covered
- but behaviours varied
- prostitution flourished but “proper” women believed not interested - “sexual anaesthesia”
- mens’ “vital fluids” limited in amount
- graham crackers
Early 20th Century
- until 1950s believed women did not desire sex
- double standard
- sexual scenes in media limited
Sexual Revolution
- mid 60s & mid 70s
- science, politics, social (fashion, music, media) and economics all part of change
- the sexual revolution resulted from many economic, social, and political factors
Late 20th Century
REVERSE PENDULUM SWING to more conservative attitudes
- open discussion about sexuality, more sexually active teens, AIDS, access to birth control, liberation of women, sex ed… where to from here?
Perspectives on Human Sexuality: Biological
Anatomical structures and physiological function of the sexual and reproductive organs — reproductive technology
Perspectives on Human Sexuality: what is possible Biological
in interactive with psychosocial aspects regarding what is acceptable or pleasurable
the biological perspective focuses on the…
roles of genes, hormones, the nervous systems and other biological factors in human sexuality
Perspectives on Human Sexuality: Cross-Species
Some similarities in human and non-human sexual behaviours… same sex interaction, oral-genital contact, etc… higher mammals
- less instinct driven & dissension re.role of genes and hormones in male/female, sexual/social behaviours…
- the study of other animals species places human behaviour in a broader context
- most mammals use only a rear-entry position for copulation
Perspectives on Human Sexuality: Cross-Cultural
Learned behaviour unique to particular culture
- kissing, higher rate of intercourse for young adults, incest taboo and some societal controls almost universal
- greater variance in attitudes re. same sex, masturbation, monogamy vs. polygamy etc.
Perspectives on Human Sexuality: Psychological
Psychoanalytic Theory by Freud
- sexual instinct (id) vs. reason (ego)
- defence mechanisms
- developmental stages
- psychoanalysis
Learning Theory by Behaviourists Watson and Skinner…
reward and punishment determine behaviour… Social-Learning Theory included effects of cognitive activity including anticipating, planning, etc…, as well as learning by observing others (modeling)
evolutionary psychology
the theory that dispositions toward behaviour patterns that enhance reproductive success may be genetically transmitted
- it suggests that behaviour patterns that favour reproduction are genetically transmitted
species vary not only in their physcial characteristics but also in their social behaviour, including their mating behaviour, therefore scientist look to the…
the process of evolution and natural selection
Sociocultural
evolution
the development of a species to its present state, a process that is believed to involve adaptations to its environment
natural selection
the evolutionary process by which adaptive traits enable embers of a species to survive to reproductive to survive to reproductive age and transmit these to future generations
Perspectives on Human Sexuality: Sociocultural
Study of sexual behaviours within a given society… differences in sub groups by age, gender, religion, ethnicity, education, etc…
Havelock Ellis (1859-1939)
An English physician that studies in the Psychology of Sex including problems as psychological, female sexual desires normal and homosexuality acceptable and inborn — most influence and positive
Richard von Krafft-Ebbing (1840-1902)
influential sexologist and a German psychiatrist, described more than 200 case histories of sexual deviancies in his book “Psychopathia Sexualis”… viewed deviances as mental illnesses that should be treated
- negative impact, he portrayed “different” sex as a mental illness
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
An Austrian Physician, had the theory of personality based on sex drive as our principle motivating force — positive impact
Freud formulated a grand theory of personality termed…
psychoanalysis
psychoanalysis
proposes that human behaviour represents the outcome of closing inner forces
Freud proposed that the mind operates on…
conscious levels and unconscious levels
conscious levels
corresponds to our state of present awareness
unconscious levels
consists of the darker races of the mind that lie outside our direct awareness
the ego shields the conscious mind from awareness of our baser sexual & aggressive urges via __1__ such as __2__
- defence mechanisms
2. repression, the motivated forgetting of traumatic experiences
defence mechanisms
In psychoanalytic theory, automatic processes that protect the ego from anxiety by disguising or ejecting unacceptable ideas and urges
repression
The automatic ejection of anxiety-evoking ideas from consciousness.
According to Freuds theory of…
psychosexual development, children undergo five stages of development: oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital (predominant erogenous zones)
psychosexual development
the process by which sexual feelings shift from one erogenous zone to another
erogenous zone
parts of the body, including but not limited to the sex organs, that are responsive to sexual stimulation
Alfred Kinsey
most popular study was Sexual Behaviour in Human Male 1948 and Human Female 1953 — positive impact, controversial but highly influential
The Kinsey Reports: interviewed…
5300 males and 5940 females and asked a wide array of questions
Kinsey also checked the ______ of his data by evaluating the consistency of the responses given by several hundred interviewees who were re-examined after at least 19 months
reliability
reliability
The consistency or accuracy of a measure.
Their reports of the incidence of sexual activity were highly reliable, although…
the consistency of responses across time did not guarantee their validity
William Masters & Virginia Johnson
In the 1960s lac they observed approx. 700 subjects… Human Sexual Response 1966… similar gay study… Homosexuality in Perspective 1979. Four stage sexual response described — positive impact
William Masters & Virginia Johnson were among the first to report direct…
laboratory observation of individuals and couples engaged in sexual acts.
- their methods offered the first reliable set of data on what happens to the body during sexual response.
Recent Sex Research Surveys: Edward Laumann et. al. National Health & Social Life Survey USA 1990s
3,432 subjects interviewed this included variety of ethnic groups but had limitations re. Asian, Native & Jewish…
Recent Sex Research Surveys: Morton Hunt
apart of the Playboy Foundation Survey in the 1970s and had 2000 plus random phone books 24 cities.
Recent Sex Research Surveys: Shere Hite
Report 1976 on females (3000) & 1981 on males (7000), they mailed out questionnaires to a specific groups and had return rates of 3% & 6%
Recent Sex Research Surveys: Samuel & Cynthia Janus
report 1993, written questionnaires w/ 2,500 voluntary subjects
University of Alberta - Student Sexual Behaviour Survey (1995-97) - Part of a national survey entitled:
Sexuality Behaviour of Canadian Youth
University of Alberta - Student Sexual Behaviour Survey (1995-97) - Purpose:
to determine students’ sexual attitude and their knowledge about STD’s and HIV/AIDs
University of Alberta - Student Sexual Behaviour Survey (1995-97) - Respondents:
2,300 students selected from ualberta classes were invited to participate — only 48% completed the survey
Scientists and researchers who study human sexuality take an…
empirical approach.
empirical
derived from or based on observation and experimentation.
Scientific Method
- Formulation a research question.
- Framing the research question in the form of a hypothesis.
- Testing the hypothesis.
- Drawing conclusions.
The goals of the science of human sexuality are…
congruent w/ those of other sciences: to describe, explain, predict, and control the events (in this case, the sexual behaviours) of interest.
Researchers attempt to relate their observations to…
other factors or variables that can help explain them
demographic variables
demographic variables such as age, religious or social background, and culture expectations.
Sampling Methods
Researchers overcome biased sampling by drawing random or stratified random samples of the population.
stratified random
A random sample in which known subgroups in a population are represented I’m proportion to their numbers in the population.
Methods of Observation: Once scientists have chosen those whom they will study, they observe them with these methods….
- Case-Study Method
- Survey Method
- Naturalistic Observation
- Ethnographic Observation
- Participant Observation
- Laboratory Observation
- Correlational Studies
Case-Study Method
A carefully drawn, in-depth biography of an individual or a small group of individuals that may be obtained through interviews, questionnaires, and historical records.
Survey Method
A detailed study of a sample obtained by means such as interviews and questionnaires.
Naturalistic Observation
A method in which organisms are observed in their natural environments.
Ethnographic Observation
Data concerning sexual behaviours and customs that occur among various ethnic groups
Participant Observation
A method in which observers interact with the people they study as they collect data.
Laboratory Observation
People engage in the behaviour under study in the laboratory setting.
Correlational Studies
Reveal the strength and direction of the relationship between variables. No show of cause and effect.
Correlation Coefficient
A statistic that expresses the strength and direction (positive or negative) of the relationships b/w two variables.
Treatment
In experiments, an intervention that is administered to participants (such as a test, a drug, or a sex education program) so that its effects can be observed.
Dependent Variable
The measured results of an experiment, which are believed to be a function of the independent variables.
Control Group
A group of study participants who do not receive the experimental treatment. However, other conditions are held comparable to those individuals in the experimental group.
Ethics Concerns
The ways in which researches protect participants in research studies from harm.
Experiment
A scientific method that seeks to confirm cause-and-effect relationships by manipulating independent variables and observing their effects on dependent variables.
Independent Variable
A condition in a scientific study that is manipulated so that is effects can be observed.
Experimental Group
A group of study participants who receive a treatment.
Selection Factor
A bias that may operate in research when people are allowed to determine whether they will receive a treatment.
Ethical Standards
Require that research be conducted only when the expected benefits of the research outweigh the anticipated risks to participants and when the experimenter attempts to minimize expected risks.
The principle of informed consent requires that…
people agree to participate in research only after being given enough information about the purposes, procedures, risks, and benefits to make informed decisions
