Contents
Chapter 1 – Sexuality in Perspective 2
Chapter 2 - Theoretical Perspectives on Sexuality 5
Chapter 3 - Sex Research 10
Chapter 4 - Sexual Anatomy 15
Chapter 5 - Sex Hormones, Sexual Differentiation, and the Menstrual Cycle 21
Chapter 7 - Contraception and Abortion 26
Chapter 8 - Sexual Arousal 32
Chapter 9 - Sexuality and the Life Cycle: Childhood and Adolescence 38
Chapter 10 - Sexuality and the Life Cycle: Adulthood 41
Chapter 11 - Attraction, Love and Communication 45
Chapter 12 - Gender and Sexuality 50
Chapter 13 - Sexual orientation 53
Chapter 14 - Variations in Sexual Behavior 58
Chapter 15 - Sexual Coercion 64
Chapter 16 - Sex for Sale 68
Chapter 17 - Sexual Disorders and Sex Therapy 72
Chapter 18 - Sexually Transmitted Infections 78
Chapter 19 - Ethics, Religion and Sexuality 82
1
,Chapter 1 - Sexuality in Perspective
Sex and Gender
● The word sex is used ambiguously, but usually the meaning is clear because of the context
○ Being male or female, or sexual behavior
● In this book the following terms will be used:
○ Sex - explaining sexual anatomy and behavior
○ Gender - being female, male, or some other gender such as trans
○ Sexual behavior - behavior that produces arousal and increases the chance of
orgasm
The History of Understanding Sexuality: Religion and Science
● Religion
○ Greek myths acknowledged heterosexuality and homosexuality
○ Christians believed wet dreams resulted from intercourse with tiny spiritual
creatures
○ In some Muslim cultures, sex was believed to be one of the d=finest pleasures of life
● Science
○ Scientific studies of sex began in the 19th century
○ Freud (1900):
■ Psychological aspects of sex
■ Culture context: the Victorian era had very rigid and oppressive norms →
sexual repression
■ Tension between these norms and actual sexual behavior
○ Henry Havelock Ellis (±1902):
■ Women are sexual creatures as well
■ Sexual deviations are usually harmless
○ Richard von Krafft-Ebing:
■ Interest in pathological sexuality
■ Not tolerant or objective, but still had a big effect
○ Magnus Hirschfeld (1915):
■ First sex research institute
■ First large-scale sex survey
■ First journal devoted to the study of sex
■ Was homosexual and a transvestite (he invented this term)
○ 20th century
■ Kinsey: massive surveys of sexual behavior (1940s)
■ Masters and Johnson: investigations of sexual disorders and physiology of
sexual response (1960s)
■ Sexual behavior in other cultures began being studies
○ Today, sexology is an interdisciplinary science
2
,The Media
● Influence: same role that religion had
○ Adolescents are exposed to a lot of sexual talk or behavior, but references to safe sex
are rare
● Three types of influence according to communications theory:
○ Cultivation - people begin to think that what they see in the media really represents
the mainstream of what happens in our culture
○ Agenda setting - the idea that media define what is important and what is not by
which stories they cover
○ Social learning - the media provide role models whom we imitate
● The internet can have both positive and negative effects on sexual health
Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Sexuality
● Humans are a cultural species
○ Culture - traditional ideas and values passed down from generation to generation
within a group and transmitted to members of the group by symbols (such as
language)
● Ethnocentrism influences our understanding of sexual behavior
○ Ethnocentrism - the tendency to regard one’s own ethnic group and culture as
superior to others and to believe that its customs and way of life are the standards
by which other cultures should be judged
● All societies regulate sexual behavior in some way
○ Exact regulations vary from one culture to the other
● Incest taboos - societal regulation prohibiting sexual intercourse between blood relatives
○ These are almost universal
● Variations in sexual techniques
○ In most societies, kissing is a very common technique
■ But techniques of kissing also vary between cultures
○ Frequency of intercourse for married couples varies
○ Most cultures have a postpartum sex taboo
● Masturbation - self-stimulation of the genitals to produce sexual arousal
○ Attitudes toward masturbation vary widely across cultures
■ Some cultures even encourage it during childhood
■ Other condemn it
○ Almost all cultures express some disapproval
● Premarital and extramarital sex
○ Attitudes regarding premarital sex range widely across cultures
○ Extramarital sex is second to incest as the most strictly prohibited type of sexual
contact
● Sex with same-gender partners
○ Some cultures tolerate this for children but not for adults
○ Two general rules:
3
, ■ No matter how a society treats homosexuality, the behavior will always
occur
■ Same-gender sexual behavior is never the predominant form of sexual
behavior in adults
● Standards of attractiveness
○ Physical characteristics are important in all human societies when determining
whom one chooses as a sex partner
○ What is considered attractive varies
● Social class and ethnic-group variations in the United states
○ The more educated women are, who more likely they are to use the pill
○ There are ethnic group variations and similarities
○ Latino culture
■ Machismo (macho) - a man must be responsible for the well-being of his
family → in extreme cases it means tolerating a man’s infidelity
○ Asian values that affect sexual expression
■ Collectivism - other’s needs should be considered before one’s own
■ Conformity to norms
■ Emotional control
Cross-Species Perspectives on Sexuality
● Other species also masturbare
○ For example, monkeys and porcupines
● Same-gender sexual behavior is found in many species
● Other species also engage in sexual signaling aka flirting
● Differences
○ Lower species: sexuality is more hormonally controlled
○ Higher species: more controlled by the brain
● Non-sexual uses for sex
○ Dominance
The Sexual Health Perspective
● Sexual health - a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to
sexuality
● Sexual rights - basic, inalienable rights regarding sexuality, both positive and negative
○ Such as rights to reproductive self-determination and sexual self-expression and
freedom from sexual abuse and violence
4
Chapter 1 – Sexuality in Perspective 2
Chapter 2 - Theoretical Perspectives on Sexuality 5
Chapter 3 - Sex Research 10
Chapter 4 - Sexual Anatomy 15
Chapter 5 - Sex Hormones, Sexual Differentiation, and the Menstrual Cycle 21
Chapter 7 - Contraception and Abortion 26
Chapter 8 - Sexual Arousal 32
Chapter 9 - Sexuality and the Life Cycle: Childhood and Adolescence 38
Chapter 10 - Sexuality and the Life Cycle: Adulthood 41
Chapter 11 - Attraction, Love and Communication 45
Chapter 12 - Gender and Sexuality 50
Chapter 13 - Sexual orientation 53
Chapter 14 - Variations in Sexual Behavior 58
Chapter 15 - Sexual Coercion 64
Chapter 16 - Sex for Sale 68
Chapter 17 - Sexual Disorders and Sex Therapy 72
Chapter 18 - Sexually Transmitted Infections 78
Chapter 19 - Ethics, Religion and Sexuality 82
1
,Chapter 1 - Sexuality in Perspective
Sex and Gender
● The word sex is used ambiguously, but usually the meaning is clear because of the context
○ Being male or female, or sexual behavior
● In this book the following terms will be used:
○ Sex - explaining sexual anatomy and behavior
○ Gender - being female, male, or some other gender such as trans
○ Sexual behavior - behavior that produces arousal and increases the chance of
orgasm
The History of Understanding Sexuality: Religion and Science
● Religion
○ Greek myths acknowledged heterosexuality and homosexuality
○ Christians believed wet dreams resulted from intercourse with tiny spiritual
creatures
○ In some Muslim cultures, sex was believed to be one of the d=finest pleasures of life
● Science
○ Scientific studies of sex began in the 19th century
○ Freud (1900):
■ Psychological aspects of sex
■ Culture context: the Victorian era had very rigid and oppressive norms →
sexual repression
■ Tension between these norms and actual sexual behavior
○ Henry Havelock Ellis (±1902):
■ Women are sexual creatures as well
■ Sexual deviations are usually harmless
○ Richard von Krafft-Ebing:
■ Interest in pathological sexuality
■ Not tolerant or objective, but still had a big effect
○ Magnus Hirschfeld (1915):
■ First sex research institute
■ First large-scale sex survey
■ First journal devoted to the study of sex
■ Was homosexual and a transvestite (he invented this term)
○ 20th century
■ Kinsey: massive surveys of sexual behavior (1940s)
■ Masters and Johnson: investigations of sexual disorders and physiology of
sexual response (1960s)
■ Sexual behavior in other cultures began being studies
○ Today, sexology is an interdisciplinary science
2
,The Media
● Influence: same role that religion had
○ Adolescents are exposed to a lot of sexual talk or behavior, but references to safe sex
are rare
● Three types of influence according to communications theory:
○ Cultivation - people begin to think that what they see in the media really represents
the mainstream of what happens in our culture
○ Agenda setting - the idea that media define what is important and what is not by
which stories they cover
○ Social learning - the media provide role models whom we imitate
● The internet can have both positive and negative effects on sexual health
Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Sexuality
● Humans are a cultural species
○ Culture - traditional ideas and values passed down from generation to generation
within a group and transmitted to members of the group by symbols (such as
language)
● Ethnocentrism influences our understanding of sexual behavior
○ Ethnocentrism - the tendency to regard one’s own ethnic group and culture as
superior to others and to believe that its customs and way of life are the standards
by which other cultures should be judged
● All societies regulate sexual behavior in some way
○ Exact regulations vary from one culture to the other
● Incest taboos - societal regulation prohibiting sexual intercourse between blood relatives
○ These are almost universal
● Variations in sexual techniques
○ In most societies, kissing is a very common technique
■ But techniques of kissing also vary between cultures
○ Frequency of intercourse for married couples varies
○ Most cultures have a postpartum sex taboo
● Masturbation - self-stimulation of the genitals to produce sexual arousal
○ Attitudes toward masturbation vary widely across cultures
■ Some cultures even encourage it during childhood
■ Other condemn it
○ Almost all cultures express some disapproval
● Premarital and extramarital sex
○ Attitudes regarding premarital sex range widely across cultures
○ Extramarital sex is second to incest as the most strictly prohibited type of sexual
contact
● Sex with same-gender partners
○ Some cultures tolerate this for children but not for adults
○ Two general rules:
3
, ■ No matter how a society treats homosexuality, the behavior will always
occur
■ Same-gender sexual behavior is never the predominant form of sexual
behavior in adults
● Standards of attractiveness
○ Physical characteristics are important in all human societies when determining
whom one chooses as a sex partner
○ What is considered attractive varies
● Social class and ethnic-group variations in the United states
○ The more educated women are, who more likely they are to use the pill
○ There are ethnic group variations and similarities
○ Latino culture
■ Machismo (macho) - a man must be responsible for the well-being of his
family → in extreme cases it means tolerating a man’s infidelity
○ Asian values that affect sexual expression
■ Collectivism - other’s needs should be considered before one’s own
■ Conformity to norms
■ Emotional control
Cross-Species Perspectives on Sexuality
● Other species also masturbare
○ For example, monkeys and porcupines
● Same-gender sexual behavior is found in many species
● Other species also engage in sexual signaling aka flirting
● Differences
○ Lower species: sexuality is more hormonally controlled
○ Higher species: more controlled by the brain
● Non-sexual uses for sex
○ Dominance
The Sexual Health Perspective
● Sexual health - a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to
sexuality
● Sexual rights - basic, inalienable rights regarding sexuality, both positive and negative
○ Such as rights to reproductive self-determination and sexual self-expression and
freedom from sexual abuse and violence
4
