Sexuality Flashcards
refers to whether one is attracted to one’s own gender or different gender (sexual orientation)
sexual identity
A newer term used in conjunction with sexual identity. It is intended to include emotional and physical attractions beyond sexual attraction
Affection orientation
a traditional term to describe people attracted to opposite sex partners
heterosexual
term used to describe people attracted to same-sex partners
homosexual
refers to individuals attracted to people of both sexes
bisexual
an identity of someone who has the potential to be sexually attracted to various gender expressions, including those outside the gender-conforming binary
pansexual
the degree to which an individual sees himself or herself as masculine or feminine
Freud, Kinsey, and many present-day psychologists and biologists maintain that humans are inherently bisexual
A sense of one’s sexual identity often begins in childhood and progresses through adolescence
- How it unfolds depends on various social factors, including family support
trying to convert gay men and lesbians back to heterosexuals through psychotherapy, support groups, or religious programs and retreats
Sexual orientation change efforts (conversion therapies)
From Colonial times until the 19th century, the purpose of sex in America was primarily defined as reproductive
The meaning and purpose of sex expanded beginning in the 19th century and continued in the 20th century such that it was also seen as a means of communication and intimacy
Early America: Patriarchal Sex
- Patriarchal sexuality is characterized by beliefs, values, attitudes, and behaviors developed to protect the male line of descent
- Men are to control women’s sexuality
- Has been challenged, but persists to some extent
The Twentieth Century: The Emergence of Expressive Sexuality
- Sexuality is seen as basic to the humanness of both women and men; there is no one-sided sense of ownership
- Sex is an important means of enhancing human intimacy
The 1960s Sexual Revolution: Sex for Pleasure
- The availability of birth control and changes in laws allowed intercourse to become separate from pregnancy and helped reverse the idea that the state held sway over sexual and reproductive decisions
- Attitudes and behavior regarding sex changed
- In 1959, 80% stated disapproval of sex outside marriage
- In 2006, 25% said it was “always wrong”
The 1980s and 1990s: Challenges to Heterosexism:
- Heterosexism: taken-for-granted system of beliefs, values, and customs that places superior values on heterosexual behavior and that denies or stigmatizes non heterosexual relations
- Gays and lesbians have become increasingly visible and have also challenged the notion that heterosexuality is the one proper form of sexual expressions
Comparing the Sexual Behaviors of Gays and Lesbians and Heterosexuals
- Lesbian relationships are the “least sexualized,” have sex less frequently than gay men
- Significant percentages of men in both homo- and heterosexual monogamous relationships had slept with someone other than their own partner
- Patterns of sexual frequency and satisfaction in gay and lesbian relationships resemble those of heterosexual marriage and cohabitation
Mental health community previously viewed homosexuality as a disorder
Research has since found no distinguishable difference in general psychological processes or psychological health between heterosexual and homosexual individuals
Homophobia/Sexual Prejudice
More visibility for the LGBT community has lead to increasing acceptance and more positive attitudes
Sex Education: Abstinence-only
teach children to wait until marriage or when they are adults
- Emphasis on mechanics of sex
- Avoids information on birth control and disease prevention
- Extra emphasis on emotional and physical risks
Sex Education: Health and Safety-Oriented
teaches mechanics of sex and about birth control and consent
- Emphasizes the physical well-being of students
- Teaches multiple methods of birth control
- Doesn’t necessarily prepare for emotional implications of sex
Sex Education: Comprehensive
addresses both safety and emotional concerns
- Teaches about birth control and consent
- Factors in pleasure and sexual negotiation
- Addresses diverse sexual orientations
Negotiating (Hetero)sexual expression
- Four standards for sex outside committed relationship:
- Abstinence - teens today are less likely to be having sex than in the past. Generally, teens who do not engage in sexual activity give conservative values or fear of pregnancy, disease, or parents as their reasons
- Permissiveness (sex) with Affection - sexual intercourse between unmarried men and women is now widely accepted, provided they have a fairly stable, affectionate relationship
- Permissiveness (sex) without Affection and Recreational Sex- friends with benefits, hooking up
- The Double Standard - despite the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, numerous studies indicate that a double standard still exists which stipulates that women’s sexual behaviors must be more conservative than men’s
7 A’s to internet-related vulnerabilities
- Anonymity: the ability to manage aspects that might be judged by another person and interfere with the develop of a relationship; the ability to promote any chosen identity
- Accessibility: the ability to maintain access affair partner and sustain the relationship anywhere and anytime
- Affordability: tracking time online is a lot less obvious than going on dinner dates, movies, or outings with third party; also cheaper
- Approximation: the internet continues to approximate real world situations more and more every day
- Acceptability: behavior that is deemed inappropriate in society is acceptable on the internet
- Ambiguity: online behavior can be difficult to define as problematic (pornography); what online behaviors constitute infidelity or being unfaithful
- Accommodation: the ability to be one’s ideal self instead of real self in life
Effects of sexual infidelity
- Previous levels of marital satisfaction, attitudes towards infidelity, motives attributing to the infidelity, and efforts of both spouses to work it out determine whether the couple is more likely to get a divorce after infidelity
- Infidelity can lead to:
Jealousy
Loss of connection
Loss of trust
Emotional distress
Depression
PTSD
Exploited financially
Exposure to STI
A search for resolution to general problems: communication/encouraging a closer relationship
Sexual boredom in committed relationships:
- Habituation: the decreased interest in sex that results from the increased accessibility of a sexual partner and the predictability in sexual behavior with that partner over time
- Sexual frequency declines significantly after the first year of marriage: 1. the novelty is gone, 2. a reduction in the perceived need to maintain high levels of sexual behavior
- Need to plan intimacy
- The presence and age of children can impact this ability to plan for intimacy
Pornography in committed relationships
- Pornography: sexually explicit images and descriptions in books, magazines, film, and cyberspace
- The average intern porn user is a middle-aged, married man of median income
- Pros:
Exploring sexuality
Giving ideas to use in real-life sex
Liven up sexual encounters
Ideas for role-playing - Cons:
Possible objectification of the female partner
Misguided ideas about orgasming
Altering sexual preferences
Uncomfortable with own body image
Ability to enjoy sex in real life
