Sexuality and Sexual

Expression throughout
Life
Chapter 7
Sexuality and Human
Development
 Sexual identity is our awareness of ourselves as
male or female and the ways we express our sexual
values, attitudes, feelings and beliefs.
 Sexuality is multidimensional and includes
 Sexual desire, a psychological component that refers to
the sexual drive that makes us receptive to sexual activity.
 Sexual response, which encompasses the biological
aspects of sexuality.
 Gender roles are a sociological component that reflects
the behavior men and women enact according to culturally
prescribed expectations.
Sexual Orientation
 Sexual Orientation includes
 Homosexuals: sexual attraction to same sex
 Heterosexuals: sexual attraction to opposite sex
 Bisexuals: sexual attraction to both sexes
 Asexuals: no sexual attraction.

 Heterosexism is a belief that heterosexuality is

superior to and more “natural” than homosexuality.
Sexual Orientation
 Transgendered people encompass several categories:
 Transsexuals are people born with the biological characteristics
of one sex but who choose to live their lives as another sex,
either by consistently cross-dressing or by surgically altering their
sex.
 Intersexuals are people whose medical diagnosis at birth is not
clearly male or female.
 Transvestites are people who cross-dress at times but don’t
consider themselves members of the opposite sex.

 Transgendered people include

 gays
 heterosexuals
 bisexuals
 men and women who do not identify with any specific gender
category
What Determines
Sexual Orientation?
 Biological theories maintain sexual orientation has
a strong genetic basis.
 Cultural theories suggest sexual orientation is the
result of social and environmental factors.
 No study has shown conclusively that there is a “gay
gene” or that the environment “causes” sexual
orientation.
 Researchers speculate that a combination of
genetic and cultural factors shape sexual
orientation.
Gender and
Sexual Orientation
 Gender may be more powerful than sexual
orientation.
 There seem to be more similarities between straight and
gay men than there are between lesbians and gays.
 Regardless of orientation, love and sex usually go hand-in-
hand for women, while men often separate emotional
intimacy from sex.
 Regardless of orientation, men are more likely than women
to “cruise” for partners.
Sexual Scripts
 A sexual script specifies the formal or informal
norms for
 legitimate or unacceptable sexual activity
 the eligibility of sexual partners
 the boundaries of sexual behavior.
 Gender, race, and ethnicity shape sexual scripts.
 The sexual double standard is a script that refers to
sexual intercourse outside of marriage being
acceptable for men but not for women.
 The sexual double standard has eroded somewhat since
the early 1960s.
Why We Have Sex
 The reasons we have sex for the first time include
 interpersonal reasons
 affection
 peer pressure
 girls may have trouble saying no
 one partner may fear losing the other’s interest
 parental inputs
 teens with close parental relationships are more likely to delay
sexual intercourse
 structural factors
 family turbulence, including conflict before or during a divorce
 for black teen girls: living with single parents who are sexually
active, in cohabiting households with little adult authority, or in
neighborhoods where adult role models bear children out of
wedlock.
Why We Have Sex
 In both short and long term relationships, sex
can:
 be an expression of love and affection
 increase intimacy
 encourage self-disclosure
 provide an exchange of resources
 In long term relationships, sex can also
 help maintain the relationship
 foster interdependence
 fulfill desire to have children
How We Learn about Sex
 From Parents
 From Peers
 From Siblings
 From the Media and
Popular Culture
 Magazines
 Movies
 Television
 The Internet
 From Sex Education
Sexual Behaviors
 Autoeroticism is sexual gratification obtained solely by
stimulating one’s own body. Men and women often have
different types of sexual fantasies.

 Masturbation is sexual self pleasuring through direct

physical stimulation.

 Petting includes touching, stroking, mutual masturbation,

and fondling various parts of the body.
Sexual Behaviors
 Oral Sex includes fellatio, or the oral stimulation of a
man’s penis, and cunnilingus, which is oral stimulation
of a woman’s genitals.

 Sexual Intercourse is usually defined as coitus or

vaginal-penile intercourse.

 Masters & Johnson describe four phases of a sexual

response cycle:
 Desire
 Excitement
 Climax
 Resolution
Virginity and Abstinence
 Four factors contribute to teenagers abstaining from
sexual intercourse
 The abstinence movement, which includes religious and
medical groups that advocate chastity.
 Sex education programs
 Engaging in “outercourse” or oral sex
 Family dynamics
 Reasons adults abstain from sexual intercourse
include
 lack of a partner
 divorce
 widowhood
Sex and Adolescents
 By age 15, 25% of girls and 30% of boys report having had
sexual intercourse.
 By the 12th grade almost 50% of both sexes have had
intercourse.
 Reasons for adolescents becoming sexually active include:
 Peer pressure
 Parental factors
 Environmental variables
 Cultural attitudes and expectations
 Nationwide, 13% of female and 6% of male high school
students say they have had sex against their will.
Sexuality across Life
 Sex and Singles
 Who initiates sexual contact?
 Traditional sexual scripts dictate that the man should
initiate sexual contact.
 Women are becoming more assertive.

 Will you still love me tomorrow?

 Young people view casual sex less favorably than a
generation ago.
 1980: 50% of college students said casual sex was ok.
 2005: 45% (58% of men and 34% of women) said this.
Sexuality across Life
 Sex in Marriage
 Frequency of sex tends to decrease over time.
 People’s happiness with their sex lives tends to
increase the longer people are married.
 Married people are happier with their sex lives than
either single people or cohabitants.
 About 40% of married people have sex with their
partner two or more times a week, about double the %
of single people (Figure 7.6).
Sexuality across Life
 The Middle Years
 Menopause (the cessation of the menstrual cycle for women)
can lead to increased sexual enjoyment because women are
no longer bothered by menstruation, the need for
contraception, or the fear of pregnancy.
 It is unclear if there is a male climacteric (change of life or
midlife crisis) analogous to female menopause.
 Couples with no children living at home and who do not have
to care for elderly parents may have more time, energy, and
privacy for intimacy and sex.
Sexuality across Life
 Sex and Later Life
 Sexual activity declines but is still present.
 The % having sexual intercourse at least once a week is:
 50-59 year olds: men (50%), women (43%)
 60-69 year olds: men (36%), women (34%)
 70 and older: men (22%), women (14%)
 Poor health is usually the reason for the decline in sexual
activity.
 Lowered activity isn’t a problem if both partners have a
loving and committed relationship.
 Aging tends to produce a different kind of “double standard”
where men are seen as more attractive (“distinguished”) and
women as less so (“old”).
Sexual Infidelity
 Infidelity is a breach of trust, betrayal of a
relationship, or breaking of an agreement.

 Sexual Infidelity is referred to as an affair, adultery,

unfaithful, and/or extramarital sex.

 Infidelity is not always physical; it includes emotional

and online infidelity.
Sexual Infidelity
 Research information on infidelity is scare
and relies on self report data.
 Only about 10% of adulterous relationships end in marriage.

 29% of both married AND unmarried people were unfaithful at

some time (Covel, 2003)

 16% of married people said they had ever had extramarital sex
(21% of men, 13% of women) (Morin, 1994)

 Including both married and unmarried committed relationships,

16% of partners admit to having cheated, but the numbers are
higher for men than for women (Langer et al., 2004)
Why are spouses
and partners unfaithful?
 Macro Reasons  Micro Reasons
 Economic recessions place  Need for emotional satisfaction
strains on families.  Loneliness
 Purpose of marriage changes.  Ego enhancement
 Anonymity of urban life  Social exchange may benefit
provides opportunity. partner(s)
 Greater longevity (and thus  Revenge or retaliation against
longer marriages) increases a spouse
chances for conflict,
dissatisfaction, and infidelity.
 May provide a way out of
marriage
 New technology increases
opportunities for cyber-
infidelity.
Gay, Lesbian,
and Bisexual Sex
 It is uncertain how many gay,
lesbian, and bisexual people
are in the U.S.
 8% of Americans identify
themselves as homosexual or
bisexual
 18% have had same-sex
sexual contact
 Gay, lesbian, and bisexual
people engage in the same
types of sexual activities and
behaviors as heterosexuals.
 Societies vary in their
responses to homosexuality:
punitive, tolerant, inclusive, etc.
 U.S. attitudes range from
homophobia to growing
acceptance.
Sexually Transmitted
Infections
 Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are
diseases spread by contact, sexual or nonsexual,
with body parts or fluids that contain specific
microorganisms.
 There are about 15 million new cases of STIs in the
U.S. every year.
 Nearly half of STIs occur among people under the
age of 25.
 Untreated STIs can cause cancer, birth defects,
miscarriages, and death.
 Minority groups tend to be at higher risk for STIs.
HIV and AIDS
 The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the virus that
causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). AIDS
attacks the immune system and renders it unable to fight
diseases, including pneumonia and cancer.

 525,000 Americans died from AIDS between 1981 and 2004.

 HIV spreads through sexual contact, sharing needles, and drug

use.

 Heterosexual women are especially vulnerable: women are more

than twice as likely as men to become infected.
HIV and AIDS