Human Sexuality Assignment

THINKING ABOUT HUMAN SEXUALITY ASSIGNMENT ONE.!

Describe the various components of human sexuality.

Our sexuality is both broad and complex and it consists of all of the aspects mentioned in the following.
-Sex, reproductive roles, gender roles, sensual and sexual pleasure, romantic and intimate relationships, sexual expression throughout the life span, sexual dysfunction's, problematic sexual expression, and concerns regarding sexually transmitted infections (STI'S).

Sex: has two general meanings.

– Refers to genetic endowment, anatomical features, and physiological functions. Specifically refers to if one is male or female.
– The term also refers to lovemaking or genital contact between two people, as in having sex.

Reproductive Roles: depending on our anatomical sex, we secrete eggs or produce sperm, and can either impregnate or gestate and birth offspring.

Gender Roles: at the moment of birth we are labeled according to or biological category (Male or Female) and then assigned to our social category girl or boy, and culture shapes us into masculine or feminine based on the society we live in.

Sensual and Sexual pleasure: how we go about pleasuring ourselves when alone or with others is another important aspect of our sexuality.

Romantic and Intimate Relationships: For most human beings, reproduction and sexual pleasure take place in the context of relatively lasting EMOTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS. In our society romantic love and monogamy are ideals for these relationships.

Sexual expression throughout the life span: as we move from infancy through childhood, adulthood, and ultimately old age, our sexuality might be expressed in different ways.

Sexual Dysfunction: how people with disabilities are having trouble with sexual conduct. This is related to the topic of Problematic Sexual Expression.

Sexually Transmitted Infections: to fully enjoy and express our sexual selves, we must attend to the troublesome issue of Sexually.

Describe how recent social changes have affected out sexuality.

Premarital Sexual behavior, some see this new Norm as destructive and harmful to our society. Believing that it has contributed to sexual callousness, the spread of sexually transmitted infections, and unwanted pregnancies.
Others see it as bringing an end to the Sexual Double Standard, and as an adaptive response to the strong economic pressures to postpone marriage.
Contraceptive devices, becoming available to anyone who need them, this was not the case a few decades ago, and this is still reality for many societies around the world.
Interethnic sexual relationships, more common now, but in the past different ethnic groups elicited ostracism, violence, and even murda.
A greater acceptance towards Bisexuality and Homosexuality
25 years ago concepts such as "DATE RAPE", "SEXUAL HARASSMENT" did not exist. Rape, child sexual abuse, incest was considered to be rare events committed by deranged deviants.
Mass Media, has bombarded North American society with sexual images and sexual material, much of it is frivolous ad designed to sell, and or entertain.
Increase in affluence and leisure, has made sexuality more available, i.e.- people rent videos, take sex classes to increase their orgasm, ad even purchase penile implants.

3. Describe the contributions to the study of sexuality made by some of the major figures in research.

- HENRY HAVELOCK ELLIS: established the sexological tradition of challenging unfounded ideas about human sexuality. He suggested that lovemaking could be pleasurable for both partners, homosexual interests might be inborn, masturbation cod serve as a means of relaxation, and there are Erogenous zones of the body.

- SIGMUND FREUD: highlighted the centrality of sexuality in normal human development. He emphasized how important if was to not repress sexual energy (LIBIDO). Modern sexologists have been to disprove many of the ideas that originated with Freud and his disciples.

- CLELIA DUEL MOSHER: her life stands in sharp contrast to Victorian norms, Mosher sowed that the severe menstrual pains that Naturally incapacitated Victorian women were caused by the then fashionable constrictive corsets worn by middle and upper class women, the corsets damaged women's internal organs and deformed their bone structure. It was Mosher and not Kinsey who conducted the first known sexuality survey.

- MAGNUS HIRSCHFELD: considered to be the fonder of scientific sexuality, his work dealt with topics such as love, sex crimes, and even the impact of maternal alcoholism on the developing fetus. The first to distinguish between homosexuality and transvestitism. - MARGRET SANGER: devoted herself to achieving reproductive rights for women. She attempted to provide poor women with info about the safest and most effective contraceptives then known, after witnessing the death of one of her poor patients, due to repeated self abortions.

EVELYN HOOKER: her work was a major factor in the decision of the American Psychiatric Association to no longer consider HOMOSEXUALITY a mental disorder.

4. Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the various types of research methods used in studying human sexuality.

The Survey: taking a photograph of patterns of sexuality. Involve asking people questions, recording their answers, ad analyzing groups of responses to uncover patterns of behavior or attitudes. Cannot be used in general reference rather, is very specific to a particular group. To get accurate data survey researchers have to deal with quite a few issues. Failure to deal effectively with these problems results in a useless collection of numbers. One of the biggest problems is sampling and getting a low response rate. Strong point of this survey is that if done right, one can see specific correlation between many groups surveyed.

Naturalistic and Laboratory observation: refers to watching peoples behavior. Some observations are conducted in the field. It's a real direct way to gather data, by observation.

Examining Correctional Studies: researchers have found a relationship or association between tow factors or variables relevant to sexuality.

Clinical research: sexuality researchers often study groups of individuals who manifest some type of disorder or dysfunction. Because they come to the researchers or practitioners for help or treatment, they are described as a clinical population an in-depth study of a single patient is called a clinical case study.

5. Explain the purpose of the major ethical principles that guide sexuality research.

Sexology is a multidisciplinary field, and so professionals will be guided by the ethical principles developed by their respective professional groups i.e. the American Medical Association or the American Psychological Association. These principles exist primarily for the benefit of the consumer of sexual knowledge and society in general. Sexologists should be competent and integrity in the area of sexuality to perform their tasks optimally.

6. Define critical thinking and describe the general guidelines for thinking critically about sexual information.

Critical thinking: the avoidance of biases and preconceptions as we evaluate information, claims, and arguments.

General Guidelines for critical thinking:

- Understand the meaning of the terms ad concepts. adopt an attitude of healthy skepticism question conventional wisdom identify the assumptions and biases behind claims and argument
Develop a solid knowledge base so you have reasons and information to support your own beliefs and values.
Try to evaluate the quality of arguments, evidence, or claims.
Be open-minded: make room for new information that contradicts old beliefs.